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Having worked in the French Alps and the Colorado Rockies for 6 years and over 16 years of management experience in the British Ski Industry, it’s fair to say Pip knows the French Alps like the back of her hand. Pip has been skiing since she was 11 years old and has competed in the Scope Ski Challenge where she skied a whopping 150,000 vertical feet in 6 days, to top it off, Pip came second in the formidable Courchevel Derby in 1999!

 

 

In March last year we headed off on our first ski holiday en famille. It was my 5 year old son’s first time skiing so we settled on Les Gets because of its short transfer time from Geneva (only 1hr 15mins!), family friendly reputation and great choice of ski schools for British kids.

Happy with the resort we’d chosen we then looked through the options in Les Gets, predominantly self-catering, and decided on Les Fermes D’Emiguy which has cosy self-catering apartments 400m from the slopes. 400m might sound like a bit of a trek but the walk to the slopes was gentle and easy, it only took 5 minutes in ski gear with 2 little ones in tow and about 2 in normal footwear. A handy trick that we used to save some time and effort was to keep our skis and boots overnight at the skiset shop at the base of the slopes where we rented our equipment from, there’s also lockers in the lift pass office that you can use which cost about €60 a week.
 

Back to the apartment! We were pleased with the standard, it was spacious and comfortable with a big fridge and small microwave combi oven. The staff were really friendly and made us feel welcome, they were really helpful and were able to give us a lot of information about the local area. There was a lovely lounge area in the reception with a pool table and an area where you can help yourself to complimentary teas and coffees – a saviour on arrival day!



We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment which could sleep up to 6 people, we were a family of 5 with 2 small children aged 5 and 2 so the apartment worked well for us - even the sofa bed was comfortable! It was a bonus having 2 bathrooms between the 5 of us which made getting ready a lot easier. Our apartment was on the top floor, some rooms were under the eaves but it was worth it for the views into the mountains and over the village from the balcony.

The residence has a small indoor swimming pool, a Jacuzzi and if you’ve got any energy left after skiing, there’s a fitness room. There’s also a sauna and steam room which are free for one use per guest then about €8 per person per session after that. The residence also has some handy services like the breakfast bakery delivery as well as the option to borrow board games from reception where they had a great selection to keep the kids entertained.



Now, where to start with Les Gets. The resort couldn’t have been more perfect for our first ski holidays with the kids in tow. It feels as though it’s been perfectly designed for families with an ice skating rink as well as a small sledging area at the bottom of the main ski area in the resort. Off the slopes, there’s a good selection of shops, restaurants and bars. There’s even live music some days at the base of the slopes which is a great way to kick off après after a day exploring the ski area.
 

I have to mention how fantastic the ESI 360 International ski school was with my 5 year old son and the kids ski area at the top of the bubble was perfect. By day 3 we were skiing as a family in the afternoons and in the brilliant ‘Indian’ area for kids and the neighbouring Milka green runs. This area was amazing, with tepees for picnics, face painting, and a hut with loos and a picnic area where kids could do drawings. The best part was the little sheep and goats that the kids could pet.
 

Overall, if you hadn’t already guessed, we’d highly recommend Les Fermes D’Emiguy and Les Gets for families. From the ski lockers to the ‘Indian’ village, there were lots of little touches that just made the resort stand out from others we’ve been to and made it a hit with our family. We’ll definitely be going back soon!