We have a two part guest blog from Tessera Swallow. Tess is the Director of t4 Nanny and is also an instructor for Ski New Generation. Part one is her advice on childcare options in resort.
Childcare Options
Private Nanny
Option 1: Bring your own nanny with you. This can be great however you will have to share your lovely chalet or hotel with your nanny 24/7. This can be very expensive and intrusive.
Option 2: There are a few tour operators who offer a private nanny service. This means a nanny will come to your chalet for normally eight hours per day to look after the children. The only way you can get one of these nannies is if you book your holiday through one of these tour operators (including through an agent), so it can be slightly limiting.
Option 3: Use an independent private nanny service. This gives you the most choice as you can book any hotel or chalet you like. This option will give you the most flexibility as evening babysitting can be arranged as well as daytime care. Things to ask are: Where do the nannies come from and is the company an agency, or do they employ the nannies for the whole season?
t4 Private Nanny Service — opened fours years ago in Val d’Isere and has been growing each year. They now also have private nannies in Tignes and Meribel as well. As experts in our field, we recruit native English speaking nannies and mannies (male nannies) to take care and entertain your children in the magical mountains. The nannies know the best places to take the children and also all the safety issues of looking after children in the Alps.
This service is very popular and gets booked up extremely quickly; the reservations line is friendly and happy to chat through any questions you might have. We have a wealth of knowledge helping you choose the right childcare solution for your family.
For alternative nanny services and other resorts, check out the list on our childcare and nannies page.
Crèche
There are a few tour operators who offer crèche services. These offer good value for money. Things to be aware of are obviously your child is not going to get as much attention when there are four children to one nanny and make sure you ask how often the children go outside to play.
Questions to ask when booking a chalet holiday
- Where is the chalet? Location is key; the last thing you want with children is a long walk in ski boots!
- Is there a driver service? Lots of chalet companies offer a driver service to the slopes in the morning and back in the afternoon. This can be a lifesaver.
- When is the chalet staff's night off?
- Is it ski in ski out? This can be great as it means the children will probably be able to sledge in the afternoons outside the chalet. If so, what colour run is it to the chalet? This is a very important question if the run back to the chalet is a red run and you can only ski greens this can be a problem.
- Can the nanny prepare lunch for the children? Normally the chalet staff are quite relaxed about this, as long as the kitchen is left how it was found.
- Will the chalet provide lunch for the children? Some will do this, some won’t.
- Will the tour operator allow private nannies in the chalet? Some chalet companies are fine with this, others — usually for insurance reasons — will not allow this. The ski specialists on the Iglu sales team will be able to check these details for you.
Next week in part two, Tess shares her advice of skiing with children.
