Family Ski Holidays: Ducs de Savoie, Val d'Isère

We’d looked forward to our first family skiing holiday for ages. New arrivals to the family or the overall cost had stood in the way until this winter, ten years after our last – pre-family – skiing holiday together. We were apprehensive.  How could the needs of our six and eight year old sons (to learn to ski while having a great time) be reconciled with ours (three happy kids and some time to find our own ski legs again) or with those of their one year old brother?

Take a world class ski resort (Winter Olympics in 1992 and World Championships in 2009) with a solid snow record, an operator with 25 years of family skiing holiday experience and a reasonable hotel welcoming a hundred kids and parents, the Chalet Hotel Ducs de Savoie, in the centre of the village at Val d'Isère. Add surprisingly good (for an airline these days) service on Monarch, excellent child care, consistently decent food and plenty of enthusiastic young Esprit staff and it seemed we had the perfect mix for our perfect ski holiday.

There were a few drawbacks, including long coach transfers and a very early start on the way home. The accommodation was definitely not four star (as we had inferred it would be from the four diamond rating on their site – it transpires that stars and diamonds are not necessarily the same) and pretty spartan – no tv, no radio, no kettles even…the décor was definitely in need of a revamp. But they did keep it pretty clean and tidied everyday.  In fact, the team of 32 staff were definitely the hotel’s best asset; they are young, committed, incredibly hard working, cheerful and enthusiastic.

Our youngest son (1 ½) went to nursery, based in the hotel, and seemed to enjoy the jolly atmosphere and trips to the snow. The older kids were well catered for too, with excellent ski lessons, accompanied by Esprit staff.  Nice for them to be in an English speaking group and to hang out with the same children at the hotel afterwards.  There were plenty of qualified staff and they seemed to enjoy looking after children and babies on the whole.The skiing was wonderful – l’Espace Killy is a vast area, with incredibly efficient lifts, beautiful long runs catering to all ability levels and fully interconnected with the neighbouring resort of Tignes.

A lot has changed on the slopes in the ten years since our last trip. Thankfully, fluorescent, garish skiwear is a much less common sight. Skis are shorter, fatter and easier to master. But ‘Eye of the Tiger’ still manages to blare out from the chairlift attendant’s offices.

Most importantly of all everyone of us thoroughly enjoyed the holiday and we regularly talk about the next. We’d happily recommend Esprit and, in fairness, a higher standard of accommodation would most likely have been significantly more expensive.

Take the Family
March 2008

Useful information about Val d'Isère:

Take the family stayed at Esprit 's Chalet Hotel Ducs de Savoie, in the centre of the resort, moments from the slopes.

See Take the Family's Val d'Isère destination guide.

Find out more about Esprit Holidays.