Esprit Ski, family ski holidays specialists, have been doing their thing now for more than three decades.
That means that children who first went skiing with their parents with Esprit 20 or 30 years ago are returning with their own children now to enjoy the company’s renowned service, which Esprit are confident is the very best any family will find in the Alps.
Esprit operate catered chalets, Chalet Hotels and their special Xtra Chalets in more than a dozen leading resorts in three of the main ski nations – Austria, France and Italy.
Esprit’s resorts are all world class and include some of the best destinations on the planet, including Méribel and Courchevel 1850 in the world’s biggest ski region, Les 3 Vallées, France and St Anton in Austria. Other leading French resorts are covered with chalets in both Tignes and Val d’Isère in the Espace Killy, Belle Plagne, Peisey and Arc 2000 in the Paradiski area, and Les Gets in the Portes du Soleil. In Italy the quiet and charming resort of Gressoney, in the Monterosa area, is another appealing choice.
Esprit has such a fine-tuned programme for families there are different levels of care for children of every age, but in this feature we’re especially looking at services (and special deals!) for families with children aged from 17 weeks up to four years old.
After 34 seasons (to be precise), you might think that there wasn’t much more Esprit could do to cover every aspect of the family ski holiday, yet this coming winter, as every season, they do have some new ideas and tempting offers.
Credit – Avoriaz and Matthieu Vitré
BAT Weeks For Babies And Toddlers
“Esprit’s Baby And Toddler (BAT) Weeks are aimed at those families with pre-school younger children”, explains Esprit’s Catherine Edwards, “and this season we’ve added New Year’s week in the school holidays to our BAT Weeks, exclusively in Alpe d’Huez and Méribel, so guests will receive all the BAT discounts plus all the NY bonuses!”
Besides those special New Year BAT Weeks, the usual BAT Weeks operate throughout all of January and for departures on 5 and 26 February (before and after the school holiday weeks) 2017.
BAT Weeks offer a remarkable range of savings totalling up to an exceptional £481 for all younger families with babies or toddlers aged two to four.
This saving includes free infant places (saving £115 per infant), half price nursery places (saving £159 per infant), and half price Spritelets (ski class for three-four-year-olds) and Snow Club. Book both together to save £207 per toddler, plus there are BAT Week special offer under-occupancy charges of only £99 for the first empty bed in family rooms.
As strict staff/child childcare ratios apply with Esprit it’s important to book as early as possible as places are subject to availability.
What’s The Best Type of Accommodation for Your Family?
Esprit offers a wide range of accommodation types, with the common factor being that your whole family is very well looked after by the whole team, whether it’s the childcare staff or the chalet hosts and resort reps.
There are cosy chalets, ideal for just one or two families, through to larger chalets perfect for extended family groups. Chalet hotels have more facilities, such as a bar, and comfortable communal areas, yet still offer the privacy, conviviality and informal atmosphere of a smaller chalet.
Credit – Avoriaz and Matthieu Vitré
Esprit’s Industry Leading Nursery Service
Esprit’s nursery service has been refined over 34 years, and they are confident that they provide a better childcare service than any other tour operator and even back this up with a special Esprit Childcare Satisfaction Guarantee.
As with all aspects of an Esprit holiday, the key part of the Esprit nurseries success is its amazing staff, all qualified British nannies or nursery nurses with an NVQ Level 3 in childcare or equivalent recognised Level 3 childcare qualification.
Nurseries open six days a week from 8.30am to 5pm to allow you time to get on the slopes in good time and get to ski school lessons if you need to, and are structured to provide a happy and stimulating environment for babies and toddlers. Toys and equipment are chosen for their educational as well as play features and meet stringent health and safety guidelines.
Children aged from as young as 17 weeks up to 40 months are welcome in the nursery, where a typical morning begins at 8.30am with free play for the children while everyone arrives and children settle in.
Children will have a mid-morning snack after which it’s nap time in one of the nursery cots for the children that need it, while other children have a creative session with arts and crafts fun, before a healthy supervised lunch.
In the afternoon there is another nap opportunity for the sleepy, and a structured session for the more active toddlers, such as Music & Movement or making cookies, or some outdoor fun if the weather permits. Depending on your child’s age, this can include anything from a walk and playtime in the snow to a gondola-lift ride or a bus ride to a local attraction. Then it’s back inside for more free play until pick-up time.
There’s one nanny per two infants aged from 17 weeks to 12 months in the nursery, or to three infants for children aged 13–23 months and for toddlers 24–40 months there’s one nanny for a maximum of four children.
There are many other Esprit services for families with young children including a special High Tea at 5.30pm each evening, and for those travelling though Chambery Airport to the French Alps there’s a great “free-for-Esprit-guests” exclusive playroom in the departures area. Here Esprit staff look after the little ones to make the homeward journey as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Esprit Info
Travel with Esprit Ski this New Year, and receive two FREE nights in all chalets and Chalet Hotels, which makes it nine nights for the price of seven! Plus, when you add your lift passes and ski hire at the time of booking you also receive two FREE days! (eight days for the price of six!)
You also receive two FREE days of Nursery, Snow Clubs and Sprite lessons, and there are also lift pass and ski hire specials, and enhanced New Year child discounts. Add this to your BAT Weeks savings in Alpe d’Huez and Méribel and celebrate with the family on the slopes!
*Holidays to Italy depart on 30 December and are of an eight-night duration. Gressoney departures receive just a one-day free ski pack, nursery, Sprites and lift pass due to the Saturday return day.
BAT Weeks: espritski.com/more/baby-toddler-weeks/
Nursery: espritski.com/childcare/nursery/
New Year Offer: espritski.com/offer-news/new-year-offer/
Enregistrer