I can already imagine the planning conversation. One person wants to ski. Someone else would happily spend the afternoon at the spa. The children want snow, preferably involving an activity they can describe to their friends afterward. Everybody has an opinion about dinner.
After my stay at Hôtel Royal, these are the families I kept thinking about. There is so much to do in the mountains behind Évian, and winter has been getting far too little attention in our conversations about this part of France.
The appeal is a comfortable lakeside base with mountain outings within reach. You can plan skiing into the holiday without asking every member of the family to make it their sole purpose for being there. And a day in the snow followed by a warm evening and raclette is a proposal I am quite prepared to defend.
Can you ski while staying in Évian?
Yes. Bernex and Thollon-les-Mémises are the nearby choices for a ski day, with the larger Portes du Soleil area within reach for a longer outing. The resort’s team can arrange the mountain excursions from your hotel. You’re staying by the lake, so there’s a drive to the slopes, followed by a rather lovely place to come back to.
For a family splitting its time between the mountains and the hotel, that arrangement has real appeal. If your idea of a holiday is first lift to last run, every day, a hotel at the slopes will save you the daily journey.
Can the children take ski lessons?
The children can learn with ESF Bernex, which has group and private lessons, including programmes for ages two to five and six to twelve. Beginners have somewhere to start, and children who already ski can keep progressing.
For families trying skiing for the first time, that is a big part of the attraction. The children can have their lessons while the adults ski, or while a non-skier enjoys a perfectly civilised morning elsewhere. Nobody needs to take up a sport out of solidarity.
A full week gives the children time to settle into a group course. On a shorter stay, private lessons can be a better fit than squeezing a few days into the middle of a week-long programme.
What can you do if you don’t ski?
Around Thollon, you can head out on snowshoes and spend a few hours in the mountains without ever putting on skis. I love having that option for clients who want to enjoy the snow but have no particular ambition to slide down it.
Then there are the dog-sled outings in the Abondance Valley, and even the chance to dive beneath the ice of a frozen lake. Yes, ice diving. Some clients will be reaching for their calendars; others will be quite happy to hear about it afterward from the warmth of the hotel. Both can have an excellent holiday here.
This is what I like about the winter possibilities: the non-skier has plenty to look forward to. A late breakfast and an afternoon at the hotel count, too. The person who doesn’t want ski boots has paid for a holiday, after all.
What happens after the mountain day?
And then you come back to Hôtel Royal, with its heated indoor and outdoor pools and evian®SPA. Suddenly an energetic morning sounds even more appealing.
My version of the evening involves getting warm, settling in and making room for raclette. Add a fire and I’m in very little danger of suggesting we go anywhere else.
There is something very satisfying about being properly hungry after a day outside. It is also an excellent reason to eat at a sensible hour. Nobody becomes more charming because dinner was delayed until after the children were exhausted.
When should you go, and how long should you stay?
The ski calendar sets the timing for a ski-focused trip. Évian itself is down by the lake; the snowy mountain holiday happens higher up. That difference is part of the attraction for a group who want more than skiing.
Three or four nights give you time for a few outings within a broader European trip. For children taking a week of group lessons, a longer stay makes more sense. Arriving late on Monday for a course that starts Sunday is a problem a beautiful room cannot solve.
And if the mountain weather changes the plan, a day at this hotel is hardly a punishment. That matters when you’re travelling with people whose enthusiasm for snow varies quite a bit.
Who would enjoy an Évian winter holiday most?
This is a particularly good fit for families with different levels of interest in skiing. It also appeals to me for couples who want some mountain time with a comfortable hotel to come back to, and parents introducing children to snow sports.
Évian has given me another winter option to put on the table. I can see the appeal of a morning in the mountains and an evening when nobody has to agree on tomorrow’s sport yet. We can discuss that over the raclette.
Csilla Dali
Founder & Lead Travel Advisor
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