Skiing Operators

Specialist Reports Activity Holidays Skiing Skiing Operators Ski Esprit 

	Ski Esprit
185 Fleet Road, Fleet, Hampshire GU51 3BL			MAP
tel: (01252) 618 300

Founded in 1981, the company is expanding its services for families which is what it caters to exclusively with what it reports as the biggest choice of child care services in skiing. Accommodation is in chalets, chalet hotels or chalet apartments (with starter pack of essentials), to 15 resorts in France, Italy and Austria. The brochure rates resorts on suitability for different grades of skier, snowboarding, families, and powder potential. Two thirds of rooms offer en suite facilities and at one self-catering property dining with others is available if booked in advance.
A Child Care Guarantee offers reimbursement of child care fees if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of in-house care and can explain why.

Non-smoking chalets or rooms

Yes plus aircraft and transfer coaches.

Care in same chalet or hotel

Dedicated fully equipped nurseries in specific chalets or in some resorts in a dedicated room in local property, though guests staying in other chalets always have access, subject to availability. The number of smaller chalets with care has been cut in order to improve the carer to child ratio and therefore safety.

British-qualified staff

Yes NNEB/CACHE, RGN, BTEC or equivalent only and checked with childcare authorities before employment.

Staff to child ratio

Under 1 year, 1:2; 1-2 years, 1:3; 2-3 years, 1:4; 3 years-plus 1:8.

Ages to qualify

4 months to 12 years.

Childcare

Nurseries are for 4 months to 3 year in chalets or hotels in dedicated nurseries six days a week 8.30am to 5pm with some local and seasonal variations to accommodate ski school programmes. Lunch is included and outdoor activities organised depending on ages and weather conditions. £170 per week per child.
Afternoon Snow Clubs are for 3-10-year-olds who find a full day's skiing too much, the staff collecting them before lunch. After lunch activities include tobogganing, nature trails, picnics, snow art, competitions, horse-drawn rides and videos. £145 per week.Also available are supervised lunches for children not in the nursery or ski lesson programmes though they must be collected by parents at 2pm for the rest of the day.
Esprit Cocoa Clubs are for 6-12-year-olds not yet ready for bed when the adult-only dinner starts. These are available in all resorts but not all chalets or hotels. They are unstructured and run 7.30 to 10pm six evenings a week under the supervision of a member of staff, featuring videos, board and card games and listening to music, with a mini-disco or similar once a week. One to one special needs care may be available, depending on dates and staff availability. When there are sufficient children of 10-plus in Chamonix, Tignes, Kaprun and Selva Cocoa Club Plus for a small charge will take them out for activity like 10-pin bowling or ice skating three nights of the week

Exclusive child ski lessons in English

Yes, with a maximum of eight children per class or six for 3-4-year-olds (Spritelets).There are four further levels of classes including snowboarding and lasting two or two and a half hours six mornings a week. Children are accompanied to and from the lessons by Espirt staff (not necessarily nannies). Charge is from £130 per child per week for the youngest up to £260 for five full days' of lesson.

Babysitting

Free on staff's evening off.

Other

Cot bedding included in price. Baby baths are available on request and steam sterilisers in all chalets.
The kitchen will puree fresh ingredients for babies but all chalets are also stocked with free Baby Organix food.
Twelve chalets in eight resorts offer family dining together with children regardless of age. This is also available in any chalet of up to 10 beds if the whole chalet has been booked by one party. Otherwise evening meals are not open to children under 13 years.
A baby listening service is provided in some resorts every evening 7.30-11pm.
Ski Packs are pre-bookable including ski/board and boot hire, tuition and lift passes. Helmets are also available.
At Chambery airport a dedicated Esprit creche allows parents to drop off children when they go to check in or if they want to relax over a coffee.

Adult guide price

In a chalet for 10 around £799 for a peak week in February.

Child offers

Child reductions vary with the resort and the dates. They range from under 1s staying free at some times of year to discounts of just 10% for 11-17 years at peak dates at some resort. Percentage discounts also apply to children staying in their own separate bedroom. If a group fills any chalet of 12 beds or more full child discounts apply even to children not sharing with parents. For single parents there are discounts at some properties for children sharing a room with one adult. Free insurance is available for under 18s. There are a number of free lift pass for children offers and other resort-based deals for families.

Reader Reports

“We have twice gone skiing, once when the eldest child (then the only one) was 14 months old, and again this year when the girls were 3 years and 11 months. Both times we travelled with Ski Esprit and on both occasions chalet and resort staff excelled themselves, using initiative and catering for the demands of a fussy eater without losing their sense of humour.
I cannot agree with one of your correspondent's comments concerning childcare. Although I had no firsthand experience of their Ski Spritelets, I noticed that the Snow Ranger went along to the ski school with the children and stayed with them throughout the lesson and brought them back afterwards. I am sure that the groups were smaller than 12, but then again I don't what age range the writer's children are.
We will almost certainly go skiing with Ski Esprit again and this time will book Dominique into Spritelets and the Snow Club which she enjoyed in the afternoons. I thought they were excellent for the little ones.”
Caroline Stephens
Bicester

Bea Roberts has also reported that she was delighted with her Ski Esprit skiing holiday saying that there was “hardly anything that could be improved” even for people who don't ski, like her mother.

Jan Morris from Guernsey reports they have travelled with Ski Esprit on several occasions and never had even the slightest cause for complaint. “They are very good.”