With an all-inclusive break you know that your lift passes are already sorted …
Photograph: Jelena Jojic Tomic/Stocksy United
There’s a lot to think about when booking a ski or snowboard holiday. It’s not like a summer trip, where you just have to know where you’re staying and how you’re getting there.
On a snow break you need to know that too, of course, but you also have to think about ski or snowboard hire, lift passes, lessons, airport transfers, and where to find hearty, tasty meals to fuel all that wonderful mountain exercise. And once you’ve found your restaurants, whether they require reservations in advance and, if so, is your long-lapsed GCSE French up to it?
You also need to choose the right resort, taking into account its altitude and average snowfall, and think about how far your accommodation is from the ski lifts.
Deep breath. I’m sure I’m not alone in finding all the research and prep you have to do for a ski or snowboard holiday a monumental faff.
So, given how hectic our daily lives are these days, I was not surprised that, according to the annual Club Med ski report 2019/2020, bookings for all-inclusive ski holidays have gone up 70% year-on-year. It seems more of us than ever are choosing to pass the burden of all that extra admin on to those with serious snow holiday expertise, saving ourselves a bunch of hassle in the process.
Especially at a time of Brexit uncertainty, when we just want a value-for-money holiday from a trusted operator, rather than the worry of the unknown of an apartment we found on the internet. Not to mention the security of paying a predetermined fixed price that won’t rise alarmingly if the currency fluctuates or involve loads of extra unforeseen costs we hadn’t budgeted for in advance.
We simply want to show up somewhere knowing we’re going to enjoy it, and that everything is going to be easy from the start. And that’s exactly what you get with an all-inclusive snow trip. For example, on a Club Med ski or snowboard holiday, you rock up at your ski-in ski-out accommodation knowing you are right by the slopes or lifts and in a snow-sure resort, be that Val Thorens, Les Arcs, Alpe d’Huez, Val d’Isère, Samoëns or La Plagne in the French Alps, or Pragelato in Italy.
With an all-inclusive you know your food for the week is sorted. No cooking after a fun but tiring day on the slopes, no queuing at an overpriced resort supermarket, and no last-minute hunting for a table at a restaurant. Instead, you can relax knowing you’ve got three delicious meals a day in the bag, including drinks, après-ski snacks, and an open bar – Cervinia in Italy even has two restaurants at the top of the mountain (open Monday to Friday) to help you make the most of your skiing without having to come back down when hunger strikes.
There’s no trying to work out what lift pass you need and what the best offer is, as that’s all organised and included. As are your lessons for adults and ski school for the kids, so everyone can keep progressing on each snow trip and avoid the dreaded plateau. Lessons are also a great way to get to know a resort you haven’t visited before.
Kids’ club is included in the package, so parents can enjoy full days on the mountains if they wish, knowing their children are having heaps of fun too with other kids their age. And for an extra charge you can also book babies and toddlers – starting from four months – into childcare.
For me, it’s the family side of things where an all-inclusive trip really wins, as taking your kids, especially when they’re under five, on a snow holiday can be really full-on and expensive. Decent nurseries are few and far between, and private nannies charge an exorbitant hourly rate. Then you’ve got the kit to cart out, from highchairs to buggies to bottle sterilisers, and the meals to prepare. Believe me when I say skiing or snowboarding with young children is not the time to DIY.
When my kids were both under three and the hard work-to-fun ratio was weighted firmly on the graft side of things, we booked an all-inclusive snow trip with friends. I felt guilty about leaving the children in childcare while I was out on the slopes at first, but honestly those days on the mountain were some of the best and most important of my life. I came back a different person, refreshed and ready to take on the enjoyable but hard work of parenthood again. Raising young kids is tough, and you need to let yourself relax once in a while.
That said, your idea of taking it easy might actually be snowshoeing instead of skiing or snowboarding, or chilling in the spa rather than on the slopes, or practising yoga or meditation, and that’s fine too. All-inclusive doesn’t mean all your choices have already been made for you, as Club Med weeks are flexible and can be easily tailored to whatever you feel like doing. You just need to go all in.
Club Med, founded in 1950, is the pioneer of the all-inclusive concept, offering nearly 70 premium resorts in stunning locations around the world including North and South America, Caribbean, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean.
