Snozone

I’ve been here to the Snozone several times since mid October 2015 and on the whole it’s been a good experience. I completed my 5 lessons in January 2016 and passed the introduction course which was great. Two good snow board instructors are Graham and Damian, who had the time and patience with everyone in the group, even with different abilities.
On the whole, the ski equipment that can be hired is pretty good, no complaints from a beginner. Just be aware that Saturdays and Sundays are very busy until late in the evening, and Friday evenings from 7 can be busy; allow 45 minutes before your lesson starts and the area where people wait for their lessons The snow can get thin and icy in places especially later in the day, but I guess this allowed a bit of development skill to be learnt.
For beginners I would recommend the 3 hour courses rather than the 1 hour courses, you get to learn so much more.
I’ll definitely be back!
Just make sure you have a map if you are walking from the station as it’s very confusing. In a taxi it’s about £5, on the bus it’s around £2.50 for a return, number 5 or 6 outside the train station.
The Snozone experience is also in the ame building as Milton Keynes’ «Escape» complex with a cinema, restaurants, a pub and outdoor clothing shops, so a good destination place.

Not the biggest of indoor slopes, but was in good condition on my last visit & is decent enough to get a bit of practice in. They provide all clothing & equipment other than gloves & hat. Helmets provided for beginners. All fairly new & good condition. Would recommend!

Enormously fun day out Snowboarding.
We were here for the snowboarding 8 hour lesson and it was a blast from beginning to end. Upon arriving, we were given locker tokens and told to get ready, then collect our gear. Note whilst they do gear hire, you’re probably better off getting your own ski trousers/​jacket/​gloves as the hire ones looked a little worse for wear. Plus it took a while to find a helmet without an offensive odour!
After getting our board, helmet and shoes, we were taken onto a beginners slope. At first, we had the entire slope to ourselves, however throughout the day, more classes started, and it started to get really busy. Seriously the morning sessions are the best time to learn, as by 3pm the slopes get really crowded and if you’re still picking things up by then, it can probably lead to a higher incident of accidents, but whilst there I didn’t notice a really serious accident. Pretty much follow the advice of the teachers and staff and you’ll be fine.
The course starts off pretty slowly, learning how to glide gently down the slope on one edge of your board, to linkings turns. Then that’s it. There isn’t really much to the beginners, course, but whilst the pickup was fast, the mastery took a bit more time. Turns is all well and good, but I found the most difficult things, controlling speed and descent to be a little more harder.
In all however, I learnt a lot and probably saved a day or two on the actual slopes next year. Whilst I wouldn’t say the day is the most organised, e.g. lunch was mentioned when booking but not provided on the day, as were photos which we really poor quality, by somebody that didn’t really know how to handle a camera, it was still a good day out. If they could fix the actual running of the place then it would be 5 stars.

Rather decent indoor real snow slope.
You MUST be able to ski safely for a recreational pass or otherwise you will have to take a few lessons first. They will ask you about your ski ability when they issue your pass, so be honest for everyone’s sake. They have two slopes: one for recreational skiing and one for lessons. This means the beginners and more advanced skiiers are completely separate and importantly, protected from each other.
EQUIPMENT: They will hire you trousers and a jacket but not gloves, hat, thick socks or base layers so if you have them, bring them or be prepared to purchase them on site. I can’t comment on the quality of the hired clothing as I brought all of mine with me.
Everything was clean and the boots/​skis/​poles were in good condition, all included in the cost of the pass. There are lockers for your things, which cost a £1 and it’s not refundable so make sure you have everything you need before you lock it.
SNOW & SLOPE: There was just enough snow for me but the poma lift kept breaking down; had there been more skiiers I imagine this would have been very frustrating.
STAFF: The staff were friendly and efficient. The slope staff are easily identifiable in bright green and happy to answer questions.
FOOD: The slope has its own café and prices looked normal. I didn’t eat there however. The complex itself also boasts a cinema and gym, ski shops and range of eating establishments so it’s nicely self-​contained if you are herding children or have limited time. If like me you want something other than various varieties of fast food/​sandwiches, it’s a 3 mins walk from the large MK Central shopping mall, which offers a far wider choice.
GETTING THERE: Ample parking and the whole area is well-​served by fast frequent bus service. If you’re arriving by train from London (Euston, 30 mins), suggest you get a Plusbus ticket: this adds unlimited bus travel for £2 which is cheaper than a return to the slope. Takes ten minutes and drops you right outside both the slope and the station.
Overall, I had a good experience but it was a quiet midweek session. Would def go again.

We went on a group event and the activities offered where fantastic but I have to say the staff where exceptionally helpful, understanding and friendly … especially Mo (Our event co-​ordinator). I would recommend this venue to anyone planning a corporate event, a party or just up for a laugh.

One week of skiing at the age of 13 and a day at the age of 21. That’s it, as far as my skiing experience goes. So I thought it might be wise to brush up on the basics before I hit the slopes in a few weeks time.
Getting here from London is not that easy, Milton Keynes has put its train station a fair distance from the town centre, pretty stupid for a town that was supposedly ‘designed’. It’s a 25 mins walk along some very confusing footpaths to the Sno Zone or you can catch a bus to the shopping area and it’s fairly close from there.
Once you get there, make sure you have about 20 mins to get your ski pass and skis — all included in the price (check website for prices). You will need to bring suitable clothing as this is real snow and, as such, the slopes are quite chilly.
I took part in the 3 hour fast track intermediate lesson and was given instruction in a group of 6 people (max size of groups is 10 I think). There is a separate slope for classes which you share with beginners, snowboarders etc. but it’s far less chaotic than the main slope. This is a much better experience than dry ski slope skiing and at the end of the lesson you are given a breakdown of what you have learnt and your ability level.
If you just want to hit the slopes for yourself then you’re looking at £35 or so for 2 hours, the queues for the ski lift were big yesterday as a lot of people were brushing up their techniques ready for their ski holidays, if you can come in summer when the place is empty. However, people on lessons get to jump the queue — hooray!
They also have a range of activities for children. Watch out for those 6 year olds racing down the main slope though, they’re fearless!
When you’ve done your skiing you can indulge in a range of apres ski activities at many a chain restaurant/​fast food joint/​fake alpine lodge bar within the xscape complex if you really want to. Or you can hike/​bus it back to the train station like I did.

Zu Schifahren erstklassig. So gut wie echter Pulverschnee, Schilifte und Transportbahnen fuer die Anfaenger. Mein 9 jaehriger Sohn konnte innerhalb von 3 Unterrichten mit dem Snowboard von ganz oben bis ganz unten fahren. Die Lehrer sind alle freundlich und sehr professionell, der Schiverleih ist ebenfalls sehr gut. Man sollte unbedingt warme wasserfeste Handschuhe haben, denn es ist natuerlich kalt!
Snozone ist direkt im Xscape und man sollte wenn moeglich vorher buchen.
Negativ: Ice Slide kann man sich sparen, denn es ist teuer £25.00 fuer 1 Ew/​1 Kd und wir sind dafuer 4 Mal gerutscht wovon mein Sohn 2 mal stecken blieb.
Weiterhin find ich es schade, dass die Unterrichte als Anfaenger nur nach Altersstufen klassifiziert werden, d.h. ich konnte das Snowboarding nicht mit meinem Sohn zusammen lernen.
Positiv: Im Kaffee nebenan kann man alles sehen und das Essen war akzeptable.
Wenn man schon mal dort ist, sollte man unbedingt rueber zu Airkix (siehe separaten Beitrag)!

Sno zone is located in the Milton Keynes Xscape Centre. We went by car, it’s easy to find with lots of carparking spaces.
We booked asession for my son as a present and for somthing different. He has skied before quite recently but I hadn’t skied since I was at school.
You are provided with skis, boot and poles with the price of the session. You can hire trousers and jackets, we wore our own waterproof ones. It is important that you take your own gloves as they DO NOT hire them and they are expensive to buy. Believe me you will need them as it is very cold inside the dome.
We really enjoyed ourselves and since we have been have booka weeks ski in March.

I must say I really wasn’t impressed when visiting Xscape for a freeride snowboarding session. I’ve visited many indoor snow slopes and outdoor dry slopes this was by far the worst. I want just before Christmas last year and to their credit they had put a sign up on reception explaining that due to high levels of usage, the slope wasn’t in the best condition. Although slightly concerned, having driven there I still wanted to have a go I couldn’t believe how bad it was. After two runs on which my newly waxed board just stuck to the snow like glue I came off and got a refund. My advice would be to check in advance on the condition of the slopes since it seems like when people need it most, i.e. just before going away over winter, they can’t handle the number of people visiting.

The sno zone is located inside the xscape, which is full of clothing retailers and plenty of ski equipment shops, so you could pretty much buy everything you need whilst your there, even though the sno zone will rent you all the equipment you will need to go on the slopes. You can go down the slopes using skies or snow boards.
The sno zone has a lounge with plenty of seats and tables where you can watch all the skiers going up and down the slope through large glass windows placed all at the bottom of the slope, whilst you stay nice and warm.
On some occasions at the sno zone you can go down the slope on rings or sledges.

This is a fantastic indoor snow slope and is available to ski’s, snowboards and even tobaganing! Brilliant fun and very affordable if you like to keep your skills in good use.
They often host different events so its good entertainment too.
The bar/​lounge area is lovely and overlooks the ski area — great for snuggling into a sofa with a hotchocolate or go into the bar for a beer after all your hard work!

This is an indoor ski slope with artificial snow. Boarders and skiers are welcome. The slope itself is not very big/​high/​difficult and looks like it could get very busy. There are two pull lifts and a travelator to bring you to the top. You can also go tobogganing which is fun, but tobogganers aren’t allowed use the lifts =(
All gear and clothing can be rented. There is a nice bar/​lounge are looking out over the slope.