Bears onthe pistes ofLes Arcs

GabriellaLeBretonandfamily checkintoBearLodgeinArc1950 toseewhetheritreallyisthe'Best newskihotelintheAlps'

Skiingwith young children, as so many Members know, has its moments. There are battles over gloves, dramas over ill-fitting ski boots, tantrums about carrying skis and more overpriced (and spilled) hot chocolates than I care to admit. Yet we persevere in the hope that our passion for skiing, and all the glory of the mountains that goes with it, might eventually be shared by our progeny. Golden visions of ripping through powder fields together in later years sustain us as we cling to their tiny bodies on precarious chairlifts and try to forget the sound of their tears as we leave them at ski school. My older daughter Mathilde had joined my husband, Ed, and me on four ski holidays before turning five years old, but it was on our last one, to Arc 1950 in January, that she had a true breakthrough. It wasn't just that a few hours of private tuition with the charming Manon from the ESF had helped her to crack the snowplough, learning to turn, slow and stop by herself, it was a blissful moment on the Pre Saint Esprit 39 chairlift f-as we pulled down the blue canopy and she exploded with excitement.

"Everything's gone blue!" she squealed with joy looking around with delight. "We're going over a road! We're going over people! We're soooooooo high up! The snow is sparkling like diamonds! Look at the mountains -they're ginormous!" Ed and I had spent the last five days riding chairlifts across the sprawling 200km Les Arcs/ Peisey-Vallandry ski area, taking all the above entirely for granted. Suddenly, we were seeing our surroundings, and the simple magic of riding a chairlift, with fresh eyes thanks to Mathilde's enthusiasm. At the top of the lift, having first marvelled at the proximity of the towering Aiguille Rouge, we asked her which piste she might like to follow next. "I don't care, so long as it goes down and we go really fast!"

Ed and I beamed, not just because it's the philosophy we had adopted over the course of our week's holiday in the aptly named Paradiski ski area. Arriving as thick, fluffy snowflakes filled the air, we had spent our days letting our skis lead us around as we warmed up our Mum/Dad bods on the expertly groomed pistes that criss-cross the extensive ski area before plundering its easily accessible and little-touched off-piste terrain.

Newkidontheblock

Our base for the week was Bear Lodge, the first hotel to grace the small village of Arc 1950 -and recently lauded 'Best New Ski Hotel 2022' at the World Ski Awards. Sandwiched between the stark architecture of Arcs 1600, 1800 and 2000, Arc 1950 was built by the now-defunct North American real estate behemoth Intrawest in the developer's trademark Disney-esque interpretation of Alpine cute. A cluster of timber and stone buildings house inviting little bars, restaurants, cafes and shops as well as self-catered apartments comprising 3,000 beds, all linked by winding snowy trails. It's hugely popular with well-heeled European families, who indulge in leshoppingavecskis aux pieds and venture out for organic snacks at Le Bob Cafe or aperitifs and Brittany oysters at La Vache Rouge, pulling their children along on sledges, tightly bundled in matching Moncier down.

Bear Lodge is a welcome addition to this gentile scene, adding 30 hotel rooms and 12 self-contained chalets. The sizeable piste-side Lodge, which sits just below the original village, is arguably more of a chalet-hotel, with hotel guests benefiting from chalet catering (breakfast, afternoon tea and dinners with complimentary wines) and chalet-style service delivered by charmingly clean-cut, eager to please young seasonnaires.

The Lodge was conceived by Andy Sturt, who founded the Alpine chalet specialist VIP SKI in 1989.Andy successfully revived his baby after it went into administration in 2020, raising it from the ashes with a selective property portfolio in exclusively high-altitude resorts (the average altitude of a VIP SKI property is 1,776m).Bear Lodge, the brand's flagship property, offers all the VIP signature touches, like the friendly 'never oily' service, excellent food, professional childcare and inclusive resort transfers. On top of this, there's a slick in-house ski rental outfit that operates out of the large ski room (with individual lockers for each room and chalet), a capacious wellness area, private cinema and a lively bar with games room.

Intotheholidayrhythm

As we soon realised, Bear Lodge is ideally placed for staging quick getaways from (and returns to) the Bear Cubs kids' club, placed as it is on the blue Baptiste Giabiconi piste at the bottom of Arc 1950, just by the Marmottes and Bois de l'Ours chairlifts. The former whisks you up towards the high-altitude Grand Col and Aiguille Rouge areas, while the latter delivers you to the Col des Frettes, from where you can enjoy off-piste lines under the chair or drop over the ridge to the wide-open blues and reds above Arc 1800.

Paradiskipassperks

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1.OnefreeguidedFirstTracks session

2.OnefreerideontheTyrolienne zipwire

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;;li liftqueues if: 4.Onepriorityqueuingaccess totheAiguilleRougelift

<C 5.UnlimitedaccesstotheLuge 1800andLuge2000tracks

Reining inthespeed unicorn...

VIPsignature touchesalaBear Lodgeinclude a poolwithaview andstylishrooms

BearLodge sitsintheideal spottoenjoy off-pistelines - ordropover theridgeto wide-openblues andreds

Blessed as we were by fantastic snow, and gaining confidence as the girls hit their stride at the kids' club, we started exploring further afield, lapping the tree runs and meandering, tree-lined pistes in the quiet Peisey area beyond Vallandry.

After such brilliant ski days, we returned rejuvenated to Bear Lodge to scoop up our two little bear cubs. We would take Mathilde for some ski runs just outside the hotel, while Amalia watched from her sledge; grab some cake and tea from the afternoon tea spread laid out in the bar, or head straight to the pool and hot tub, which were hugely popular with both girls. We quickly found our holiday rhythm, taking the girls for an early kids' dinner at 5pm before putting Amalia to bed while Mathilde joined the pyjama club -an excellent service offered by the nannies, who supervise films for the kids in the cinema from 7-9pm for just €10, enabling parents to enjoy a tranquil dinner together.

While we savoured the rare time adeux, several fellow guests formed a big social table. Thanks to a strong relationship with the local ESF, Bear Lodge offers guests the opportunity to join two complimentary mornings (2.5 hours) of guided skiing with an instructor. The mornings not only help guests to navigate the extensive slopes of Les Arcs, but also bring them together socially, with many of them continuing to ski together for the rest of the week, or at least gather on most evenings in the bar and restaurant.

Together with our unfailingly cheery hotel hosts, they became a big extended family for Mathilde and Amalia who were doted on, played with, chatted to, and generally treated like royalty. And, as any parent knows, happy children make for happy parents, particularly when they get to ski all day!