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Taking the kids skiing
Growing up in the Philippines most of my life, there was never an opportunity for me to be around snow, let alone go skiing. The one time I ever did go to a ski resort with David (before kids) I tried my hand at snowboarding. This was a disaster for me, and not fun at all. I twisted my ankle getting off the ski lift right away, then proceeded to fall down the hill. Not a fun experience I ever thought I would try again. Fast forward a few years, and two kids later, and we did.
Gabe and Lily were curious about skiing and wanted to try it. So I went and booked a Pension (Airbnb) and scheduled ski school for the kids and I, at the Phoenix Ski resort. This place was horrible for people trying to learn, and this is why.
- There is no designated training/practice area. This is kind of important considering there are a lot of people trying to learn how to ski or snowboard. There was also no separation between snowboarders or skiers. No common courtesy at all actually. despite the fact that you are obviously trying to learn and are poised to go down this tiny slope, people keep walking or standing right in front of you.
- There is no designated sled area. This was incredibly dangerous because most of the sledders were little kids on thick, hard, plastic sleds. These kiddos were jammed on the mini hill right next to…..you guessed it. The skiers/snowboarders in training. Just like other people learning how to use this equipment are being blocked by fellow students, these sledders’ parents did not really bother to keep their kids out of the way of people going down hill. In fact, the students were getting dirty looks from the parents, when a kiddo slammed into people going down hill or passing in front of the hill to get to another slope. This happened more than once.
- The food court and their tables were set up directly in front of this mini slope, so it was not uncommon for the sledders, and newbies to slide right into the nearest table. The kids and I did not last more than 30 minutes learning the basics because it was just getting too dangerous. David was also not enjoying the quality of the slopes here.
Due to these reasons, as well as the quality of our Airbnb, we cut a 2-3 day weekend extremely short after only 1 day.
On a whim, I went and booked a room through booking.com not long after we came home from the disastrous weekend in December for February, which proved to be a great idea. Not only did we not have to pay for the room until the day of, but this resort had everything we could possibly want and need to entertain us all. When I booked the room it was about $110/night. One of our friends wanted to go down too at the last minute, but by this time the rooms were being sold for about 10x what ours was. Yikes!
Ski Resort #2: Alpensia
Alpensia is pretty big, which made it very interesting trying to find our room, let alone the building it was located in. By the time we got here, the roads were pretty iced and which is common everywhere else in South Korea, parking was scarce/difficult to maneuver into. David is amazing at driving and finding parking spots though, so that wasn’t a problem.
The hotel was very nice, and the staff extremely welcoming. We were given a map, as well as helpful information for bus schedules etc. and directions for the closest spot for us to park. The room that we booked was actually pretty big. Quite comfortable for my family of 4, with the only thing David could lament about was the view not being on the slopes. You will really like the convenience of the shops, restaurants and the ski slopes being right next to our hotel.
Despite the long drive, the kids were very excited to get out into the snow, so we did. In December, there wasn’t very much snow, but at this place there was plenty. Lily was the first one to make snow angels and throw snowballs, which of course got Gabe’s attention. While David watched the kids, I went and got tickets for sledding.
Sledding
Alpensia had my stamp of approval almost immediately after I saw the ski slope. I am by no means very familiar with ski resorts, so I do not know how to judge their quality. I liked this place better than the last one that’s for sure though. The sledding area was separated from the other areas. In fact, the bunny slope and the sledding area were fenced off from each other, as well as the main slopes. Loved this considering our experience at the last place. Anyone who would like to go sledding either alone, or with their family would have a lot of fun here, and this is why:
- This activity is scheduled, which is nice considering it got really crowded after we were about done with our time.
- You are so spoiled sledding here because there is a WALKALATOR to the top of the hill. Yup. I said WALKALATOR.
- The staff are very vigilant here also, making sure that each person sledding is spaced out and only so many going at one time.
I had so much fun with the kids here that I was racing them up the hill to go again and again!
Skiing
Considering the time we finally got to Alpensia, and how exhausted we were from sledding, we decided to go skiing the next day. Surprisingly, renting gear here was not too bad. I expected it to be expensive, or at least much more expensive than it was. For example, ski bottoms was roughly $10 day, which was not bad at all. We wound up purchasing half-day ski passes instead of a full day pass. This was a great idea because we were not used to skiing (the kids and I) so we didn’t know how long we would last. It was also great because about an hour into our fun, it got extremely CROWDED.
The kids and I really enjoyed the easiest slope. Lily kept shooing us away so that she could be a big girl and ski down the hill all by herself. Once she got off the lift, she would just aim her skies straight down the hill and go. Gabe on the other hand, he couldn’t get down the hill fast enough to go up the ski lift to do it all over again. Do to this, as well as David being bored with the easy slope, he wanted us to try the next level.
Did I mention that I am scared of heights? Turns out Lily is too. Since David is the more experienced skier, he stayed with Lily, while I stayed with Gabe. Sort of. Lol. I made it down halfway this new slope before it runs into the easy slope we had been going down this whole time. Gabe was already way better than I was at skiing and quickly lost sight of me despite my trying to call out to him. It didn’t help that at a steep slope there was a 3 person pile up not 5 feet from me which looked like it hurt. I had this genius idea to take off my skies so that I could try to help these people. Turns out they didn’t need my help. It didn’t take them very long to get back up and head down.
Me……now that is another story entirely. For the life of me, I could not put my one ski back on, no matter how hard I stomped. I was so frustrated and angry which is how my family found me. Gabe, after walking back up the slopes he skied down, then David and Lily coming down from where we started. We were definitely done for the day after we finally made it down.
The Restaurants
There is a variety of restaurants to choose from. Even Pizza! Food was delicious, and very affordable here except for the restaurant by the lobby. This place was pretty pricey, and in my opinion, not really worth eating at. After our quick stint at skiing, we went and ate at the closest restaurant that was Korean. We really love how fast it takes for our orders to get taken and the food to be served. There are also a couple of coffee shops, as well as a convenience store with a good selection of just about everything you could possibly want and need for your stay.
Indoor Waterpark
There was still plenty of daylight left after we ate, but we didn’t feel like going skiing anymore, so we decided to explore the area. We discovered that there was a theater here, an arcade (old) and an indoor waterpark!!! Here are a few things to consider:
- Always pack a bathing suit just in case. It is hard to find one your size or one that you might like. Not to mention they were way more than I wanted to pay for.
- Purchase swim caps that you like, otherwise you will rent one that might not be very comfortable.
- If you are body conscious, better get over it. This is a country where you don’t have privacy stalls to change in your respective changing rooms.
- Get used to wearing a life vest at all water parks. It is a must. (Even horseback riding. Just saying. See Jeju post)
Attractions inside park
The first thing that you will see when you get inside is the wave pool. The kids loved this area a lot. If we had let them, they would have stayed there the whole time. We were able to convince them though, of the merits to exploring the area to see what other things we might find. You will find:
- A nice kiddie pool. There is a little play area in the water for them to play at. I would just recommend that parents stay close because there is a giant bucket at the top that gets filled with water that gets dumped out at timed intervals.
- An area right off the kiddie pool has a few hot tubs spread out for those who just want to relax close by.
- A lazy river which you can access past the hot tubs. The kids love these rivers and will stay here as long as they can.
- A relaxing pool that has massaging jets spread out through this area, with nooks to lay/sit down in. This pool leads to an outdoor area where you can enjoy the views, as well as the cold bite to the air as you relax in the hot tub.
- 3 different tube water slides. This is for 4 people, 2, and single tube. There is also one slide by the 4 person tube ride where you go by yourself with out a tube.
The Bad
The biggest thing I did not like, was how ice was just allowed to form and stay in the courtyards, parking areas, and sidewalks. It would have been nice if they cleared this up for safety reasons. Otherwise, we really enjoyed our time here.
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