Planibel Hotel vs Planibel Apartments: Which Is Better with Kids?

If you’re planning a family ski trip to La Thuile, one of the biggest decisions you’ll make is where to stay — and for most families, it comes down to Planibel Hotel vs Planibel Apartments.

They share the same location and facilities, but the experience is quite different depending on what your family needs.

This guide is for families travelling with kids who want to choose the option that will make their ski trip easier day-to-day — not just where looks nicer, but what actually works.

Quick Answer: Hotel or Apartments?

• Apartments are better if you want space, flexibility, and quieter evenings

• Hotel is better if you want everything handled with minimal effort

For us, travelling as a family of three, the apartments worked best — and that’s what we’ve chosen on multiple trips.

We’ve stayed in the Planibel Apartments several times, while friends we’ve travelled with have stayed in the hotel. That’s given us a really good feel for both options in real-life use — not just what’s advertised.

We’ve always booked as part of a Crystal Ski package, which kept things simple with flights, transfers and accommodation all arranged together. Some links in this guide may be affiliate links, meaning we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend options we’ve used and would choose again. Planning a trip to La Thuile with kids? Start here: → La Thuile Ski Trip with Kids: Honest Family Guide (Crystal Ski Review)

Space and Comfort: The Biggest Difference

Apartments (What We Chose)

We stayed in a one-bedroom apartment, which made a big difference to how the trip felt.

We had:

• a separate bedroom for us

• a living area for Joshua

• two bathrooms

• a kitchenette

• space for all our ski gear

After a full day on the slopes, that space matters. Evenings felt calmer, and we weren’t all trying to unwind in one room.

If you want a full breakdown of what the apartments are actually like, see Planibel Apartments La Thuile Review

Hotel (What Our Friends Experienced)

Our friends stayed in the hotel and chose half board.

For them, the main benefit was simplicity:

• meals sorted

• no cooking

• no planning

• swimming pool included as part of the package

They found it very easy, particularly after long ski days. The trade-off was less space and less flexibility compared to the apartments.

This was the main trade-off for us — space and flexibility versus convenience.

Seeing what was included with each option made it much easier to decide what would actually work for our family day-to-day.

→ See what’s included in the trip we booked

Sleeping and Noise

Apartments felt quieter and more private, especially with early bedtimes

Hotel rooms were comfortable but more compact, and location within the building can affect noise

This is one area where apartments clearly worked better for us.

Food and Mealtimes

This is where the choice really becomes personal.

Apartments: More Flexible

We preferred having a kitchen because it gave us control.

We could:

• eat breakfast when we wanted

• make simple lunches

• keep evenings flexible

It also helped manage costs across the week.

For us, having everything else already organised made this decision much simpler — we could focus on what would make the week feel easiest, rather than juggling lots of moving parts.

→ View the package we used

Hotel: More Convenient

The hotel removes the need to think about food.

For some families, especially with younger children, that’s a huge advantage.

The only limitation is fixed mealtimes and less flexibility if plans change.

If you’re thinking about eating out instead, this gives a realistic view of what works in resort: Where to Eat in La Thuile with Kids

Cost Considerations

Apartments: Often better value if you cook most meals and make your own snacks.

Hotel: Half board adds cost but removes meal planning stress — handy for families who prefer a simple, fuss-free approach

The Hotel is approximately £200 per person more expensive than staying in the apartment, this includes your breakfast and dinner.

For our family of 3 that would be an extra £600 with lunches and drinks on top. To put it in to context on average we spend approximately £500 a week for food and drinks across all our meals. I caveat this can go up if the hubby goes a bit wild on the beers!

If you want more a more detailed breakout of what we spent you can see We Thought Doing It Yourself to La Thuile Would Be Cheaper – We Were Wrong

Apartments Are Best For Families Who:

• Prefer self-catering and flexibility

• Want extra space for kids and gear

• Value quieter evenings

• Have early bedtime kids or multiple generations

Hotel Is Best For Families Who:

• Prefer half-board and fewer meals to worry about

• Don’t want to cook after skiing

• Like having amenities like the pool and bar nearby

• Are happy with smaller sleeping areas

Final Thoughts

Both the Planibel Apartments and Hotel work well for families, depending on your priorities. We prefer the apartments for space, flexibility, and privacy, but the hotel is a solid choice if you want meals included and a fuss-free stay.

There isn’t one “right” choice — it depends on how you want your trip to feel.

For us, having most of the key parts sorted upfront made it much easier to choose the option that worked best for our family.

If your priority is making the trip as simple and stress-free as possible with kids, this approach worked really well for us.

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About Plan Family Escapes

We’re a UK-based family sharing real, experience-led travel guides based on trips we’ve taken with our school-age son Joshua across destinations like Lapland, Turkey and India.

Everything we share is based on what we’ve personally experienced — with honest advice on what actually works when travelling with kids, focusing on making family travel easier, more comfortable and genuinely enjoyable.