selwyn snowfields

Having heard that Selwyn Snowfields prides itself on being family friendly, we turned up expecting great things. Unfortunately our first touch point when we arrived was with a surly and particularly unhelpful young lady at the front desk who not only could not manage a simple smile but also made very hard work of explaining lift and lesson options for our family.Having finally worked it all out, I then asked and paid for clothing hire for our two young first-time-skier boys only to find that, unbeknownst to me, my wife already had some pants for one of them to wear. I therefore went back to the surly young lady at the front desk and explained that we didn't actually need the pants and could we get a refund for those. The girl then walked off without saying anything and made me wait for 5 minutes while she evidently called a manager before coming back and telling me that she didn't know the code for processing a refund and that the manager had said that as I had asked for the pants that I couldn't have a refund for them. What a terrible introduction to a 'family friendly' resort!So Selwyn have taken $14 from me that they didn't really earn and with that money have purchased themselves a nice little review on this website. They'll also be losing out on the many thousands of dollars that I'm likely to be spending at ski resorts in future years as, if they can't be the best at customer service (which you'd think they'd want to try really hard at given their more illustrious competition down the road) then we may as well go somewhere with good snow and more variety!

Definately a good place for the first timers ( which we were ), however, when we went to use the amenities, it literally took our breath away...... we have used many a long drop in our travels, but none that you couldn't actually breath in. We believe that there is just too many in a small confined area, with not enough ventilation. Don't know how the littlen's get along in there...

We went to Selwyn with 20 12 year olds, most of who couldn't ski. We had 4 lessons over our 2.5 days and by the end, all of our kids were confident and reasonably proficient. The ski fields are contained enough that we knew the kids wouldn't get lost and we could easily round them up. These fields were ideal for a group of our size and experience.

We had the best time ever learning to ski at Selwyn snowfield in mid August 2014. They have great value all inclusive (lessons, lift pass and equipment) packages and make sure you take the lessons. After 2.5 days all 4 of us were comfortable on most of the slopes and really enjoying it. We took lessons in the morning and skied ourselves in the afternoon. I cant believe how much the kids picked up. Definitely going back as soon as we can.Generally very friendly and helpful staff esp the experienced ones but a couple of inexperienced younger staff created some confusion when hiring equipment etc that was usually resolved by the more experienced staff.

Great for first timers with snow, especially for little kids. Teenagers may be bored though especially if you don't plan to ski.

Great place for young kids & families. Tubes and toboggan for the kids and plenty of good places for making snowmen.

So my 3 year old daughter watched Frozen and since then we have been plagued to take her to the snow. Not being avid skiiers we found Selwyn as the closest to us (live in Syd). Snow Tube/Tobogganing building snowmen, this place was perfect, drive straight in park the car and everything is right there at your feet. Food was a little expensive, but to be expected. We will be back next year.

We only went there to play on snow (toboggan & snow tube) because we have 2 little kids. It was nice place for kids because it was not very crowded and cheap. Not sure how good the ski slopes are.

Went to Selwyn snowfields with the family and friends. Great place for those who are learning to ski. The snowfields are smaller than the bigger ones at Perisher and thredbo so kids are able to go off and ski without the parents having to escort them. There is a small kids club and all the same lessons etc for the beginners. A toboggan area and tube ride adds a bit more fun!

Let me preface this with this is our 3rd trip to Selwyn, the previous 2 trips would have been very good to excellent with excellent staff and facilities. This year that has changed. They lost our 8 year old, LOST him. Any parent would know that sickening feeling. We put him in a class (as is recommended), waited at the appointed area to collect him 15 mins prior to the end of his lesson, 25 minutes later we were in full blown panic. The instructor had released the class in another area, when we finally located him he blithely informed us that some of the kids had told him they were going skiing alone, and he let them go without ensuring they were first released to a parent or guardian. My son is only 8, and on only his second ever skiing lesson, if find it incomprehensible that anyone would think that this sort of violation of trust is ok. Our son was located by a concerned patron, in considerable distress, 10 minutes later. He had remained where his instructor had left him, well away from the appointed meeting point, like he is told to do when he is lost. It soured our entire experience and still turns my stomach to think what could potentially have happened. It's a beautiful park, but this year the staff and practices just aren't up to standard.

Selwyn's the perfect place to learn snowboarding or skiing. I went here with my girlfriend to teach her to snowboard and it was very good because it was the right atmosphere for that. Uncrowded, gentle gradients and very few crowds. Great for families. Also very helpful staff. Just all round a very positive experience. They have sushi, which I didn't expect to be eating in the Aussie alps, bit exotic! Great gift shop where I purchased a shot glass and bottle opener. Megan at the information desk was very, very helpful and friendly. Overall the perfect winter holiday destination. Check out Kiandra on your way in or out, as there's so much Aussie skiing history there. Thanks again- Robert.

This was our first ski trip as a family with our 2 kids aged 13 and 11. The snow this year has been fabulous so the resort slopes were perfect. This is the perfect snowfield for first timers and families with kids, it is not a huge area but big enough and challenging enough for all levels of skiing. There was hardly any waiting time for any of the lifts, all the staff were super friendly and efficient and from what I have heard it is cheaper than the other ski resorts in the area. We stayed at Anglers Reach about forty minutes from the slopes at Tackingal Lodge. The house which was the top level of a 2 storey house was fully equipped with two bedrooms, kitchen, combustion fire in lounge room and bathroom, the town of Adaminaby was a few minute drive away which has a grocery store, ski hire, bakery, bowling club, pub and of cause the giant trout. We booked our packed through Selwyn snow which was hassle free and easy.

We took our three children (aged 7, 4 and 2) to Selwyn for the day in July 2014. It was the last Saturday of the NSW school holidays, and the middle weekend of the ACT holidays, so we were expecting it to be busy, and it was! We had a great day, selwyn is a good place for first time skiiers and it is also small which helps when you have small children - less walking to get from the slopes to the various amenities. We booked the older kids in the Snow World classes and they LOVED this - highly recommended. We booked them in the 1pm class, this works well if you are driving in from Canberra or Cooma that morning as you would struggle to get there for the 9am class. Main advice I would give on visiting is allow enough time to get there, so you don't miss lessons, etc. There was a long line at the National Parks booth on the way in. I would recommend pre booking everything that you can, as the lines in the morning are very long, but you can avoid this by booking online (there is a pre booked section, no line, about 30 people in the line next to this who had not pre booked). Also, we hired all our equipment at Selwyn, but this takes minimum 30 minutes to get sorted (with queues, fittings of boots and skis) so next time I think I will hire in Canberra and take with us. Its not any cheaper to do this but we waited so long we almost missed the kids lessons (and you can't be late for lessons). The kids LOVED the snow tube, though our youngest was too little and they don't allow little ones to sit on laps for this. Overall, it was a good day, next time we will try and get more things in advance to avoid the lines, and have more time having fun!

Like me, if you can't ski to save your life but love the snow then this is the place for you and your family. From Canberra it's an easy day trip and the scenery on the way is to die for! the snow this year is substantial and with the recent release of the kids movie Frozen, it was inevitable you were going to make an Olauf snowman! The ski fields look like they are made for beginners and the toboggan and tube rides were fun, safe, and very well staffed. The car park gets a daily clean from snow & slush and the nearby food outlets and coffee shops served up fresh doughnuts and hot hot coffee to warm the insides. you need a Kosciusko parks pass to enter and pay a $5 toboggan hire and $5 toboggan park entry fee, and that's about it. If you want to buy your food and drinks there you can; If you want to bring your own and use the park benches near the food outlets, you can!

Selwyn was great for all our agendas. Great place to learn to ski for every age group. 4 year old loved Snow World and was skiing in no time. Instructors are all so helpful. Never too busy on the slopes and easy parking. Café service was really slow and inefficient and too many picnic people hogging the tables.