The independent, award-winning ABTA travel agents Ski Line are putting their nearly 25 years of winter-sports holiday expertise behind Club Med, arguing that the company provide the best-quality and best-value ski holidays on the market.
“Choosing an all-inclusive holiday makes a lot of sense in a possible Brexit year,” says Ski Line’s Managing Director Angus Kinloch, explaining: “It gets round those unknown factors including currency changes and uncertainty. Our sales for 2020 ski holidays are up 22% with more clients choosing Club Med this winter.”
Ski Line’s booking trends tie in with research by Club Med themselves which found that while last year 17% of Brits surveyed said that they stayed in an all-inclusive resort, this year when asked the same question the number had jumped to 29% – a 70% year-on-year increase.
In fact, the Club Med research found that the all-inclusive model has become the most popular accommodation type for ski and snowboard holidays. Half board and full board fall into second and third place respectively, while catered chalets represent just 8% of people’s accommodation choices.
Significantly, 61% of people said they are more likely to book an all-inclusive holiday in light of Brexit – an increase of 190% compared to the research commissioned this time last year.
Ski Line sell more Club Med holidays than any other UK travel agents and can help maximise discounts available to ensure you get your Club Med holiday at the very best possible price.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that 99.5% of their clients over the past five years have rated their service as “Excellent” or “Very good” on independent review site Feefo.
Club Med
For anyone not in the know, Club Med operate their own resorts within famous ski resorts, and once you’re booked in, pretty much everything is included in the price so you know exactly where you stand, and that everything is covered, before you leave home.
So travel, accommodation and food are included as they might be on a chalet or half-board ski holiday, but then your Club Med package also includes ski passes, ski school lessons and ski carriage on the flight.
Then there are those usual unavoidable extras that pile on the euros – lunches on the mountain, snacks and soft drinks as well as alcoholic drinks and wine with your evening meal – again all included with Club Med.
Even things you don’t really think about, but somehow seem to add up when you’re booking a trip, like room supplements and regional flight supplements, are all inclusive with a Club Med booking through Ski Line, who are Club Med’s most successful agent in Europe, selling more Club Med ski holidays than any other UK agent.
By “resort within resort” we mean that Club Meds have their own restaurants, childcare, ski school, bars and activities along with a range of accommodation options all within the one resort, so you can stay within your Club Med for your whole holiday when not on the slopes if you wish, although of course you can walk out in to the resort as you can from any other accommodation if you fancy checking out the shopping and après-ski scene.
The Club Med Story
Club Med was founded way back in 1950 by Gérard Blitz and Gilbert Trigano, the pioneers of the all-inclusive concept, and has grown over the years to offer nearly 70 premium resorts in stunning locations on five continents.
Ski resorts has always been a big part of the Club Med offer, and every year the company invests hundreds of millions of euros in either an all-new Club Med resort or a huge upgrade of an existing resort. Recent years have seen swish new Club Meds open in resorts including Les Arcs, Valmorel and Val Thorens, with this year’s big new opening, a fabulous renovated Alpe d’Huez Club Med, opening on 15 December after an €85 million (around £72.8 million) investment.
Hit The Spa
Spa facilities are a big feature of Club Med resorts, and at Alpe d’Huez “La Bulle” is the name of the new well-being and meditation space there.
If they wish, guests can enjoy the 600m² spa, the indoor and outdoor heated swimming pool, the fitness area and yoga classes as an addition to their after-ski activities. Most other Club Meds have similar facilities on site.
Go Lux
Club Med’s research found that almost half (44%) of people choose a resort based on value for money, 22% want to have all their amenities on site and almost one in five (18%) opt for luxurious accommodation.
Club Med is capitalising on this opportunity by offering the best of both worlds, and also, new for the 2019/20 winter season, will be the luxury Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon chalets-apartments in the Grand Massif ski region, the latest addition to the brand’s Exclusive Collection.
They’ve Thought About the Snow Too
With the likelihood of good snow cover another big factor playing on our minds when we book our ski holidays, the good news is that all European Club Med mountain resorts are located in a ski domain which offers skiing and snowboarding over 2,000m altitude, with some of their most popular resorts including Alpe d’Huez, Les Arcs Panorama and Val Thorens Sensations. Of those surveyed by the company, almost three in five (59%) also ensure they book a resort which offers glacier skiing.
From Strength to Strength
Club Med now operate 22 resorts across the best ski domains in France, Italy and Switzerland, and if you fancy somewhere a little more exotic, they also run ski resorts in China and Japan.
The company continues to go from strength to strength, and more than 14 new Club Med resorts will be opening within the next three years. These include upcoming villages for La Rosière in France, Québec Charlevoix in Canada and Thaiwoo in China at the heart of the 2022 Olympic Village.
Ski Line are a multi-award-winning agency and have a reputation for providing a first-class service. They’re Club Med’s most successful agent in Europe for a reason, selling more Club Med ski holidays than any other UK agent, as they can help maximise discounts available including the early booking discounts of up to 15% in addition to further discounts for recommending a friend or discounts for larger groups.
