Seven personal travel managers (PTMs) took part in a TravelManagers exclusive famil to Club Med Valmorel in France recently, hosted by Luke Skarbek, Club Med’s Business Development Manager for NSW & ACT, and accompanied by Donna Jones, who is Malaysian Airlines’ Sales Executive for WA.
Valmorel is one of the lesser-known French ski resort towns, located just 40km from Albertville (home of the 1992 Winter Olympics). There are over 150km of trails to choose from, most of which are pitched at the intermediate skier, making it an ideal, family-friendly location for a Club Med resort.
“The location is stunning,” said Sue Kuti, representative for Randwick NSW, “… and it’s easy for all age groups to have a great time. You have direct access to the ski field from the resort and you can pop back for lunch whenever you fancy.
“Ski lessons and equipment are included so the kids could spend the morning learning to ski before heading back to the resort for a yummy lunch and then enjoy the on-site facilities such as the all-weather ice-skating rink, the swimming pool and the Jacuzzi in the afternoon. There’s even a free shuttle that runs into the Valmorel village if you want to do a little exploring or shopping.”
Peter Carmichael, representative for Mereweather NSW, was also very taken with the family-friendly nature of both Valmorel and the Club Med ski concept: in fact he’s already planning to take his own family on a Club Med ski holiday in January 2019.
Peter Carmichael
“The resort is truly inter-generational and caters to all travellers. A huge plus is that their kids’ centre caters for children aged from three months all the way up to seventeen years, which allows everyone in the family a great holiday experience in the snow.
“I was blown away by the total product that Club Med offer at Valmorel – certainly it would impress any level of skier. Spring skiing every day, on warm sunny days amid magnificent mountain scenery, combined with great company and a fantastic food selection at the resort: it all made for a highly memorable trip.”
Although Club Med Valmorel is located just two hours’ drive from both Lyon and Geneva, Jeremy Ferguson, representative for Brunswick West VIC, says the group learned the hard way that this was the best way to reach the resort.
“We flew into London and then travelled by train and bus via Paris to the resort, which took all day. But on the upside, travelling through the French countryside, seeing all the villages and churches along the way, was a highly memorable experience, and the Alps themselves were fantastic.”
Kuti agrees, adding that the group’s firsthand experience with travel options will be invaluable when it comes to best advising clients.
“I would probably recommend that my clients incorporate a stay at Club Med Valmorel into part of a larger holiday. That way they could spend time in London, Paris and Geneva along the way, and break the journey into bite-size chunks.
“If they are short of time or they are just doing the ski thing then I will know to recommend flying into Lyon or Geneva.”
TOP IMAGE: PTMs Hiten Shah, Sue Kuti, Jeremy Ferguson and Alma Araullo at Club Med Valmorel
TravelManagers’ exclusive ski famil was hosted by Club Med’s Luke Skarbek
