Club Med - all about skiing

Ski Villages

Our mountain hotels are also called villages. Club Med offers the best locations - our hotels are situated either directly on mountain slopes making it possible to ski down straight to equipment storage room, or in charming places offering our guests the chance to make use of the local attractions (e.g. St. Moritz). 7-day stay includes full board, all attractions described in the catalogue, ski passes (except Méribel), skiing school and accident insurance.

Skiing School

The clubs offer training lessons with skiing instructor, for skiers at every level - from beginners to advanced skiers. Skiing lessons - on 5 levels, snowboard - on 4 levels. In red clubs lessons may be taken by children over 4, in green ones - by children over 12. The courses last for 5 and a half days during a week. There are up to 12 persons in the group. On the day of your arrival to the club you are invited to collect your ski pass and enroll in the chosen group. Excellent skiers may join competition group to discover new trails and interesting routes; they may leave the group at any time.

All clubs marked with three and four tridents (except Méribel) offer a full day school, while the ones marked with two tridents - a half-day school. If you prefer to ski on your own, we recommend you to ski carefully on unknown slopes and study the safety guidelines. We warn you not to ski off piste (outside the marked skiing trails) without instructor. The mountains are always dangerous to a certain degree, so even the best skiers are recommended to discover new trails with an instructor e.g. in the competition group.

Skiing Instructors

Instructors are fully qualified in accordance with ESF (Ecole de Ski Francaise) standards and know the skiing slopes of the region well. You may choose French-, German-, or English-speaking instructor.

Ski Pass

In all clubs (except Méribel) ski pass entitling to unlimited use of ski lifts is included in the price. Ski pass is valid for 6 days starting from the day after arrival. In case of 2-week stay sometimes the ski pass does not cover the middle day. Ski pass should be collected from the Reception on arrival day and it should not get lost! It may not be replaced. Please bring your photo with you! In some regions the new 8220;FREE HANDS8221; system is being introduced - it is a magnetic card to be placed in your pocket. When you pass the gate to the ski lift there is no need to take it out. The card holds no photo and is reusable. By its collection you place a deposit refundable upon its return.

Children

All ski clubs (except violet ones) admit children over 4 months old. Several clubs offer the full-day custody for children aged from 4 months up to 4 years in Baby Clubs and Petit Clubs (see page 20). In red clubs skiing lessons are available for children aged over 3 years, and snowboard lessons for children aged over 12. In green clubs - for children aged over 12. Depending on their skills level the children join different groups and learn new skills marked with stars, along with the EFS diploma. Many clubs offer winter garden (play ground) with mini ski lift for small children, located at the hotel. There is the full-day exercise programme for all the children. Apart from skiing they may participate in other exercises e.g. circus, performances, arts lessons and plays.

Meals

Lunch is taken on skiing slopes, in restaurants rented especially to Club Med, or in the hotels located on the slopes. It is of course a buffet lunch. Wine and soft drinks are served without limitation. Breakfasts and dinners (buffets) are served in the hotel.

The First Snow - Short Stays

Starting from 25 November 2004 in five clubs (e.g. Tignes Val Claret, Val d8217;Isere, Val Thorens) it is also possible to purchase the stay lasting less than 7 days. The stays cover the period from Thursday till Sunday or from Sunday till Thursday. Arrivals to the club start at 9.00. The room is available as from the afternoon. Ski pass is valid from arrival day. Departures start from 5 pm, on the last day the room has to be vacated till 9 am. All meals are included. The full-day skiing school is available starting on the day after arrival (the school is not available on Sundays, and also not for beginners).

Aprés-Ski

Every club offers a wide choice of recreation and sports exercises (e.g. gymnastics, fitness centre, swimming pool, sauna) both for non-skiers and skiers. Excursions showing the most beautiful mountain trails are organized in some villages, available for participants aged over 12 (e.g. Serre-Chavalier, Chamonix).

Renting Ski Equipment

Every year Club Med, together with Rossignol and Salomon companies, offers to its customers the latest-generation ski equipment. 3 types of ski: Performance, Sport and Leisure (for beginners) as well as shoes, ski poles, cross-country skis, snowboards, skis and helmets for children available in all sizes. The rent of ski equipment and Ski Service of your own equipment are subject to additional charge. Every year we offer new equipment. Payment is settled in the club. Equipment may be booked upon booking your stay in the club, or after arrival. The prices are quoted on the weekly basis but it is possible to rent the equipment for shorter period. The charge for renting skis and ski poles for an adult is 62 - 97 euro (depending on the type of skis) and 42 - 60 euro for children. For shoes: 38 euro for adults, 30 euro for children. The deposit (imprint of your credit card) is required upon renting skis, amounting to 80 euro for children and 155 euro for adults. Optional insurance covering damage and theft of equipment amounts to 10 euro per person per week.

Equipment Storage

Every ski club offers spacious storage rooms for storing equipment, conveniently located (close to the door leading to the slope), often with heated shelves for the shoes and ski compartments.