Where to ski?

We are a family of 4 (2 teens), the adults have done a little skiing long ago and the kids have had a brief lesson on snow - so really like beginners. We are going skiing in mid-March 2011. Have the following questions:
-where to go (probably needs to be high as we MUST HAVE SNOW!)
-must have easy slopes, good access, and also be a nice,fun place to be
-should we go for more than a week? (if we can)
- we don't like the club med option, but want to have a package that gives us a lot of help with skis,passes, lessons etc.
- we're not looking for budget accommodation -but also don't want to break the bank.
Have received the following recommendations: Lech; Val d'Isere; Courchevel; Grindelwald; Meribel; Valmorel; Megeve ..

help!

Don't go to Grindelwald. It's a shame - the resort is great but you've got 2 options:
1) Ski the First side (First is a name not a number) and accept a 2 hour Q for the godola
2) Trek over to Kleine Scheidegg (anout 1 hour) and ski there.
My choice would be to stay 1 valley over in Wengen - the beginner slopes are good but you can whizz up to the higher stuff really easily on the gondola or the train. If cash is tight, I would suggest Lauterbrunnen in the valley below. It's about 30 mins on the train up to Wengen in the morning and there's no ski in / ski out but you can chop a good few £100 off the chalet rental price. I'm booked up for there in Feb with a 5 year old (1 week experience) a wife (1 day experience) a friend (1 week experience) and his wife (non skier). I've skied there for about 20 years (probably about 15 seasons in total) and it's a great place for all abilities.

You might consider Alpe D'Heuz. There is lots of easy skiing for beginners. The resort itself may not be that attractive but it still has a nice atmosphere. Its high enough to pretty much guarantee plenty of snow and has a reputation of being one of the sunniest resorts in the alps. It also boasts a pleasant outdoor pool (free with lift pass, though speedo's required!). I've stayed a few times with Crystal in their club hotels - Hermitage and Vallee Blanche. Reasonable prices and pretty decent food. All-in-all, a good resort with much to recommend it!

It depends of course to a degree on how much you want to spend, but I would definitely recommend Alpe D'Huez as it has a huge area of beginners slopes, lots of other skiing if anyone progresses quickly, and is a reasonably large resort so has good amenities. You've also been recommended Lech which is a pretty resort with great "cruising" skiing - you might be tempted to go there next year as it's perfect for improving skiers! It's quite upmarket though.

I would not recommend Meribel to beginners - it's a lovely resort in a huge ski area, but the beginner slopes are limited, and low down, and at that time of year you might find yourself having to go to more advanced slopes to learn. My wife did, and I got yelled at quite a few times!!!

I don't agree with:["I would not recommend Meribel to beginners"]. Meribel has some nice green runs just above the resort. Courchevel has lots of greens. Val D Isere too. Any one of these will do.

I dont think if you are complete beginners that the resort is that important, was is important is getting good lessons. I'd recommend you look at booking a club Med ski holiday through Ski Line so you get the extra discount. Then you get full day ski lessons...

Completely off the UK ski radar, but a resort that has taken us from complete beginners to confident novices, is Bivio, in eastern Switzerland. It has about 40km of runs, from a decent nursery slope through blues, reds, and blacks. It is very high - the village itself is 1800 and is 'snow sure' until mid April. There are four lifts, all drag, which is hard work on the legs but means there are seldom queues. The ski school has English speaking instructors, and offers ski and snowboard tuition. The village does have some stuff for apres ski - a couple of bars, a disco etc. but on the whole it's not a hard core nightlife place. The village is in the Italian speaking bit of Switzerland, but everyone speaks German, and most people have some English, especially in hotels, mountain cafes etc.
The best bit - a week's half board including 6 day ski pass, staying at the Hotel Solaria - is about £650 all in, per adult - I think that there are reductions for under 18s. The hotel is immediately adjacent to the ski lift, so the walk to the lift takes about 2 mins. And no queue when you get there. As I said, off the UK ski radar but a well-kept Swiss and German secret- most people go back year after year. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the helpful responses - plenty of choice and plenty to think about!