Wednesday 9 April 2014

Our Family Ski Holiday with Snowbizz

We have just returned from a week in the beautiful resort of Puy St Vincent in the French alps with the family ski company, Snowbizz.  Neither the bloke or I had ever attempted to ski before, and with two children under 3, we hadn't seen it in our future for quite some time either, but Snowbizz have everything covered and the four of us had an easy and fantastic family ski holiday.

sledging, snowbizz, family ski holiday


Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

I feel like I am giving away a little known secret, as everything in our resort was so perfectly laid out, that it seemed strange that we often found ourselves with the mountain just for us, no-one else in sight.  Not only were the slopes quite literally on our doorstep, but the chances of crashing into someone else were so slim that I felt much more confident on the snow than I imagined I would.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

From the very beginning, our trip was well organised which is what you need with two small children.  I used to love planning my own holidays but nowadays I just want the stress taking away and the lovely ladies in the Snowbizz office sorted everything out ready for us.  We left Gatwick incredibly early on Sunday morning knowing that everything was booked and ready for our arrival.  We were greeted by a 'pink lady', one of the team of qualified and ofsted regulated nannies that look after the children in the creche, and the coach took us directly from Turin airport along the windy mountain roads to our resort at 1600m.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Our apartment was spacious with everything we needed right on hand.  Our bed was comfy, and the boys shared a room with bunk beds in.  There was a cot already set up for Archie too and plenty of space for their toys on the floor in there.  The living area had a well stocked kitchen with hobs, a kettle, a microwave and a filter coffee machine so we could prepare pasta, risottos and breakfasts ourselves.  There was a dining table, TV, board games, a sofa that pulled out into a bed and a huge balcony where we sat every morning to enjoy our croissants.  The apartment was clean and most importantly, was almost directly on the slopes.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

We collected our hire boots, skis, poles and helmets and the guys in the shop where happy to spend a bit of time making sure we had the perfect fit.  This was all booked in advance so we just had to turn up to try them on before taking them away to our locker.  After a few hours to explore and enjoy, we had a welcome drink where we could meet the other guests, the pink ladies and Michel the owner and head of the ski school as well as finding out about all the fantastic activities that the company put on, from pirate treasure hunts for the kids to quiz nights for the adults.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

It took us about 30 seconds to get from our apartment to a small section of cafe's, shops and facilities and we had plenty of choices of where to eat as well as a supermarket, a bakery, a delicious sweet shop and a place to buy souveniers.  

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

The next morning the boys were due to start in the creche and I was nervous as they don't attend any childcare at home.  The children under 3 can book in for morning, afternoon or all day sessions in the creche and once they turn three, they can start taking ski lessons too.  The pink ladies in the creche, led by head nanny Maria were happy and confident and I was reassured that we could come and see them at any time and take them in and out as we pleased.  I left two happy boys who were heading towards some paint and stopped in the little bakery next door for some fresh croissants to eat in peace on our balcony.  I need not have worried as the boys loved the creche.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

I felt more than happy leaving them there, as every one of the nannies was brilliant with the children, outgoing, friendly and competent.  Every day Dylan came home telling me that he had done painting, drawing, playing in tents, singing, going for walks in the snow to see the horse, baking and all sorts of other things and Archie was smiling and happy too.  The creche had plenty of space for the boys to have naps and we soon realised that by 1 o'clock when we finished our lesson they were far too tired for lunch, so we sent them in with a packed lunch and the lovely ladies helped them eat that before putting them down for a sleep.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

As for us, on our second lesson we were taken up in a two man lift to do a short green slope and every lesson we progressed trying new things, bigger slopes, and progressing to the blue runs that were faster and steeper.  Our instructor Sam was brilliant, offering lots of advice, and happily going back a stage when my confidence failed me.  As we were there in the quiet season, it turned out to only be the bloke and I in our class so it was fantastic to have so much attention.  Snowbizz classes are known for being small so it seemed the perfect place to learn.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

helly hansen, snowbizz, Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

I am proud to say that I fell only a handful of times in the whole week and on the last afternoon I was going down quite steep and very long blue slopes quite happily alone and building up quite some speed.  There is nothing quite like the freedom, the beautiful surroundings and the sun on your face as you swish and turn on the soft snow.  I never expected to love skiing as much as I did but I am sat writing this just desperate to get back out there!

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

I never imagined that going on a family ski holiday with two young children would work so well, but we all had a brilliant time.  The bloke and I got to learn an exhilarating and exciting new sport whilst the children had a great time playing inside and out and we changed our afternoons, spending some skiing on our own and others with the boys - sledging, snowman building and playing in the snow.  Next year Dylan will be old enough to join the totons -  a special ski school just for 3-4 year olds with an instuctor and one of the nannies in every lesson.  Snowbizz have a fantastic reputation for teaching the youngest of skiiers and I would love to take him back to try skiing on his feet (he is certain that sliding down the hill was called skiing on his bum).

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

We were so impressed with every aspect of our holiday.  The customer service was second to none, from the packing advice before we went, the fantastic pink ladies and the personal service from owners Wendy and Michel.  All the stress was taken away from us and we could enjoy an energetic and exciting family holiday and the beautiful sunshine and snow in Puy St Vincent.

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

Family ski holiday, snowbizz ski holiday

I would highly recommend Snowbizz as a ski travel company, as they not only looked after the big things, but all the little details too.  If you have always fancied learning to ski then now is the perfect time!

Discliaimer:  Our holiday was courtesy of the incredibly lovely people at Snowbizz but all thoughts, opinions and photos are completely my own and I cannot recommend Snowbizz highly enough.


22 comments:

  1. Sounds like an amazing time and place. I haven't skied for many years but this makes me want to again

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  2. Looks like an amazing time! I am jealous! :o)

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    1. It really was, he had the most amazing week!

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  3. Your whole holiday looks and sounds amazing. You've almost convinced me that I should give skiing another go. Maybe it's time to think about heading back to the slopes. I used to work not far from Turin airport and have the most amazing view of those mountains from my office. Such a lovely part of the world. Bet it's a shock to be home again :-)

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    1. Oh wow, what a great place to work although I think I would have got very distracted! I couldn't get enough of the view, it still took my breath away every time I looked out the window! Definitely give it another go!

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  4. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. C and I have talked about a ski holiday for a while. I would love to snowboard and she would love to strap on her skis again. It's good to know that there is somewhere that we could safely have M looked after and also have him play on the snow too.

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    1. The creche was so good, I think an English nursery is going to have a lot to live up to after the Snowbizz creche! There was so much for little ones to do and they are never too little for sledging! x

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  5. It looks absolutely amazing Bex and I am so glad you had a lovely time. I have only been skiing once before but I really loved it and like you wouldn't have thought of going skiing with young kids- just shows how wrong I was! x

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    1. I never dreamed of taking toddlers, but actually Dylan hasn't stopped asking to go back, he loved it!

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  6. Wow Bex it looks amazing! To be honest i would never of considered going with two young children but it looks and sounds so do-able! Creche - hell yes ;)
    Glad you all had such a fab time x

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    1. Haha who can resist a creche! I must admit it was lovely having some time to myself/ peace during the day and knowing the boys were so well looked after

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  7. Sounds like an amazing time! My husband is just getting into snowboarding now and is off to France next Jan for a trip. He keeps harping on about taking Athena when she is a bit older and with skiing lessons from 3 years old it might not be such a bad idea! If mummy can enjoy the apres ski that is! ;)
    Lauren | Belle du Brighton x

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    1. You should definitely try it with Athena, as even if she is too little to ski, there was a fantastic creche and the boys got to try some great things whilst they were there, like skiing on their bums (what Dylan called sledging)

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  8. Wow it looks like you had an amazing time. With two active boys at 8 and 9 I think they would love a holiday like this

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    1. Oh definitely, and at that age they are fearless! The kids just zoomed past us

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  9. What a wonderful holiday, The pictures look great.

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  10. It soundsas though you had an amazing time, I'm not sure I could go on holiday and pop my kiddies in a creche/holiday club

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    1. I wasn't sure how I would feel as I have always had them at home with me, but actually the creche was so fantastic that we all had such a great time and we enjoyed lots of afternoons as a family

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  11. It sounds AMAZING and looks like you all had so much fun

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  12. Oh wow, this sounds like such a great and fun holiday!

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