A gem of a resort
We started planning our Feb half term ski trip for our first family ski trip a few months ago. We had a number of requirements: travel by train, short transfer time and family friendly resort .
I found Daniel from Snow Carbon by chance and he was incredibly helpful in helping to plan our trip, and suggested going to La Rosiere based on our requirements.
Initially, we planned to travel in one day from London to Bourg-St-Maurice but the direct TGV sold out so quickly that we decided to take a train after work/school on the Friday to Paris and stayed overnight in 3* Hotel Aurore near Gare de Lyon. We took an early morning TGV to Lyon followed by an easy connection to the TER to Bourg, arriving at around 1pm. The TER journey was spectacular and as you go past Chambery, you start catching glimpses of the mountains which increases the excitement levels. The train was very comfortable with power points and clean(ish) toilets.
The advantage was that we arrived in the resort at 2pm which gave us to time to find our feet, pick up our ski gear and be ready to hit the slopes early on day 1.
The train journeys were very pleasant and straightforward. In the resort, we heard some horror stories from people that had travelled by car and plane especially as the police have a habit of closing the road at Albertville on Saturdays to control the traffic.
La Rosière itself is a gem - it seems that a lot of people have not heard of it but it is the perfect family resort. The village is very pretty with some great restaurants and shops. The slopes are great - lots of variety and enough to satisfy all levels, with the option of skiing into Italy for the day.
Photo: Marc Wittenberg
Our kids (aged 9, 13 and 15) were beginners and had lessons with ESF, which worked out very well. We were very lucky with the snow and the weather, and the kids progressed very quickly. The older two even did a black run on their last day.
We really enjoyed the routine of skiing with them before their lesson, then going off for a couple of hours while they had their lesson, then meeting up for lunch at one of the fantastic mountain restaurants, followed by another couple of hours skiing in the afternoon as a family.
We stayed at 'The Sky Residence' which was great, booked via Daniel in conjunction with Snowfinders. The apartments are very luxurious and the spa is perfect for end of day aches and pains. We really enjoyed ski in/ski out (even if it’s actually a short uphill walk out).
Photo: Marc Wittenberg
For our return journey, we decided to do it in one day leaving La Rosiere at 7.15am, again via Lyon and Paris. The TER train was a bit more old fashioned, reminiscent of the old National Rail rolling stock with slam doors but it was on time and comfortable enough. It's a long day, roughly 13 hours door to door but stress levels are generally low. And if you follow the instructions on SnowCarbon, particularly with regards to the metro in Paris, it's not too difficult.
The kids have caught the skiing bug and of course we are now thinking about next year’s trip. We will definitely be travelling by train again so will be in touch with Daniel!