Crystal Ski Beanie Club in La Thuile: Is It Actually Worth It?

An honest review of Crystal Ski’s Beanie Club in La Thuile, Italy. Full breakdown of childcare, ski lessons, staff, food, costs and whether it’s worth booking for a family ski holiday.

LA THUILESKIEUROPEITALY

1/27/20266 min read

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What do to about childcare when skiing?

One of my biggest worries about going back to skiing once we had a child was childcare.

We love skiing, but we’re not the kind of family who wants to spend the whole week stressed, rushing, or taking turns sitting in cafés while the other skis. We wanted something that felt easy, safe and actually enjoyable for everyone.

That’s how we ended up booking Crystal Ski’s Beanie Club. It’s not available in all resorts, and one of the reasons we chose La Thuile was because it offered the perfect balance: Joshua could go into ski school while we still had some proper time to ski ourselves.

Crystal offers two childcare options depending on your child’s age:

Pepi Penguin Nursery for younger children: Ages 6 months to 3 years in Flaine and Alpe d’Huez. Ages 6 months to 4 years in Passo Tonale and La Thuile
Beanie Bear Club for older children: - Ages 3 to 8 years in Flaine and Alpe d’Huez. Ages 4 to 8 years in Passo Tonale and La Thuile

This setup made La Thuile an easy choice for us, as it meant everyone in the family could actually enjoy the holiday.

We’ve now used Crystal Ski Kids Club four times, all in La Thuile and honestly… we keep going back because it just works.

In this article, I’ll give you a completely honest, parent-to-parent review of:

What Beanie Club in La Thuile is really like
The staff
The ski lessons
The food
The activities outside of skiing
And whether it’s actually worth the money for a family ski holiday in Italy

Although some small details (like timings) vary by resort, the overall setup is similar across Crystal resorts, so this should help even if you’re still deciding where to go. We used Cystal Beanie Club between from ages 5 - 8 years, with our final booking in 2025. Joshua is now 9 years old and outgrown Beanie club, fortunately he is a good enough skier (thanks largely to La Thuile Ski School) so we can all ski together as a family outside of ski lessons.

If you want to read more about planning a trip to La Thuile you can read I👉 The Ultimate Guide to a Family Ski Trip to La Thuile with Crystal Ski

What Is Crystal Ski Beanie Club?

Beanie Club is Crystal Ski’s childcare and kids ski school package for younger children.

Before you travel, you’ll be asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about your child, including:

Allergies
Medical needs
Comforters
Personality
Anything that helps them settle

This already gave me confidence before we even arrived.

If you have any worries, speak to the staff on day one. They were genuinely kind, calm and very used to nervous parents and nervous kids.

Session Length: Half Day or Full Day?

In La Thuile, Beanie Club sessions ran from:

8:15am – 2pm or
8:15am – 5pm

We usually chose 2pm pick-up, as it gave us time to ski in the morning and then spend the afternoon skiing gently together or doing activities.

However, one really nice change is that you can now extend to 5pm on specific days. So if:

The weather is perfect
You want to ski over to La Rosière
Or you just want a full adult ski day

…you can speak to the staff and pay to extend. In fact, Joshua actually asked to stay a full day once because he wanted to spend more time with his new friends and do the afternoon activities. That tells you everything.

Where Is Crystal Ski Kids Club in La Thuile?

It’s located in the middle of the Planibel apartment complex, near Saint Bernard.

I’ll be honest: we really struggled to find it the first time.

Walk towards the apartments, go all the way to the end, turn right — it’s right there.

You can drop the kids off from 8:15am, and I’d really recommend doing that, as they need time to:

Get everyone dressed
Sort boots and helmets
Organise groups
And get ready for ski school

If you want an overview of Planibel apartments you can read 👉 Honest review of Planibel Residence

Lunch at Beanie Club

After their ski lessons, the kids:

Change shoes
And go straight to onsite lunch to La Racette

It’s a buffet-style meal, and the menu usually included:

Pizza
Pasta
Chicken
Burgers

And occasionally ice cream for dessert (very exciting news, apparently). Joshua always ate well there, even though he’s not the most adventurous eater.

For more on dining options in La Thuile see 👉 Where to Eat in La Thuile with Kids: Our Honest Family Restaurant Guide

Afternoon Activities (More Than Just Childcare)

In the afternoons they did things like:

Sledging
Crafts
Games
Colouring

Joshua came home with a huge folder of crafts at the end of the week. On the final day, they even had a pyjama party, which he talked about more than the skiing.

The Staff: Honestly Outstanding

The staff (all women when we were there) were absolutely brilliant.

All spoke perfect English
From all over Europe
Warm, calm, patient and fun

We’ve been back several times and often recognised the same staff, which says a lot about retention and consistency. Joshua genuinely didn’t want to leave them.

Kids Ski Lessons in La Thuile: Excellent for Beginners

La Thuile is fantastic for learning to ski:

Great beginner areas
Lots of blue runs
More chairlifts than button lifts (much easier with kids)

For more on skiing with kids in La Thuile see 👉 La Thuile Ski School Review: Our Honest Experience with Kids and 👉 Skiing in La Thuile with Kids: Is It Beginner-Friendly?

Lessons were:

3 hours long each morning
Grouped by ability

In Italy, levels were:

Yellow (beginner)
Green
Blue
Red
Black (most advanced)

You’ll be asked what level you think your child is. The instructors then adjust groups on day one.

Although groups can go up to 12, in reality they were often smaller.

On bad weather days, we saw multiple instructors with the beginner groups, which was very reassuring.

How Drop-Off Works

Once you drop your kids off:

The staff help them get dressed - although helpful if they came as prepared as possible
Sort boots and helmets
And walk them down to ski school together

They use a ski trolley for equipment, so the kids just walk — no carrying skis.

Should You Use a Ski Dome Before You Go?

If you can: 100% yes.

We did this, and it made a huge difference.

Joshua started in green, as he already had some experience from the snowdome in the UK, progressed to blue quickly, and by the end of our second trip was skiing blues and some easy reds with us.

Confidence is everything with kids.

What Equipment Do Kids Need?

If you book Beanie Club, ski equipment is included.

(We once double-booked by accident and Crystal removed it without any fuss.)

Kids will need:

Skis, boots, poles (included)
Helmet (mandatory in Italy under 18)
Goggles
Gloves + liners
Balaclava
Proper layers: thermals, fleece, salopettes, jacket

Boots are the biggest problem area — always try them with ski socks.

How Many Days Do Lessons Run?

In La Thuile:

Ski lessons ran 5 days
On day 6, kids stayed in kids club and did fun activities, hot chocolate and a pyjama party (leave the kids a little cash to be able to buy a drink or snack when they venture out)

I think they may have enjoyed that day even more than skiing.

Photos of the Kids Skiing

There’s an official resort photographer.

You get: