2 years & 1 baby later: Another family summer holiday in Morzine!
By Ben Marshall from Simply Morzine. First things first, if you’re interested in finding out how our first family holiday to Morzine in the summer went with twin babies, read of my blog from a couple of years ago, here. Well, now fast forward to summer 2018 and we’re back for another holiday in Morzine – bigger and better than ever! Baby Bertie arrived in late 2017. So now we’re a family of 5, and with the twins rapidly approaching their 3rd birthday life is hectic. My wife Hannah and I met in Morzine many moons ago. As for me, well being involved in the family business means I’m lucky to have spent lots of time in Morzine over the years. Its Morzine in the summer that really does it for me. This is a magical place for a family summer holiday with so much to see and do – whilst just being in Morzine is special. Now we have our own children it’s just got to be Morzine for our hard-earnt summer holiday. So off we go (again)…
Summer hotels in Morzine for families
This time we stayed at Hotel la Chaumiere. What’s not to love about this place? It will charm the life out of you. The welcome is warm, in fact, I guarantee you’ll feel welcome here. Everyone loves hotel owners Michele, Franck, Julien, Margo and Giuseppe Blanchi. A family all working as a team to run their hotel makes for a great family hotel, I guess! Or at very least, with the Blanchis it’s personal. I’m sure it’d be hard to find a more accommodating and family friendly hotel in Morzine. There’s even CITV and CBBC in the rooms which sure helped my clan! Our children ate earlier than mum and dad with all 3 enjoying Franck’s tasty homemade food. The twins tucked into things like spaghetti bolognaise and nuggets and frites, as well as simplified versions of the adult menu on other nights. It’s fair to say they went to bed with full tummies, before we enjoyed our 4-course meal in the hotel’s elegant French restaurant over a glass of wine. The logistics with the little ones couldn’t have been easier and dining was such a nice way to watch the sunset over Morzine as a family at the end of a long day before we put the children to bed and had our supper. The mornings got off to good starts as well thanks to the extensive buffet breakfasts, so all in all, being catered for made all the difference to our holiday and it was well worth going for this board option, especially when the days are so jammed-packed, as you’ll see…
Our Morzine summer family adventure holiday
Day 1: Explore Morzine and boy, it’s good to be back. The sun was shining brightly so we headed into the village with baby Bertie in the pushchair to pick up the great twin mountain buggy we’d hired from Intersport (excellent value at only 7€ a day). We strolled around, taking in the sites and stopping for lunch and ice cream. We headed for the traditional merry-go-round in the village square, which the twins absolutely adored, so if you’ve got young kids give it a try because merry go rounds like this are pretty rare. After plenty of rides we headed back to the hotel for a long swim in the heated pool and a cold drink. The swimming pool at Hotel la Chaumiere is a really nice feature for adults and children alike and great selling point for any Morzine holiday.
Day 2: Morzine Beach! Not something that immediately comes to mind when you think of an alpine resort, but the guys at Morzine Tourist Office are pretty creative in their thinking and lay on a variety of great events in winter and summer. For 2 days only, the village square was transformed into more Algarve than Alpine. There was a sandy beach, inflatables, games, deckchairs, music and an atmosphere that screamed ‘summer’. Just brilliant! In the afternoon we used our Multi Pass cards and headed to the brilliant Morzine outdoor pool for a couple of hours, where we swam, splashed, slid and laughed! You just won’t find many facilities quite like this and with the sunny weather we enjoyed you could come here every day during your Morzine summer holiday and it won’t cost you a euro. There’s even a great little park there and a bouncy castle, both of which were well received by the twins. What is it about bouncy castles and 2-year olds?!?
Day 3: Exploring Morzine market. This is a buzzing, must-visit warren of French wares, from the obvious through to the bizarre, that takes place once a week in winter and summer. The singing charcuterie man was a highlight for me. We then wandered to the little café next to the tennis courts and sat for hours (next to the flowers) watching the action, as the twins ran around safely on the grass and made a splash in one of Morzine’s many water troughs. Happy times. Today was a relaxing day because it was very hot. Later, we sat and watched the world go by outside the Morzine Town Hall in a lovely little shaded spot we’d found. Sometimes all that’s needed with little ones on holiday is the simplest of things and the occasional bit of calm. In the evening and after the children were down we feasted on a traditional cheese fondue back at the hotel. If you ask me, probably the only thing that beats a holiday at Hotel la Chaumiere, is tasting the fondue at Hotel la Chaumiere. Sublime. If you’re on holiday at one of the Simply Morzine chalets in winter or summer I recommend you try the fondue at Hotel la Chaumiere on chef’s night off – just ask your Resort Rep about this.
Day 4: We spent the morning in a nice café close to the Pleney that’s perfectly geared up for little children – with a bouncy castle, trampoline, slide, see-saw and swings. And it only cost the price of a cup of coffee! With so much energy being burnt off, mum and dad had plenty of time for a rest while the children took their naps. This was gratefully received, and we sunbathed and read for a while. Later in the afternoon we were badgered back to the hotel and into the pool again before supper. Another great day in Morzine with happy kids and minimal stress.
Day 5: Okay, sometimes it can rain in the Alps and today was a wet day. But in true British family spirit we made the most of it! Wrapped in their rain covers, a nice stroll with the buggies around the village was followed by a yummy treat of chocolate crepes for all. Then we headed to the Tourist Office where we’d pre-booked face painting for the twins. Cue, one dinosaur and one elephant. They giggled with excitement and without doubt this was a holiday highlight for them and it was so nice to see. We continued to escape the rain by playing with toys in the small kiddie indoor play area and colouring in pictures of trains and cars. At the end of the day the sun came out, so we sat on the hotel balcony admiring a stunning double rainbow.
Day 6: The sun was back with a bang today and with buckets of sun cream the order of the day, we decided to head down to Lake Geneva and spend the day in the beautiful spa town of Evian les Bains, which is about 45 minutes from Morzine and one of several great places to visit in the summer. Here we visited the market, spotting some of the same eccentric traders who’d been in Morzine a couple of days earlier. We tucked into pizza in a lakeside café, walked along the waterfront and played for hours in the park. The facilities here, like in Morzine, are superb. Evian is stunning and that’s all there is to say.
Day 7: Another chance to explore Morzine town. We grabbed a picnic and ate it next to the Morzine Luge, which was great fun, even though we didn’t get around to actually having a go ourselves because there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Instead, we headed up the Pleney bubble (which the twins loved) and had a little walk to a great café at the top where we enjoyed an ice cream in front of stunning mountain views. Many lifts in and around Morzine are free for pedestrians using the Multi Pass, including Pleney. Then it was back down and back to the Morzine pool, with the lure of the bouncy castle too much for the little ones! Later we went up the Morzine Funicular and walked over the swinging Super Morzine bridge – an exciting summer activity with children just in itself. This was a very nice day for young children on holiday in Morzine, with plenty of excitement and variety, but not too much strain for mum and dad.
Day 8: Today we visited stunning Lake Montriond which we did on our previous summer holiday, although it was so hot we didn’t stick around for too long. Instead we went up the mountains, through the famous ‘Goat Village’ (always a winner with the children because there’s goats everywhere!) and then on to Les Lindarets – a small hamlet surrounded by ski lifts in the heart of the Portes du Soleil. Using the Multi Pass, we rode up and down out first ever chairlift (the Chaux Fleurie) which was a great experience for all 3 children. We cooled down by paddling in the mountain stream at Lindarets, making dams for a couple of hours which was popular with other children of a similar age, before heading back to Morzine a different way, via Avoriaz.
Day 9: Everything’s great in Morzine for children of all ages during the summer, but it could be argued that we saved the best for last – because today – after an early pizza lunch at L’Etale, we explored the wonderful Parc des Dereches, found behind the Morzine swimming pool. This is a lovely footbath and circuit that leads along the river through the forest, with bridges to cross and plenty to explore, including sculpture and wooden fitness equipment that doubles up as perfect play things for the kids. At the end of our walk, we hired a little donkey which we took for a walk on our own, with the twins taking turns for a ride and baby Bertie watching on wishing he was bigger! This was the first time they’d had a pony ride and it was nice to see. Next, we had a nice play in the children’s park before heading back to the hotel for our last supper before heading home.
Summer family adventure holidays in Morzine
What a great summer family holiday it had been. I think perhaps a little easier than before, because we’re that bit more experienced as parents now. A real alpine adventure that we all loved every second of. It was so nice to feel the stresses of having 3 kids under the age of 3 slip away for a week or so. We relaxed, we ate, we drank and best of all, we had fun! There’s so much to keep the children busy in Morzine, and that’s why this type of holiday is perfect for families with little kids like ours.
There is still plenty we didn’t get a chance to cram in though. We wanted to take a horse and cart ride around Morzine, ride the Super Morzine bubble, swim at Aquariaz in Avoriaz and check out the Le Lac des Mines d’Or, amongst other things, but we won’t lose any sleep over it because we don’t get much anyway, lol. Maybe next time. For even more ideas about what to do with young children during your summer holiday in Morzine click here.
If you’re thinking about coming to Morzine with the family, please get in touch or give me a call on 0044 (0)1664 568902. I hope to chat to you soon about organising your family’s special summer holiday in Morzine – and that you’ve been inspired by mine.
Happy holidays!
Ben Marshall
