In about October every year I dive onto the Internet, pick up brochures and generally start to immerse myself planning next year's holidays - both summer and winter. It is always a time of mixed emotion; the eager anticipation of the snow, the during and après ski and the general fun that chalet holidays hold and for the summer the chance to take walks around beautiful countryside, enjoy the mountain air and not to have to come back and cook and clean at the day's end. The rub is the dread as to how much it is all going to cost. Skiing, you have to accept, is never going to be the cheapest of ways in which to spend a week, it is, however, for us addicts a necessary expense! Summer can be a little cheaper but not a lot. The cost factor becomes particularly acute when, like me, you have to factor in two children. There are few, if any, organisations that do anything significant to help the plight of the financially burdened parent - a few percent here and there is always welcome but it is still not enough. The promise of 'Free kids places' always seems to have a catch.

In the past we have played it both ways; stumping up the £2,500-£3,000 to take a family of four to a catered chalet for a week and playing the 'selfish' card and going just as a couple and abusing the privilege of having compliant parents.

How delighted was I to find a company that not only caters for families, but positively encourages them?

Nick and Caroline Stephens are the brains behind 360 Sun & Ski - a concept so simple yet so brilliant that I am sure that they will soon have to expand. Fed up with the corporate merry-go-round and with not being able to get a family skiing holiday, in a catered chalet, at a sensible price they decided to do something about it all rather than just make it a topic of conversation around the dinner table. The idea of expanding the tried and tested winter chalet concept to the summer as well was brilliant.

The premise is basic……… you get the adults to pay a reasonable price for a week in a fully catered chalet (£360……360 sun & ski - I told you it was simple) and the kids go free, yes free! An added bonus is that it applies to all times of the year including high days and holidays - even Christmas and New Year or the height of the summer holidays are not penalised - and to children up to the age of 16 not the standard 12. Why is it that travel companies think you become an adult at 12 whereas the legal age for so much is 16 or even 18, surely there must be a catch?

Well yes there is if you consider that having to book you own flights and having to pay for the children's food (c. £40 depending on what their particular requirements are - we were there for 5 days and the eldest was charged £25). But that's it.

For our winter holiday we chose to fly with Easy Jet from Luton to Geneva. It was simple to book the flight over the Internet and at £260 for a family of 4, I thought this was particularly good value. The flights, both ways were on time (well 5 minutes late landing at Geneva and 10 minutes early landing at Luton), Luton airport was easy - check in quick and the crowds minimal - certainly by comparison to many of the larger airports. For our summer break we chose to drive and give ourselves the flexibility of having a car during our two week stay.

Nick & Caroline are happy to arrange a pick up service from the airport to take you to the Chalet. The cost is £45 per adult for the return journey - again the children go free. There's no waiting around for the coach to fill, lost passengers to be found or a journey on a bus with a large group of people who seem to have consumed their week's intake of alcohol during the 1¼-hour flight. Even the drive seems to have been tailored to families with fractious children who always want to know 'are we nearly there yet?'. The journey takes a mere 40-45 minutes of which only about 20 are spent winding your way up to the resort.

The resort of Les Carroz is, unlike the concrete jungle that is its neighbour Flaine, a pretty, compact, yet bustling French alpine village that has over recent years evolved from a small Savoyard hamlet to a year round resort with particular emphasis on the needs and wants of children without losing any of its character and warmth. There's plenty there for the adult too with a large number of bars, some excellent restaurants and even a couple of night clubs - not that the author had the resolve to try either of them!

In the summer there is lots to do, a large local swimming pool, walks abundant and plenty of places to visit locally - you can be in Geneva in less than an hour and into the Bernese Oberland (Interlaken etc) in no more than two. The resort is ideal for kids learning to ski, with 2 free tele ski lifts right in the centre of town and plenty of snow cannons to ensure a good covering of snow well into April most years. There is also floodlight skiing on offer 3 nights a week. For those that already ski, there is plenty in the Les Carroz area (Massif ski pass at €126 for 6 day's) for the intermediate skier to last a week. For those of a higher standard or just more adventurous the Flaine ski system (grand Massif ski pass €154 for 6 day's) offers over 265 km of exhilarating pistes for all standards, with skiing up to 2,500 metres. There are also plenty of mountainside bars and restaurants - enough to keep even the professional vin chaud taster happy.

Whilst we were there the ski area was busy but not over crowded and queuing was kept to a minimum. But with such a large ski area available, I can't imagine that the waiting would become as bad as at some of the more 'chic' resorts even at peak periods. The weather whilst we were there was glorious and we have all come back with tropical suntans - a shame they only go down to our necks!

As far as 'Ski School' is concerned, Nick & Caroline will guide you towards 'Nouvelle Dimension' rather than Ecole de ski Francais (ESF) - although clearly you have the choice. Not only are their prices more competitive than ESF, they don't seem to have the elitist attitude that I have certainly experienced in the past. Our two children, Charlotte (7) and Jonty (5), both beginners, were in a class of 8 (5 English and 3 French) instructed by 'Fred' who spoke excellent English and had a firm but very friendly approach to teaching. By the end of their 4 day's tuition they were both skiing far better than I had hoped they would and were enjoying it so much that they wanted us to spend each afternoon on the nursery slopes with them as well. At the end of the 'week' they were presented with a badge (differing ones dependant on the level they had attained) and a logbook to use in the future - a nice touch.

The chalet that Nick & Caroline run is situated about a 10-15 minute walk or 3-5 minute mini bus ride to the slopes and just out of the village near a park that is good for the kids to toboggan on. It is ideal for two families to share, has plenty of toys, games, videos etc to keep anybody amused should the need arise and has a garden complete with swings and a basketball net.

The accommodation is simple and practical, with two double bedrooms, a bunk bed room and a further large room that can sleep 3 children. The rooms are all a good size. The bathroom has a good supply of hot water and the rooms downstairs are ideal for adults and children to be able to segregate themselves should they want to.

The chalet is operated on a half board basis with breakfast, tea and supper being provided. Breakfast (normally a rush) is cereal, fresh baguettes or eggs, tea is a homemade cake, fresh bread and jams and supper - cooked by your singing host Nick - a four course meal with unlimited, good quality, wine. The evening meal is excellent with an emphasis on both Savoyard specialities and local 'peasant' food (the tartiflette being particularly good and dunking chunks of bread onto a whole, hot and oozing reblochon cheese being a novel and very tasty experience). In the summer the meals are more appropriate and Nick even got the BBQ out on a couple of occasions. The children are equally as well looked after. Nick prepares a 'proper' meal for them at about 5:30pm, which both he and Caroline supervise, leaving the adults to tend their weary limbs or limber up with a gin and tonic in preparation for the gourmand feast later on. The food is not frozen or out of a bag, but freshly prepared. Even our son, a very fussy eater, ate very well and wonders why Nick is not at home to cook for him every night.

Our hosts could not have been more friendly, attentive or helpful, They made themselves available to ferry us to and fro from the ski slopes at the drop of a mobile phone call, made recommendations for lunchtime eating and are also on hand to provide childcare facilities should they be needed.

So how would I rate the holiday?

If you are looking for 5 star luxury with all the trimmings then this is not the holiday for you. If, however, you are looking for a relatively inexpensive way for you and your family to enjoy a weeks skiing in an environment that is specifically geared towards the family, in a friendly atmosphere, with good food and wine, a village that has character and is linked to some outstanding skiing and walking, then this is something that you really ought to try.

Enquiries:
email - Nick@360sunandski.co.uk
telephone - 00 33 450 90 31 80