Ski and Snowboard News, Deals, and Events

Families have specific expectations of a ski resort. It can be a challenge finding somewhere that ticks all the boxes and falls within budget.

Hans Seifert, head of the Phantastische Ski School in Hochkoenig, says families are looking for the complete package: "All the services from A to Z need to be aligned. The involved service providers - hotels, lift companies, ski schools, ski rentals, and restaurants - must coordinate and work together perfectly. Only then a family-friendly ski resort will be successful in the long run and possibly will receive awards." Hochkoenig is comprised of Maria Alm, Dienten, and Muehlbach, and it continuously rakes awards for being a family-friendly winter destination.

Professional ski schools with committed, well-trained, multilingual skiing instructors are essential. Hans Seifert says families return year after year asking for the same ski instructor which is a good sign as children build mutual trust in their teachers and progress faster on the slopes.

Martin Valsecchi, assistant head of the Erste Schweizer Ski School in Samnaun-Ischgl, says parents require one-stop solutions. They do not want to address three different places just to get a lift pass or rental skis. Instead they prefer to find a hotel or a ski school that deals with all those mostly bothersome administrative issues in one go.

In Martin's experience, parents want to ensure that kids are kept busy and that there is an interesting program. He says, "Scheduled activities outside of the ski courses and alternatives for bad weather are strongly being asked for. On Wednesdays we offer a kids disco, on Thursdays we go to Ischgl for a pizza, on Fridays we have our popular races and every two weeks we arrange moon descents in the evenings."

Whether to go for a large or small resort depends on your personal preferences. Some parents seek intimate, straightforward, kid-friendly ski resorts while others favour the endless possibilities of vast resorts. Martin says, "Samnaun-Ischgl is not a typical family ski area but rather an all-round winter destination. Yet this is what parents love about our place -varied slopes, lots of activities off-piste, and wide-ranging services for kids."

Family-friendly hotels are considered an important factor for choosing a destination. Hotels should only call themselves family-friendly when the needs of families are truly being taken care of. For example, if a hotel places its playroom in the basement, one can assume that children are not their priority. True kid-friendly hotels offer children's menus and buffets, daily activities for kids, centrally located extensive playrooms, nurseries, babysitting, and much more. Michaela Sumetzberger, owner of the four-star hotel Der Almhof in Hochkoenig, says it's the little extra effort which means a lot to families, like every once in a while a hotel has to take care of picking up a child from ski lessons or dropping them there.

A child-friendly ski area is essential: magic carpets and lifts appropriate for kids have already become a standard everyone takes for granted, along with gentle beginners' runs, and kids' funparks. The South Tyrolean ski area of Kronplatz im Pustertal is popular for its 25 blue pistes, ideal for kids and families.

Awards and seals of quality may help discerning families. The Austrian ski resort Hochkoenig in Salzburg has managed to receive numerous awards for addressing families' needs. Other resorts in Austria have also been given family awards, including, Nauders, Kasberg, and Hochficht in Upper Austria, the Rauriser Hochalmbahnen in Salzburg, Kreischberg and Donnersbachwald in Styria, and the Tyrolian Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis.

Families travelling to Switzerland rely on the seal of quality called "Familien willkommen". Villages and cities concentrating on families and kids may apply to receive this title if they meet certain high standards. Various family ski resorts have been awarded this cachet, such as Brigels, Davos, Klosters, Hasliberg Meiringen, Lenk, Schwarzsee, Villars, Gryon, and Bex.

France has also introduced a seal of quality named "Famille Plus". Many winter resorts can be found on the list, such as Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Chatel, Les 2 Alpes, Megeve, and Serre Chevalier.

Price is also of great importance to families. Numerous resorts offer attractive family packages and even free lift passes for kids at certain times of the winter season. In the Italian Dolomites children up to the age of 8 ski for free if their parents purchase valid adult ski passes. Bregenzerwald in Austria offers a similar "kids ski free" deal along with the Tyrolean resorts of Alpbachtal Seenland and Wildschoenau, which offer free skiing to kids up to the age of 15. Children up to 12 ski for free in the Swiss resort Savognin, if parents pay for their passes in full. In addition to lift ticket deals, a number of resorts have introduced free ski lessons and ski courses.

OnTheSnow's top five family-friendly ski resorts are:

1. Hochkoenig (Austria)
2. Kronplatz (Italy)
3. Davos (Switzerland)
4. Serfaus Fiss Ladis (Austria)
5. Serre Chevalier (France)