Résidence Goélia Les Flocons d'Argent — Hotel in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne

We have just returned from a week in Aussois and booked through Peak Retreats who were excellent. I couldn't fault them from the date we booked. I would highly recommend booking through them as they took care of everything from tunnel bookings to ski lessons. 5 Star treatment!||||We had booked Les Flocons d'Argent based on a friends recommendation and it was exactly what we needed. The apartment complex is only 50 ft from the slopes and ski school meeting points. You couldn't get a better location.||||The drive from London was long but we broke it up into two segments and it was fine.||||On arrival to Aussois, which is a very small town, we had no trouble finding our hotel. We had booked a 6 person appartment and had decided to bring our own sheets / towels etc., The check in process is a little bit on the admin / paper side and there is a detailed inventory sheet that needs to be completed and returned to reception. Its worth checking this in some detail as you have to put up Euro 250.00 as your deposit and we noticed a few items were chipped so take your time checking the plates etc as they cost to replace is excessive.||||The appartment itself was great, we had a twin room, a room with bunk beds, a toilet and a seperate bath / shower room and the kitchen room also had a double pull out sofa. I couldnt fault the apartment and it was plenty big for our family of 5. The cooking facilities are fine and whilst an oven would be helpful, we go by just fine. The pool got a little busy from 5.00pm onwards but other than that it was great albeit a little on the chilled side.||||The ski schools were excellent but I would highlight, this is predominantly a french resort so no all the instructors spoke English but our kids got on fine.||||As mentioned, Aussois is a small resort and very much set up for families. There is no major apres ski and the restaurants are all very family friendly offering good kids menus etc.||||We ate in Les Bouquetins on a few occasions and were very impressed. We had Fondue (cheese) and Fondue Savoyard (beef) and both were excellent. We also tried Tartiflette & Pizzas and again we were very happy. The kids tried a mixture of pizza, chicken nuggets and crepes and there was no complaints. Dinner for the family of five was approx Euro 100.00 and that included drinks.||||We also had lunch at Le Delta on a few occasions given its proximity to the slopes and again were were very happy. Again there is a good kids menu, Pizzas were good as was the croque monsieurs. Lunch for the family of 5 was approx Euro 50.00||||There is a little supermarket (Vital) just below the apartments and it has everything and even sells dishwasher tablets seperatley. There is a Boulangerie on the main street and they do the most amazing cakes for your afternoon tea!||||As mentioned, the resort is very family friendly and a few things to try are||||Snow Tubing - This is located in the town just down from the church and essentially it entails sitting in a rubber ring going down a man made track. It was great fun and the two older kids (7 & 12) had a great time. I would think 30 minutes is sufficient and for that you get approx 5 goes depending on how busy it is. The cost is Euro 6.00 per person||||Big Airbag - This is also great fun and here, you sit in a rubber ring and shoot down a path to a ramp and fly into a big airbag. You can also do this with skis but we kept it easy and jsut tried the rubber rings. Again the two older kids tried it and had great fun. It costs Euro 4.00 for 3 goes.||||We also participated in the night ski which takes place on the Thursday evening. It starts off with a show by the ski school and they put on a great show of night skiing with lights and torches etc. At approx 8.30pm they turn on the flood lights and you can ski till 10.00pm. It was great fun and the kids had a fantastic time.||||The check out process is quiet easy but be sure to book your slot as with 200+ apartments, it can be difficult to get your preferred slot.||||The only slight negatvie was the wi-fi but if you can live with very very slow speed for e-mails etc, you will be fine other wise I suggest you bring a dongle etc.||||All in all, a great 1st ski holiday with the children and would be very happy to...

By pure chance, we found ourselves at this lovely little resort (some friends of ours couldn't make their pre-booked holiday!) typically attended by mostly French and Belgian families, opportunities to speak french were certainly plentiful!! (But as usual, everyone spoke English!!) ||The resort is small and friendly and its proximity to the slopes would usually carry a hefty price tag, not here! The costs are incredibly reasonable but look out for the 'hidden extras' such as linen, end of stay cleaning, cleaning sundries and laundry. Ski hire shops are plentiful for such a small resort and again, prices are very reasonable (it would be very easy to hike prices up as choice is always limited in smaller resorts) we loved 'cafe cosy' the family run small cafe bar within the complex which is way too close to the slopes not to!!!! Night time ski session for the kids on the nursery slopes was brilliant and means that my children had their first ever night ski! All the apartments look out onto the mountains but we stayed in the Eidleweiss block which had amazing views, great proximity to every aspect of the resort and an apartment which, being totally functional, was a little small for 6 of us but really only used as a base. The beds, bathrooms and facilities were all excellent; my only suggestions would be to take some food basics in order to prevent that initial unnecessary spend including toilet rolls (the little supermarket on resort is well stocked with all the produce you could possibly require) and to advise your own fleece blankets or duvets from home if thin cotton sheets and woollen blankets are not your thing! The locker facilities are in the first apartment block as you leave the slope and so no need to cart equipment around, sadly there is no heated facility and so we took our boots to our apartment each night and tucked them away in our boiler cupboard! The walk into the village is quick and direct and there are some lovely little shops and restaurants. We holidayed right at the end of the ski season and so plenty of bargains were to be had on ski wear. For underground secure parking there is an additional fee of €15 but there is street side parking...

Stayed in a mezzanine apartment for 6 (we are family of four with kids aged 14 and 11). Wouldnt have wanted a smaller apartment - adults had x 2 single beds in one room, kids had bunkbeds on the landing and there was a sofa bed in lounge. Took own bedding (sheets and pillow cases) as only pillows and blankets provided unless you want to pay a supplement. Apartment was brilliantly located - ski in / ski out with balcony looking over the valley. Seemed you had to pay extra for everything - need to leave place clean unless you pay to have it cleaned for you - need to pay extra for use of television etc etc. Basic kitchen with grill/microwave and hob but sadly no oven. Good local restaurants though and brilliant supermarket underneath complex. Sofabed in lounge was not particulalry comfy for sitting unless you used the pillows and 2 deck chairs provided for sunny days (or extra seating in lounge). All said, you get what you pay for - whole holiday cost about 1/3 of previous ski trips to better known resorts. Aussois itself is brilliant. Enough skiing for a week and ESF school was friendly. Few people spoke English which added to appeal. Snow Tubing attraction was closed all week but lovely walks through the village and in the mountains. All in all, basic but...