family advise please

can someone please advise on a resort for very novice skiers [wife + kids]
pref. close to slopes and as few button lifts as poss
lots of blue runs

Morning, try Kirchdorf in Austria, it is a Thomson all-inclusive resort so you pay your money and get 1/2 board, lift pass, skis, boots, poles ans 1 weeks lessons all in. The ski school is brilliant and the slopes are excellent for beginners, no button lifts but the nursery slope is a rope pull, and the first blue is a T-bar, this is normal for beginners runs, as you progress you will move on to the Steinplatte which is also brilliant for beginners, wide open spaces and all chair lifts. This is a free 10 minute bus ride down the road. I would recommend either the Alphof or the Seiwald as both are excellent, although we have stayed in some of the other hotels and found these to be just as good, the Alphof and Seiwald are both located at the bottom of the nursery slopes. Depending on the age of your kids there is an excellent kindergarten with a cordoned off nursery slope with travelator to move the kids up the short slope.
Obviously this is only my recommendation and there are plenty of choices out there but the village is very typical Tyrolean Austria and the locals are exceptionally nice people. Don't be put off by the low altitude, the snow record is quite good considering and even last year when it was dire we could have skied on the lower slopes all week if we were beginners. Try this link to see for yourself http://www.thomsonski.co.uk/destinations/austria/kirchdorf/kirchdorf.html

hello jim
we new-yeared in Morzine this year
we are 2 families with 6 kids between us ages from 1 to 6
we found the lifts and runs plentiful and no buttons!
good resort for choice of slopes - if snow is poor on one mountain, just choose another!
our 4-6 year olds attended private tuition with 'ecole du ski', there are other schools with high street offices - all easy to locate on the first day
we initially attempted group tuition but the groups were far too large and our children were left crying and cold by some of the staff who didn't speak particularly good english and so problems couldn't be dealt with, hence, unhappy kids! So, once changed to one tutor for 4 of them it was brilliant!
I don't want to put you off because we had a good holiday once that was dealt with - just make sure you choose the right set up if you require ski school. we stayed at a fully catered chalet and the couple there ran us all around in their mini bus! Have a look at www.peakchalets.com and let Steve and Corina know i recommended you. The facility of having a fully catered holiday with kids was brilliant - especially if you are beginners cause there's so much other stuff to think about. Also, they will organise all equipment hire at a good rate before you arrive - and the guy came to us at the chalet so it was bliss getting fitted up. Have fun!

becky wrote:
we initially attempted group tuition but the groups were far too large and our children were left crying and cold by some of the staff who didn't speak particularly good english and so problems couldn't be dealt with, hence, unhappy kids!

I would assume there would be a cost implication to this :?:

I have never taken kids to France but this does seem to be a recurring theme, from experience the instructors in Austria that I have met do have a very good grasp of english. In fact at Kirchdorf (sorry if I keep banging on about it) there are at least 4 instructors who are English and have moved over there, lucky buggers :!: :!:

For a young family of novices, I'd always recommend Italy: very friendly - both the instruction and other skiers. Usually cheap and family-friendly. The Aosta Valley resorts are probably worth a look.