** Free childcare in our British-staffed nursery between Monday 7th January and Sunday 20th January 2013 inclusive (worth £44 per day) - call today on 01962 713330 for more information **
For more detailed information about the services that we offer to those travelling with children, please click on the titles to the top left of this text - these lead to other useful pages of our website.
As parents with children ourselves (all of whom we have taught or are in the process of learning how to ski!), we really do understand the special needs of families travelling on a ski holiday. We realise that you will have particular concerns about food, sleeping arrangements and childcare facilities and we aim to ensure that all your queries are answered before you book your holiday. As a small company, we believe that we can offer the kind of personal service that will really appeal to those looking for the perfect family ski holiday. Please click on the ‘Testimonials’ link to the left of this page for comments from previous Ski 2 guests.
We run our own childcare facility in the centre of Champoluc - currently the only nursery of any kind in the village and exclusive to Ski 2 clients. It is run to the same exacting standards as a UK nursery and offers the chance for parents to leave younger children in the safe hands of fully qualified staff.
To assist you in deciding whether a Ski 2 holiday might suit your family, we have tried to offer some general advice below, but please do feel free to call us on 01962 713330 if you would like to discuss your family’s specific requirements.
Click here to read impartial comments about our holidays on the website Mumsnet.
*** NEW *** Click here to view a short video about family holidays to Champoluc.
Special Offers for 2012 / 2013
We have just launched our fabulous family offers for 2012 / 2013 - please email info@ski-2.com with details of your family and your travel dates and we will email you a detailed quotation.
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Flights
Since our prices exclude the cost of flights, our clients are free to choose a flight that suits them. If you are travelling with young children, the last thing you need is an 0600 hours charter flight from London - a scheduled flight at lunchtime is so much more civilised!
Our flexible travel arrangements also allow you to land at a choice of arrival airports on the continent, so you can take advantage of departures from your local regional airport. This helps reduce ‘door to door’ travel times and makes for a more relaxed holiday experience.
If you are thinking of travelling by air and your son or daughter is aged over 2 years old on the day of departure, you will need to pay for a seat on the flights. If your child is under 2, you have a choice as to whether to buy a seat for them or to carry them on your lap on the plane at a reduced cost.
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Travelling & Transfers
Transfers (included in the cost of all our holidays) are usually in one of our own minibuses driven by one of our English staff members and since we only ever transfer clients to or from one flight, so there is never any waiting around at the airport for other flights to arrive. You walk through the doors in the Arrival Hall and a member of our staff will be there to meet you. Within 5 minutes you will be settled in to one of our vehicles and heading to your chosen resort. We can arrange for your transfer vehicle to be fitted with child / booster seats, to save you transporting your own from the UK - please request these at the time of booking.
Transfer times from our featured arrival airports are clearly shown in our brochure or in the travel section of this website.
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Accommodation / Rooms
All of our hotels are family-run and welcome children, whatever their age. We can recommend a hotel for your family, but the Hotel Castor and Hotel Relais des Glaciers in Champoluc are particularly suited for those travelling with young children.
There are very few inter-connecting rooms in any of the hotels in either resort (although we can guarantee adjacent rooms for those travelling with youngsters). The Hotel Breithorn has one set of inter-connecting rooms (107 and 108), the Hotel Castor also has one set, as does the Hotel Le Campagnol, the Hotel La Rouja and the Hotel Champoluc. Most will accommodate 2 adults and up to 3 children.
Some of our hotels offer family rooms - either on one level and accommodating up to 6 people (the Petit Tournalin has a 6 bedded room for instance), or on two levels with a mezzanine. The Hotel Petit Tournalin and Hotel Relais des Glaciers has some good sized mezzanine rooms - very popular so book early for peak dates.Call one of our friendly team on 01962 713330 to discuss room options to suit your family.
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Meal Times
Most of our hotels will help arrange early evening meals (normally at around 1830 hours) and to provide suitable food for younger guests. All hotel have high chairs available. Please call 01962 713330 for more details.
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Supplies
There is a largish supermarket in the centre of Champoluc which stocks a good range of food and 'every day' items. There is also an excellent chemist, which sells baby foods (jars and packets), formula milk (Milupa Aptamil), toys and nappies (including Pampers). This will at least save you the trouble of travelling with enough supplies to last a whole week, in the knowledge that you can buy most things in resort.
If you and your children have any other specific requirements, please let us know and we can confirm whether what you need is available in resort We have our own baby baths and non-slip bath mats in resort, available for those that wish to borrow them.
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Resort Facilities
Most of our hotels in Champoluc are an easy flat(ish) walk to the bottom of the main lift where all your ski equipment can be stored overnight. The road through the resort is certainly suitable for pushing a buggy along and these can then be left in our ski deposit at the bottom of the main lift during the day. Our nursery is located in a bright and airy apartment close to the bottom of the main gondola in the centre of the village.
For our younger guests Champoluc has two play parks with swings and slides, both walking distance from most of our hotels. For older children there is an ice rink in the centre of the village (weather permitting), a pool table at the Hotel California and a good selection of cross-country ski tracks around the village. Our resort staff will be pleased to advise you about these facilities in more detail when you arrive in resort.
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Baby Listening & Baby Sitting
Babysitting can be arranged in the evenings for parents wishing to explore Champoluc a little. This can be arranged locally with the nursery staff at a cost of approximately Euros 13 per hour.
None of our featured hotels currently offer a baby listening service although you may find that your baby monitor will operate between the bedroom and the dining room. Having tried a number of different baby monitors ourselves, we recommend using a set of inexpensive walkie talkie sets – click on this link to see the model that we have found to work well on holidays around the world www.urbanjunkie.co.uk/product.php/185/0/.
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Skiing for Older Children
We have been pleased to assist a good number of our clients' children to take their first steps on skis. We are happy to discuss with you your thoughts on what you would like your child / children to achieve during the week, whether it is their first week on snow, or they are already an accomplished skier. For full details of the Ski 2 Ski School - exclusive to our clients - please clicking on the 'Skiing' tab above the photo at the top of this page.
We can arrange for a private instructor (a qualified British ski teacher) to look after your child / children for just an hour a day for instance, combined with full day nursery care. In this way our staff will transport your child from the nursery for their lesson on the mountain, returning them safely after the lesson back to the nursery in the village.
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Ski Weekends & Short Breaks
Ski weekends are definitely not a new idea and certainly not unique to Ski 2. What we do offer however, which we believe that no other ski company currently offers, are ski weekends with childcare.
Ski weekends and short breaks can now be enjoyed by families as well as couples - parents can enjoy the miles of pistes that the Monterosa ski area has on offer, safe in the knowledge that their youngsters are being well cared for by our trained staff. Childcare can be pre-booked by the half day or day and, for older children, this can be combined with ski tuition by our own British ski instructors. We will even ensure that children are escorted between ski lessons and our nursery by a member of our staff - see above for more details.
Our ski weekends are already very popular, but we feel that they would appeal particularly to families for the following particular reasons:
* Short transfer time between airport and resort
* Private minibus transfers (car seats and booster seats provided at no charge)
* Scheduled flights from across the UK at sociable times to suit your family's requirements
* Quiet, unspoilt resorts with easy access to the bottom of the main lift
* Experienced and friendly resort staff who understand the needs of children and families
* Two, three, four or five night breaks arriving on any day of the week
* Professionally run and staffed nursery
Quote from www.mumsnet.com - a website dedicated to providing information to those travelling with young families ... The small tour operator, Ski 2, won praise for their top-rated service: "They are specialists in Champoluc and offer a wonderfully personal service." "Unlike other tour operators they really can cater to individual needs so whether it's particular childcare, transfer or any other requirements they'll take care of it." "The flights - Ryan Air to Turin - and transfer are a joy", the little-known resort "charming" and the hotel "lovely". The skiing is "very good, as is the ski school" and there are "almost no queues" - the only minor negative: "a lack of green runs, otherwise a hidden gem"
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