6 January 2012

Airport Parking and Hotels Compares The Kids' Club Facilities Available with UK Ski Operators

For families looking for a break this February Half Term, Airport Parking and Hotels (APH.COM) has compiled a comprehensive guide of the UK's most popular ski operators including details of their Kids' Club facilities.

The research is available in the Know Before You Go section of the website, at www.aph.com/skikidsclubs.

The research compares the Kids' Club facilities including information on the different age groups the clubs cater for, the ratio of staff to children as well as the activities and meals provided on a daily basis.

All the ski operators were found to provide a variety of clubs for all ages with Mark Warner offering five levels of child care age groups, enabling the children to receive closer supervision and enjoy playing with children closer to their own age. Crystal Holidays and Thomas Ski, however, currently only offer two age groups (Pepi Penguin creche and Whizz Kids Club) and do not offer options for children aged over 11 years of age. Club Med, Esprit Ski and Powder Byrne all offer four age groups including introductory ski lessons for the older children.

With regards to staff and safety regulations at the Kids' Clubs, the ratio of staff support to children was also found to vary. Mark Warner offers the top ratio with one nanny for every two babies whereas Club Med provides one nanny to supervise four babies in Baby Club Med. All resorts oblige parents to complete a Child Health Care Form, which is provided when the guests arrive at the resort.

All the resorts require guests to book and pay for their chosen Kids' Clubs when they are booking their holidays as they are subject to availability; however the cost of the clubs was found to fluctuate greatly. When booking children in for six days per week, Powder Bryne is the highest price at £450 per child for the youngest age group, whereas Club Med costs £250 per child, per week. Regarding the three to five age group, Mark Warner is the lowest price at £180 per child, per week for full day care and Powder Bryne were £495 for six days a week. When booking children into the Kids' Clubs, parents should also be aware that not all the packages include lunch.