First time skiing in Europe. Where should I go?

We are one of three couples looking at taking a 4 day weekend to the snow. 3 of us are non-skiers, 1 is willing to try and two are intermediate.

Can anyone suggest a good place and accommodation to stay that would suit all of us. We are prepared to spend between £200-£300 per couple on accommodation.

Many thanks for any info you can provide.

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Hi

If you want quick transfer time from Geneva (1hr approx) your best bet is the Portes du Soleil.

Les Gets has perfect slopes for beginners and excellent ski school as well as more challenging pistes for others. I did black runs there last year and I%26#39;m only a 8/9 week skier! One of the Boomerang hotels (Aussie run nat!) specialises in short breaks/weekends.

Avoriaz, on the other hand has much better night life, pubs etc but is mostly apts. There are only a handful of catered chalets - mostly bookable through Crystal, Thomson etc. Balcons du Soleil apts are only 4* ones - ski in-out. Relatively cheap hol if you self cater. British ski school there is the best I%26#39;ve ever been on, now called Avoriaz Alpine Ski School, I think. We%26#39;re off to Avoriaz next Sat for a week - best wee resort in the Alps!

Let me know what you decide on.

Alison

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look at leisure direction website, we go to Valloire, beautiful resort, we drive there, very cheap, we usually stay at res du valmonts.

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I spent a winter season in Valloire working in a hotel and it%26#39;s a fantastic resort - might not have as many runs as somewhere like Val Thorens but there%26#39;s a lot more character to them. There%26#39;s also a lot more charm to the resort and none of the hi rise concrete apartment blocks found elsewhere. Definitely gets my vote.

Interested to know what the Residence Les Valmonts is like. There%26#39;s four of us heading out there in a weeks time and the accommodation we%26#39;ve booked is the Valmonts. Any feedback jhoward?

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bear79 - just seen your reference to price. We%26#39;ve paid £360 for a six bed apartment at the Valmonts. There may only be four us but it%26#39;s still only £90 each. £100 for the ferry, £100 lift pass, £60 ski hire and you%26#39;ve got yourself a cheap holiday. £400 total for each of us - well chuffed.

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Chamonix is a great place to learn - the Vormaine Green at La Tour is excellent. We all learnt to ski there and you can progress up the mountain at your own pace. The town itself is authentic and has lots of hotels, restaurants and bars and there is lots to do for non skiers. There are many companies who specialise in ski weekends there and some who will ferry you to the slopes. Search the internet for ski weekends to find them.

My only criticism of Chamonix is the distance between the slopes and the lack of linked ski areas. We have now progressed to the larger areas as piste bashing hungry intermediates!