Pock'It Ski Instructor Books simple and fun

Visitor reviews for Alpe d'Huez Ski Resort

---

---

• January 24, 2012
  Rod from United Kingdom
  

  Skied over New Year. Loads of snow. Not glamorous but great customer service and no queues in restaurants and little on lifts.

• Alpe d'Huez Ratings

  Based on 14 votes. Vote

  Access: 3.5 (1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Alpe d'Huez.	Public Transport: 3.5 (1) There are no buses or taxis to Alpe d'Huez, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
  Scenery: 3.5 (1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.	Accommodation: 3.9 (1) No places to stay in/near Alpe d'Huez, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
  Cheap Rooms: 2.8 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.	Luxury Hotels: 3.6 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Alpe d'Huez.
  Ski in/Ski out: 4.1 (1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.	Childcare: 3.6 (1) There are no child care facilities at Alpe d'Huez, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
  Snowsure: 3.8 (1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Alpe d'Huez is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.	Snowmaking: 3.3 (1) Alpe d'Huez relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
  Snow Grooming: 3.5 (1) There are no snow groomers at Alpe d'Huez, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Alpe d'Huez are groomed daily.	Shelter: 2.4 (1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Alpe d'Huez is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
  Nearby options: 3.1 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Alpe d'Huez, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.	Regional rating: 3.6 (1) Alpe d'Huez usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
  Lift Staff: 3.2 (1) The staff at Alpe d'Huez are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Alpe d'Huez are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.	Crowds/Queues: 2.9 (1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
  Ski Schools: 3.8 (1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.	Hire and Repairs: 4.2 (1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
  Variety of pistes: 4.0 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Alpe d'Huez has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.	Beginners: 3.9 (1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
  Intermediates: 4.2 (1) No intermediate terrain at Alpe d'Huez, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.	Advanced: 4.1 (1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
  Snow Park: 3.1 (1) Not even a kicker at Alpe d'Huez, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.	Off-piste: 3.5 (1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
  Cross-country: 3.2 (1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Alpe d'Huez, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.	Luge/Toboggan: 2.8 (1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Alpe d'Huez has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
  Mountain Dining: 3.2 (1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.	Eating: 3.8 (1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
  Apres-Ski: 3.6 (1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.	Other Sports: 3.9 (1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
  Entertainment: 3.3 (1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.	Winter Walks: 3.2 (1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
  Ski Pass Value: 3.1 (1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.	Value (National): 3.3 (1) Overall, Alpe d'Huez is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
  Value (Global): 3.1 (1) Overall, Alpe d'Huez is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

  Based on 14 votes. Vote

• January 06, 2012
  Andrey Gilvanov from Canada
  

  Interesting place, not so glamorous as Courchevel or Chamonix, but has variety of slopes and character.
  Cons: customer service is bad,.. chair lifts were shut down due to blackout on Dec 30, 2011 so we walked for an hour from the place we skied at the moment. I came 2 times to ticket office trying to get additional day of skiing, but was just asked "to submit an application that will be viewed in 2 or 3 weeks.."
  It's sad that nobody couldn't make a decision in such obvious situation...

• December 19, 2011
  Barry Allsuch from United Kingdom
  

  Have stayed in Alpe d'Huez each Feb for 10 seasons. Very friendly village, it helps if you parlez-vous Francais.
  We use Rond Point ski hire next to the Grade Rousse Eve and Arlette run the shop and have now become great friends. My personal favourite run is Village which takes you down to Huez. Hardly ever used, this has become our own private piste.

• December 12, 2011
  Alber from Czech Republic
  

  Skied at Alpe d'Huez in April 2011. Very little snow but the piste groomers made the most of what was left. Excellent job. Stuart of Masterclass Ski School managed to give us some good lessons on the receding snow. Stayed at Lasource Ski Chalet in Villard Reculas. Lovely little village connected to the main Alpe d'Huez runs. Lasource gave us a lift to Les Deux Alps for 2 days, where there was some good snow left to ski on. Will be returning in 2012, when the snow will hopefully be more abundant than 2011. Alber

• April 06, 2011
  Carl & Lisa from United Kingdom
  

  April 2nd 2011

  Just returned from ADH (Alpe d'Huez), albeit snow limited we had a fantastic time. We stayed in the Altiport area (just 500 mtrs from town) in a catered chalet. The food was amazing as were the hosts (Louis & Lewis......Lou , Lou:). As we were the oldest in our chalet (40) we were concerned by the mix of youth we'd be sharing with for the week! As it was, we ended up with 11 Uni students who were fantastic, albeit noisy coming back at 5-6 am in the morning. Nevertheless, they were great company and would recommend anyone to venture to catered chalets as it's certainly the way forward. paid £269 for flights, transfers, accomo, & food (Igluski)...unbeatable!! Also leave it late to book!!! Your lift pass allows you 2 days skiing in Les 2 Alps, which for me was the best area to ski in that week. Powder from the Wednesday to Friday and the apres-ski at Pano bar at Jandin 2 is just the best!! Very warm, so slap on the sun cream, our friends have just commented that we look like we've returned from a 2 week break in the Caribbean:)

  Enjoy, but be warned the snow is melting very quickly.

• March 28, 2011
  Sara from United Kingdom
  

  Skiing in Alpe d"Huez at the moment. Despite unusual lack of snow for this time of year, had a great day skiing today - lots of hard work going in to keeping the slopes as well groomed as possible and therefore open.

  Looking forward to a day in Les Deux Alpes with Stuart Adamson of British Masterclass, who are based in AdH. Stuart and Mel are great guides and teachers, who know AdH like the back of their hands, and can always find the best snow.

  And the outdoor pool is wonderful at this time of year!

• March 22, 2011
  Mike from United Kingdom
  

  Just back from Alpe d'Heuz. Had a fantastic time. Snow isn't the best I've seen but all runs are open. I noticed a lot of people complaining about prices of food a drink on the hill. Me and my wife found an absolutely great place at the foot of the DMC: the hotel Beausoleil is British run and is by far the cheapest for food and drink and it is right next to the main lift, staff are great and it's very well run.

  The night life in Alpe d'Heuz is very like any French resort, drinks can be expensive. We stayed at the Hermitage hotel, sadly it's a bit run down and we didn't feel it was worth the money.

  Bit worried about the snow lasting until the end of April but loved the place anyway.

• March 11, 2011
  Jill & Dan from United Kingdom
  

  11/3/11
  Just returned from Alpe d'Huez this morning. Had a great time, sunny all week, but snow deteriorating rapidly. Many runs closed and there are freeze thaw conditions. Some runs in the main bowl were excellent: Couloir and Vachettes. Generally quite icy until 11am. The Petit Prince into Villard Reculas a wonderful run at 11am onwards. Lack of snow a problem.
  Just for info, we went into The Spoting bar in the centre and met the most stuck up meeter greeter ever. Previous years always very welcoming, this year we were treated in a very off hand manner and we never returned after the first night

• February 07, 2011
  J & Clare + 8 others from Guernsey
  

  Group of 10 work colleagues traveled to Alpe d'Huez on 29/01/11. The runs were good despite the last dump being over two weeks earlier but they did deteriorate late in the week. The best runs, when conditions got icy, were towards Villard Reculas and Montfrais.

  We stayed at Royal Ours Spa Hotel Blanc in the centre of the resort. Excellent hotel with courtesy coach, friendly staff, clean rooms, good food and spa area.

  The gem of out trip, with six wanting ski/board instruction, was finding Oli and Seb c/o Stance-Snow based at Alpe Sports. Oli and Seb without doubt gave everyone confidence and improvement beyond expectation.

  The shop provided great quality ski and board hire with care on getting you the right equipment. Helmet hire and lockers were included and with the shop being situated at the base of the main DMC lift area, we felt we had found the best hire facility in town.

  Would recommend the resort, hotel, instructors and hire without hesitation.

• April 11, 2010
  Cei1971 from United Kingdom
  

  Just returned from Alpe d'Huez after an excellent week. Fantastic snow conditions and great runs for everyone. The La Eterlous class my 3 year old daughter was in was superb. We will be looking to return. Fantastic facilities in resort i.e swimming pools, ice rink etc.

• March 23, 2010
  David Keane from United Kingdom
  

  Just returned from a week in Alpe d'Huez (March 13-20). There had been decent snowfall in the weeks preceding my visit so conditions on arrival were superb. It had been unseasonly cold but the weather got warmer and sunnier whilst I was there. As a boarder this was great but for my skiing friends they found the conditions a little slushy and sticky by the end of the week as the piste surface snow melted.
  I've been to Alpe d'Huez before and quite like it. Plenty for everyone really. Doing the 16km Sarenne is best in the morning as it gets quite cut up by the afternoons. Alpette is a lovely run into a little village (Oz?). We chose a week that there were no school holiays so queues were minimal and the pistes relatively quiet. The outdoor swimming pool and ice rink were good distractions in the early evenings.
  The down side of the resort (and I guess most if not all French resorts) is the prices. They've risen quite a bit. I know the exchange rate isn't great for us coming from the UK these days but that aside the prices seem to have shot up. 5 Euros for a hot chocolate in a mountain cafe is rip-off territory. Even at the old ex rates it would be 3.50. Still a rip-off. Our group was multinational with people from Ireland and France also - everyone agreed that the prices were too high. As a result we're banging France on the head after almost 20 years of visits. Not sure where next year but always good to explore!

• March 16, 2010
  claudio sarno from United Kingdom
  

  I just recently came back from Alpe d'Huez and stayed in the Le Dauphin chalet. Great position with lifts nearby; ski back to chalet. Plenty of room, on-suite double, fantastic facilities from sat TV in each room, great sound system in kitchen/dinner/lounge area. Well appointed games room with all sorts of games including table football and nintendo WII. The chalet is simply quality, roomy and well run. I would recommend it to all my freinds and family. The resort of Alpe d'Huez itself provides everything a skier could want from difficult blacks like Le Tunnel to simple blues and one of the greatest long pistes: le Serrene. All in all, just great!

• March 01, 2010
  Millsy from United Kingdom
  

  There are easy blues aplenty in Alpe d'Huez particularly in Auris and Alpette / Montfrais (although you have to ski Rouses which is a red). These areas generally get less traffic and therefore don't turn into bump fields like the Couloir blue from DMC II. There are two blues on the glacier that obviously have good snow and are accessed by Marmotte III and served by the L'Herpie four pack. You also have a choice of blues from atop Signal, one down to Villard Reculas the other returns to the DMC. Hope this helps?

• February 21, 2010
  Ja from United Kingdom
  

  I was in Alpe d'Huez with family and friends in Feb and I must say I thought the resort was very good indeed.
  The skiing was incredible for all of us (beginners, intermediate and advanced), the children had a fantastic time with the instructors who are very friendly and great at what they do. The restaurants were also very, very good and very reasonably priced (it's French say no more). We stayed in chalet le Baron (alpedhuezchalets.com) which had everything set out very well and was very nice and comfortable. Location of chalet is perfect being a couple of mins from most restaraunts and bars also approx 60 meters from ski lift!!!. I have been to numerous ski resorts over the years and personally I think Alpe d'Huez ranks highly. We all had a great time and are already looking to book next year!

• February 17, 2010
  AP from United Kingdom
  

  Week Feb 8th 2010.

  This is my second time in Alpe d'Huez and also my second in Chalet L Escapade.

  Lets start with Chalet L Escapade. Now, as I said, I have been here before so knew what to expect. Small, cramped and incredibly noisy in the dining room. Ski-World has managed to shoe horn over sixty guests into this chalet hotel. They would do better to reduce this number by at least twenty.

  So why did I return? I got a deal at £450 which is the maximum I would pay for this chalet. The full price of near £750 for the week is grossly overpriced and not at all value for money. I have stayed in Les Gets and Morzine for that type of money in luxury chalets far, far better than Chalet L Escapade. However, I slept very well and had nice hot showers.

  The staff, however, were exceptional. Polite, helpful and a real credit to themselves. I can’t imagine this is the easiest chalet to run but they did their very, very best. Food was good and if you didn’t like what was on the menu they would do their best to provide an alternative. I was ok as I eat anything !!!!

  The chalet is ski-in and ski-out. Out to either the Eclose and then Bergers or a quick trip across the bridge to Telecentre. It has a hot tub, steam room, sauna a small gym and a very reasonably priced bar.

  Ski hire was from Ze Shop which is a short walk down the hill from the chalet. If you carry on a little further there is a restaurant on the left called Alaska that does very good reasonably priced food from an extensive menu. I would recommend you go there on the chalet staffs night off.

  The resort of Alpe d'Huez itself is a bit disjointed and has no real dedicated centre but once you manage to find them there are plenty of shops and bars to frequent and it’s pretty cheap for France. The sports centre is excellent. Take along your lift pass for free entry and you can play table tennis for €1, swim, play tennis, squash or use the climbing wall.

  The Skiing:

  Plenty of snow and sunny days but very cold. I like to stretch my legs a bit in the morning so always looked for some easy blues down the bottom of the mountain before venturing further afield and Alpe (Alpe d'Huez) is perfect for this. I went with my thirteen year old son who has been skiing about four years and his preference is throwing himself off as many little jumps as he can. This is adequately catered for in the snow park area. I had fun there too!!

  For progressing onto reds and blacks, although there is only one black you can't go far wrong than head over to Auris En Oisans connected by Alpes very own scare chair. The ride over from Bergers is something not to be missed. Although the runs over that side are short on some days my son and I were the only ones on them. Add to that the possibility for some easy off-piste it would be hard not to recommend Auris as a destination for a few hours.

  The lifts were only busy mornings and afternoons just as ski school was starting. My biggest criticism, and for me it somewhat spoiled the skiing, was the lack of piste preparation on some runs particularly from the mid station Marmottes and Signal. You go up expecting to ski a blue or red and are faced with mogul field with bumps up to your thighs. If you are taking young kids up for a long blue run be prepared for long rests and plenty of falls. As for the famed Sarrene all I can say is expect the worse piste preparation ever and you won’t be disappointed.

  Mountain restaurant prices really surprised me. In some places you could get a meal deal such as burger, chips and a coke for € 8. Not too bad in my opinion.

  So would I go back to Alpe d'Huez for a third time? Difficult to say but I probably would if I had the same deal as this holiday.
  

• February 04, 2010
  dod from Ireland
  

  I was in Alpe d'Huez from the 23rd Jan until 30 Jan 2010. Skiing conditions were excellent with plenty of new snow and blue skies at times. We found the food excellent at nite time but patchy and expensive during lunch especially near the slopes where you pay for the views. It was reasonably quiet and there were never queues for the lifts. I would recommend Alpe d'Huez for all class of skiers.

• February 01, 2010
  digger from Ireland
  

  I was in ADH (Alpe d'Huez) from Jan 16-23 and I must say I thought it was fantastic. Firstly, let me clarify, we got 5 days of blue skies and sunshine. Lift system was excellent, very little queueing at all with lots of choice of slopes and other areas to ski to. Apres-ski was quiet until 11 pm when it got lively around Smithys etc and then onto the nightclubs, although I was in bed every night by 1 am. One word of caution for beginners/improvers, whilst there are extensive green runs in two areas at the bottom it's a pretty big leap to the blues further up. These blues would be classed reds in most areas I've been to before. That said, having skied before in France, Austria X 3, Bulgaria X 1 and Italy X 1, ADH (Alpe d'Huez) is the best I've encountered.

• January 10, 2010
  Millsy from United Kingdom
  

  Some good, impartial reviews of Alpe d'Huez. I headed out there before Xmas, to find conditions not great but ok. The extreme cold at least allowed the extensive snow making to kick in therefore the piste skiing was fine but obstacles weren't covered off-piste. If it's snowed for 24 hours noone should be surprised that the glacier is closed and all the blacks leading off the tunnel. All the terrain up there is 35 degrees and ideal avalanche terrain and takes alot of time to make safe. There are loads of tough runs available at Alpe d'Huez without going to Pic Blanc (look at the piste map; Cloche de Macle, Col de Cluy, La Fare, La Balme, Les Balcon, Come Charbonniere....the list goes on and on!). If you've truly skied all over the Alpes and wouldn't recommend this place to strong skiers you really haven't opened your eyes, and thats a fact!

• January 07, 2010
  Joan from Ireland
  

  This is my second time here at Alpe d'Huez. I am beginner and my children are on black. I find the resort friendly and reasonable. We stay in Hotel le Chamois which is homely, well run, excellent value for money and the food is lovely. Our compliments to the chef. The entire resort is easily accessible from here. In relation to the £7 hot chocolate - shop around and look at the menu before ordering. That price difference, and exorbitance is common in any tourist area and is not exclusive to Alpes d'Huez. If there are no prices on the menu - leave.

• January 04, 2010
  Stu T from United Kingdom
  

  I went to Alpe d'Huez for 1 week over New Year. The weather was terrible as it was raining at 2000m. We tried to go higher to the glacier but it was closed for most of the week which doesn't leave many black runs to play with for the able skier. For example, it snowed for a whole day so we woke up early in anticipation for a powder day but most the black runs were closed. The piste preparation at Alpe d'Huez is not good.

  The main problem with the resort is the lack of chair lifts. Bubbles and gondolas are used for most of the resort. It is therefore difficult to get in the groove as it feels very stop-start.

  I have skied all over the Alps and wouldn't recommend this resort for an able/adventurous skier

• January 04, 2010
  John G from United Kingdom
  

  Just returned from a two week Christmas and New Year stay at Alpe d'Huez. Conditions ranged from extremely cold for two days to windy to foggy and rain. There was some snowfall at night and on the odd day, especially on the tops. Instructors were commenting on it being ridiculously warm for the time of year and, considering this, the pistes held up well. Most top runs were closed for the reasons given above. We stayed in Bourg D'Oisans down the mountain and self catered. Rest assured that for a Brit, prices in the supermarket are just as expensive. It's just the exchange rate. However, the pound is normal, it just happened to be strong for a while. Skiing is limited at Alpe d'Huez in my opinion when the tops are closed and the Arpette lift is closed/windy preventing skiers reaching Vaujenay. ADH is a good resort and I recommend the outdoor swimming pool. If you want to avoid a 7 Euro chocolate, take a flask or have a smaller one. The 7 Euro one is massive!

• December 14, 2009
  Henrik from Luxembourg
  

  My only question would be - have the prices in euros gone up considerably at Alpe d'Huez in the past few years? I also have a place in Oz and haven't noticed a big hike in prices there. We have friends and neighbours who come over from the UK and feel it tighter because of the change in exchange rate, but when a bar or restaurant's outgoings are all in euro, you can't expect them to adjust their sale prices to sterling.

  Anyway, I can see it's colder there now, so hopefully some serious snow will come on the back of the cold snap. Looking forward to the first trip of the season to Alpe d'Huez on the 2nd Jan.

• December 13, 2009
  Roland from France
  

  I've been reading the reviews on Alpe d'Huez and as the owner of of a holiday flat there, I'm amazed to read a hot chocolate was £7. When given the bill, you should have walked away, without paying nor drinking. Admittedly, Alpe d'Huez isn't the cheapest place to ski, but the value for money still is outstanding: the Visalp pass includes unlimited access to not only the skilifts, but also the sports centre, 2 pools + icerink etc... Don't be surprised if the Sarenne piste is often closed: the bottom is low-lying and faces the South, hence the lack of snow. The problem will be solved when they have man-made snow there, which they've been talking about for years...

• December 12, 2009
  millsy from United Kingdom
  

  I'm sorry but I've now had enough of all the economists on this forum telling me how to live. I have a place in Huez and love it to death, love the mountain, friendly people, reliable snow, long sunny days but cost IS a factor! Don't preach to me about staying in for a week, cooking my own food, not socialising, living like a trappist monk and tell me that's the universal panacea for cost cutting! That works for a week BUT GETS A BIT BORING!!!! I don't go away in the summer save all monies to go skiing not for a week but as much as i can when i can, spending summers waiting for winter, and such activities should be within the confines of most people not just the jet-set! Finally, Alpe d'Huez isn't the worlds most expensive place but nor is it the cheapest and without the gilt edged name of some resorts does not want to shoot itself in the foot with high prices; it is a superb place and common sense should dictate! Ps. with 30% occupancy in Val D'isere during the winter heaven help 'em if the Brits do pull out; I know the GDP is high in Luxembourg Henrik and it will need to be!

• December 10, 2009
  Henrik from Luxembourg
  

  I always find it amazing that people arrive at Alpe d'Huez in the peak period of Christmas / New Year, expect perfect conditions, even though the season has only just started, expect blue skies and no wind, even though it's the middle of winter and expect everyone else's currency to track prices in the UK. Sorry to tell you that the UK has had a hard time of it financially and your currency is weaker than the rest of Europe. Just ask the Americans - they've been hit as hard.

  Personally I always stay in Oz. Very pretty village if a bit on the quiet side. A few bars where the average price of a pint of beer is €5 - sorry if its pretty much the same in sterling, but if you take the traditional exchange rate of 1.5 euro to GBP, that's an equivalent of 3.33 sterling which is not too bad for somewhere in the Alps. You can't expect the bars to change their prices to suit the change in the exchange rate between euro and sterling, so don't complain about the equivalent. Regarding the restaurants, they have some of the best I have come across - if you're prepared to try something they do as their specialty. I'm sorry, if you buy lasagne in France, what do you expect - after all, you wouldn't ask for a curry in an Italian restaurant. Go for some of the local dishes, or try the dish of the day (+/-) 10 euros and you won't be disappointed.

  At the end of the day, if you don't want to come back, then that's more room for us on the piste and the short lift queues are even shorter. Maybe if you want sterling prices you should go to Scotland and see what kind of lasagne you'll get in Aviemore. Not sure that your weather or conditions will be any better than Alpe d'Huez though (being a Scot I'm allowed to say that).

  P.S. Looked at the reviews for other European resorts and everyone seems to be complaining about the prices. Sorry, but the Alps isn't just for the Brits.

• December 06, 2009
  Kathy from United Kingdom
  

  We have gone to Alpe d'Huez every year for 10 years, having previously trailed round the rest of France for 15. We think the skiing is better than anywhere, including 3 Valleys and as for all you lot moaning about the cost..we spent 2 weeks in Ibiza this last summer and eating out was a mortgage job!! If you eat up the mountain anywhere it will cost you and if you drink in clubs/pubs, ditto. The Pomme de Pin and Le Grenier offer excellent value tho' the exchange rates DO make it more expensive than it was. Best bet is to self cater, get along to any of the well stocked supermarkets, especially the Casino at the back of the tourist office and lay in some local plonk, the Gamay is still only about £3 a bottle!! Another good bet is the rotisserie on the main drag, opposite the ice rink: chicken and chips for 4 for under £15.... I rest my case.

• October 30, 2009
  millsy from United Kingdom
  

  The cost of a pint in ADH (Alpe d'Huez) isn't linked to anything other than greed. Just to get the stuff up those hairpins doesn't warrant the prices being asked. When you are charged 5 euro for a coke and can see the person pouring it out of a bottle that may have cost 1.5 euro in Bourg D'Oisan or a warmed up lasagne costs 15 euro how can you defend that. The number of people that visited France last year dropped slightly whilst it remained the prefered destination for Brits. Are people beginning to vote with their feet? Skiers/boarders are a hardy breed and will endeavour to find the cash somewhere, but for how long? Then, less Brits means even higher prices to make ends meet. I love ADH (Alpe d'Huez), the many friends I have there, the mountain, the lot, but it has to be affordable; on an away week last year I went to Garmisch Partenkirchen, where the mountain is ok but doesn't really compare but accomodation with pool, sauna, great food etc was 30 euro a night, and stein's of larger 3.5 euro. Skiing is the main draw but folks can't just sit in their rooms from lifts closing waiting for the sun to come. Food for thought.

• May 15, 2009
  colin tait from United Kingdom
  

  Visted ADH (Alpe d'Huez) 21st to 28th March 2009 and stayed at the Hotell Chamios. I have no complaints with the staff or location and the down stairs bar is brill. This was my first time here and my first time skiing. Plenty of lifts so no queuing unless it's very windy as it was on Tuesday morning. The weather for the whole week was sunny with new snow on the Tuesday and Wednesday night, so Wednesday and Thursday morning skiing on the fresh snow off-piste, for the first time, was superb.
  The only problem during the week was the cost of eating and drinking out. Ok the pound and the euro are almost the same but prices will have to reduce to get people to return if this remains the same; although happy hour in the bar did help. Yes, Visalp ski passes are expensive here at Alpe d'Huez even for the over 60s.
  During the week the slopes were dressed every night with plenty of piste machines out, even when it snowed heavily on Tuesday and Wednesday night.
  As a beginner I found ADH (Alpe d'Huez) had something for everyone and I will be returning in 2010, this time for two weeks. Hopefully prices will have levelled out a bit by 20010.

  (Note from the editor: 20010. I like your humour or is this a simple missprint?)

• April 18, 2009
  Tanya from France
  

  As a Scottish national who has been in France for over three years I would like to comment on the complaints about prices here. It's changed by no more than about 50 cents for drinks in the time I have been here (Alpe d'Huez). It is simply not feasable to reduce prices here just to suit the weak British pound. If you want cheap the only option is to really stay in England as wherever you go the pound will be the weak currency at present. As for slow lifts, you obviously have not actually experienced the resort. There are lifts suitable for beginners, tending to be chairs and expert, tending to be drag tows. For clientele who won't use drag tows or work out which are the faster lifts, a description of keen skier cannot be applied.

• March 31, 2009
  Lesley Moran from United Kingdom
  

  I've just returned from a week in Alpe d'Huez and will not be returning. The prices have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. Having paid £28 for two pints and two cokes I have to draw the line and will not be returning to ADH (Alpe d'Huez) again. Also the lift pass price was mad and the lifts are really slow and old. With the amount of money they are making they really should get some faster lifts. It's a real shame because 4 years ago it was one of the best resorts in France; it looks like greed has taken over.