Esprit Ski Reviews 794

Went to Tigne.
Stayed in Caribou Chalet.
Would have been nice in it's prime but was very tired (carpets and tiles, doors don't open and close properly, cold in rooms until we really kicked off then they went crazy hot (I'm not even a real moaner but it was quite drastic!) etc)
Balcony was great space for snow ball fights and chilling beer
If you have kids it's a bit dodgy as the bunk beds are so high up and slats between the wooden sides are big enough for a small child to slip through possibly if unattended or prone to walk about in their sleep. Steps to go up are steep, mine was 4yrs old, I was very wary.
The cleaning through of chalet wasn't good, rooms weren't even given a light touch tidy up.
Little bit of drain smell in the passage ways coming into chalet and the communal loo stank.
Great boot room and it works.
Quite noisy if people are in the chalet above you.
Pictures are massively touched up on website and not many to see, units missing etc. TV works a little bit, if you want to watch a film bring and hdmi lead and laptop.
Food was not as good as in the chalet hotel in belle plague, not the chalet hosts fault at all, they were genuinely lovely people (kids with zero experience but such nice people to be around)
Menu was just a dry offering, hardly any sauce if there was meant to be any. Pretty healthy but usually dry and a little below average. Puddings were always better, again you had to ask for ice cream or anything with you pudding (including crumble)
Wine was average but not bad
Kids food was pretty poor offering but the poor lad was always asking if it was ok, so felt bad for him. They just need to do healthy balanced food like the adults, no need for burgers and nuggets and chips.
CHILD CARE FOR 2ND YEAR IN A ROW WAS FAULTLESS, they are great with the kids (16 month in nursery full time and 4 yr old doing skiing and snow club) they both were very happy all week.
Wasn't impressed at the change in two days off. It wasn't well communicated and isn't the norm, it's literally the staff haning up their apron for two full days - nothing gets done at all. Even at nursery they only give the kids hams and cheese for both days as none of the chalet staff are cooking to give them a hot meal. To me the cost of the holiday is too high to feel it was appropriate for them to leave you two days with nothing by way of food/light cleaning through etc specially in a chalet with 4 kids.
Some info isn't communicated such as if you're kids skiing goes well and they need a ski pass they may forget to tell you and then ask for it when they collect your child the morning they need it, they also need a snack if in spritelets every day, sun cream (really strict on this), nappies and wipes if in nursery, milk provided if baby on milk just bring bottles, formula fed babies you need to bring the bottles and measured out powder - so bring. If your kids are sprites send them with a rucksack for all their stuff.
If you have asked for child listening service (which is good) but we got asked every day as if we had never previously asked, so make sure its booked.
On nights out the resort manager was so helpful in trying to book us in for dinner at places but one night the food ordered in was an hr late and the other they didn't know we were coming.
Overall i'd go back but to be honest his time I was pretty miffed at the two days and lack of coms on it and then during that time it really was fend for yourself. I think the price should reflect that and I'd hope to secure some kind of gesture of good will from them if we book for next year.
If they want to offer the service they advertise on their website (in my opinion it is only fulfilled on the childcare side not the rest of the service)they need workers with a little more experience or more conscientious staff, I'm pretty sure its a revolving door of uni students on a break. They just don't know how to provide that level fo service people want when paying a lot of money to go on a holiday that has cost a lot of money and Esprit clearly don't set them up with the tools to really provide that service.

I will go back because its the only way to get a good break when on holiday and enjoy it as much as the kids as well as feeling totally relaxed about them looking after my children knowing they are really taking care of them! I would however hold off until I work out where the best chalet is and make sure the reviews are recent.

Check trip advisor forewent pictures before booking and ask loads of questions to make sure you have everything
Make sure any pre bookings for ski lift passes and ski hire is clear and you have a copy, we thought we did but when we got there the company wouldn't release skis and esprit hadn't passed on info from our travel consultant
Also, side note, Enter Air (the airline) absolutely horrid rude staff, both years running. Esprit stop scrimping and spend some money where it needs it, such as making sure a chalet and a hotel have enough mugs to go round (seriously both years never any mugs for tea and coffee?!!!)

Jan 2019 package ski holiday with Interactive Resorts / SkiTotal / Esprit
(Note: no direct relationship/ contract with Flybe, the airline)

(Cross-posted from Interactive Resorts because I suspect they keep changing brands to prevent customers seeing how bad the reviews are)

Summary:
- Horrific lack of staff training or care
- Zero apologies from multiple staff
- But still "paid out" in compensation
- So, almost hilariously: the worst of both worlds for their Esprit's shareholders (high costs for them to run; still awful customer experience)

Making people extremely angry when they've paid you £1,300 for a holiday that has never cost more than £850 with Ski World ... but then ending up paying them compensation (hired kit) anyway ... is perhaps the most stupid way to run a business of which I've ever heard

Detail:

- Flight was 45 mins late leaving
- Announced "good news" all baggage on board
- My snowboard and a friend's snowboard didn't arrive

Not great, but these things happen

- No proactive announcements at Chamberry airport
- Found first Esprit rep at the airport:
- No apology
- She made 2 comments:
- "It's a learning curve for me" (i.e. no idea what she's doing / no training)
- "Ah a snowboard, that's the problem. You should have been a skier. Ha ha!"
... Might have lightened the mood if (a) not incompetent, (b) any sign of an apology, (c) any ownership of the problem

- Told it wasn't Esprit's issue -- directed us to Flybe (staff excellently training and polite ... though no apology)

I doubt this is true contractually, but unfortunately I'm not a lawyer

- Found a second Esprit rep in Chamberry airport to make sure that the hire kit we expected as compensation
- No apology
- Hard to even attract his attention
- Lack of enthusiasm to solve the problem
- Told me it would be difficult to relay the message
- Scribbled it down on a scrap of paper

- Resort Rep driver asked about journey. Explained lost bags. Still no apology

- No communication from any Esprit staff about when our kit would arrive, until the evening of the second day, when they said they'd expect it the third day

And the piece de resistance ...

- After telling us Esprit would cover the hire / loan equipment (and giving our credit cards as deposits to the shop), the Chalet Manager (runs c. 2 chalets; separate from the Hosts; who were excellent) announced Esprit intended to charge us for the hire
- This message wasn't from him. It was from some cowardly boss, who never showed his/her face to us
- Needless to say we did not accept that

I normally snowboard in a group of 20. This year was a different 8 people
I would be surprised if any of either group (or any of their friends or families) ever use Esprit again

We recently went to Paisey. The chalet etc was ok, but the childcare side of things was very disappointing.
We went on BAT week with our 19 month old, she was booked into nursery while we were there. The children didn’t go out at all for the first 3 days we were there. They were stuck in a very small room all day long. They were taken out once a day after we complained about this (I thought they were meant to get out twice).
The food the kids were given was dreadful. Not only was it in no way nutritious (there were rarely any vegetables offered with the meals of pizza and burgers etc.) but when we asked for vegetables we were told there was a ‘shortage’ and all they could offer was sliced cucumber. The real concern however was that the chalet hosts had not been told that you don’t add salt to children’s food. We noticed our little girl was drinking a lot of water and then tried her food. It was incredibly salty, even by adult standards. When we asked the host about this, he was totally unaware that you can’t add salt to kids food. Not acceptable for a family ski specialist.
A few other small niggles, there were lots of games at the chalet but they were all incomplete so couldn’t be used. The TV / DVD didn’t work at all.
Food was very heavily portion controlled and my husband found it insufficient after a days skiing. When he asked for some more he was told there wasn’t any more and there wasn’t anything else he could have.
Overall very disappointing.

Limited supply of hot water, very unhelpful chalet rep whose name is Katy, host been coughing all night long every single night during we stay. Terrible customer service! We stayed in Camila chalet in La Rosière, definitely avoid it!

We recently stayed at chalet Charline in Tignes with Esprit and were extremely disappointed. Unfortunately, the accommodation was not at all what we expected and there were some serious issues which affected our enjoyment of the holiday.

1. Our washing machine was in almost constant use by Esprit employees and, more worryingly, the entrance code was given to guests staying in other Esprit accommodation who also used the washing machine. This was obviously a huge security risk for our belongings, and also for our children. We were nervous about leaving possessions in the chalet during the day and about our safety overnight.

2. In the evenings, 4 or 5 Esprit employees often congregated in our chalet chatting whilst we were trying to enjoy our evening meal - I’m not sure why they were there (certainly not for our benefit), but clearly this was not appropriate. It felt as if our chalet was being used as a common room.

3. The chalet was generally tatty. The sofas were ripped, the flooring was lifting in several places (presenting a trip hazard at the top of the stairs). There was a cigarette (I assume) burn in the duvet on my son’s bed. The radiator in our en-suite was also damaged by what looked like a fire and the blackened paint was flaking off.

4. The toilet seat in our bathroom was defective and cut my daughters leg.

5. The TV was broken for the entirety of our stay.

6. I withheld consent on the form provided for my son to travel on a bus as he suffers from vertigo and has balance issues and I was shocked to discover that he was nevertheless taken on a bus without my consent.

On complaining, I have just been offered £150 as a goodwill gesture which is frankly insulting given that I paid in excess of £4000 for our share of this accommodation.

We stayed at Crystal 2000 from 4-11/3/18, our family of four as we'll a son my parents and my brother and his family. The flight from Stansted airport was very early in the morning. Our son has to carry antihistamine and epipens as he has a nut and dairy allergy so we expect to have our bag checked at security and had left ample time to account for this, however on this occasion there were 9 bags waiting to be checked and the queue seemed to move very slowly to have them checked. Eventually we had to ask for our bag check to be done as we were going to miss our flight as we had been waiting for so long. We then had to run to the gate with our 2 and 4 year old which was stressful.
From arrival onwards the staff from Esprit were excellent. Everyone at Crystal 2000 was kind, friendly and helpful and went out of their way to make our holiday extremely enjoyable and stress free. The care and attention to our children's allergies was exemplary which helped me to relax in the knowledge they were being well cared for.
The listening service enabled us to have a "grown ups " meal knowing our children were safe.
The food was delicious and well presented. The hotel is in an excellent location and provided a great base for introducing our children to skiing.
We had a fabulous holiday and would definitely recommend Esprit.
The return flight time was in the late afternoon and we would have preferred a morning flight rather than hanging about in the hotel until the afternoon. It was handy to have the kids room at the airport to enable children to play before the flight.
All in all our week with Esprit was excellent. Thank you, Laura Reid

So impressed by the care and professionalism of all the young staff and particularly the childcare staff

We stayed in Arnica in La Rosiere in February. We had an excellent time ultimately because the childcare is so good! Seamless and fun!
However, there were a few issues with the chalet. Our room was dusty, there was a lot of coming and going of other staff especially at kids' bedtime (this reduced when we spoke to the rep), poor sound proofing, no power points in the kids' room...
The chalet staff tried hard and were very pleasant in conversation or if asked for advice, but there was obviously a problem with management. As I said there is no sound proofing and the chalet is small. Staff need to remember they are representing Esprit and there was a lack of professionalism at times.
They are working with run down facilities in the kitchens, and still produced pretty good meals out of them!! The adult food and wine was grand. Kids' food was a little dry sometimes.
Maybe staff will be happier next year with 2 nights off!!!!!
No canapés this year - another cut I assume.
We have already booked for La Rosiere next year because Esprit do offer good value and the childcare is excellent - which is the most important thing.

A fantastic holiday yet again with Espirt. Belle Plagne was superb. Well placed for the slopes and the Gondola.
The Spa area is great for the kids too.
The catering and service was top class.
Highly recommended.

Many thanks
Mr C Nuttall

Really sad. Had an excellent experience last year but this year it was completely evident that the accountants/ senior leaders are putting their purse first. Had broken chairs, fallen down curtains, every cup chipped and no heat in living area when minus 20 outside.

Absolutely shambles.

Lucky it child care was amazing, so unfair to expect families paying high premiums to be forced to suffer basic comfort to access child care.

Flight home cancelled, all other companies quickly communicated next step to guests, esprit left us and babies clueless and eventually send one rep to support.

Great family ski holiday operator. Children well looked after.

Fantastic Holiday! My wife and I stayed in the Chalet Pepi Gabl in St Anton, with our two children, aged 1 and 4. The childcare staff were fantastic and ensured that the children had a lovely time, and were safe at all times. The baby listening service is especially useful to allow the adults to unwind over dinner and drinks. We would highly recommend Esprit for similar families.

Recently back from a snowboarding holiday in St Anton with Esprit, I have to say I could not fault it in any way. The accommodation was very good, the food was excellent and the childcare for our young son was faultless. It was his first ski holiday and he was very well looked after and the staff well and truly made his holiday a special experience. We will be using Esprit again without doubt.

We have travelled with Esprit on two other occasions and were very badly let down this time. I think as a company they specialise in toddlers and are maybe not so good as the kids get older. The whole point of paying the extra is for a seamless service - however our lessons and the older kids lessons finished at different times leaving a gap in the childcare (which we had to pay more for). If we had booked directly with ESF the lessons would have been the same time. Also the kids were put in the wrong levels and so my DD lost a whole morning of skiing. There was no level for my DS (improver) and so he was put in an intermediate level as there were too many beginners which meant my daughters skiing was held back. This was not what we paid extra for. Also we were not advised that we would be flying from a different airport than advertised on their website or that it meant instead of a 1 hour transfer, it was 3 hours. As a family company I do feel that they should realise this makes the whole experience so much more painful when you are travelling with 3 kids.

We've just had our third Esprit Ski holiday. The boys are now 10 and 8. We dipped out and did 1 year with Club Med and it was awful - they spoke 90% French and ignored the English children. So happy to be with Esprit again this year and especially happy with Matt's fabulous cake!

Absolutely loved our Esprit holiday, the childcare & ski school were fantastic and the overall customer service was superb!

We had an amazing time in Meribel at hotel alba - would recommend 100%

Good but needs improvement

We had a nice time during our week at Chalet Deux Domaines. Overall we felt that the standard of childcare we received was very good, however generally the hotel needs bit more pulling together in terms of organisation.

We found the Chalet Deux Domaines very large, there were lots of guests and this made for chaotic breakfast times and afternoon tea times . This property is set over many levels (9) and if you have children in different childcare groups you may find yourself dropping off on various floors across the hotel.

This hotel is only ski in/ out if your children are at least improver standard, beginners and spritelets face a reasonably long walk to the nursery slope.

On the plus side the rooms are very large which makes the stay comfortable- however they are basic.

During our stay at Deux Domaines there was a sickness bug going around (a theme throughout the season from other reviews) which did put a dampner on things.

Some of the childcare staff stood out as amazing- Natalie and Ellie in particular. There's a lot of childcare form filling and children with allergies wait an unacceptable amount of time (30 mins every day at every meal) to be given their food whilst it is checked by the 'designated allergy staff, meaning other have finished by the time they got theirs. This never improved over the course of our stay despite talking with staff. Even with this procedure in place my child was given food containing the food they are allergic too twice!

Overall Deux Domaines is best suited to families with older children who have some skiing experience. Just be prepared for the very hectic mealtimes!

Thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. Esprit made the whole process very easy. The childcare offering was outstanding. Happy kids = happy parents and a fabulous holdiday!

Only problem we had was the journey out and back from the holiday but that was the airline. Great staff and as we expected. Just be nice to have some better wines at the evening meal.
The great conditions helped a lot, but we go for the childcare, and once again that was excellent.