Visitor reviews for Courmayeur

• February 17, 2008
  Darth Vadar from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I could not disagree more with what Andrew Downes has written.
  The town is charming, the people are delightful and very helpful, the lift system is good and skiing is good. The locals speak good English are are very happy to help at all times.
  There are 3 routes up the mountain. The Courmayeur cable car which takes 133 people per trip, the Dolonne gondola which takes 10 per car and the Val Veny cable car which I did not use but appeared to be about the same size as the Courmayeur cable. We did not experience any queues for these lifts and we travelled during the English 1/2 term week. This may have been a week before the main Italian holiday, but I do not know this for certain.
  It is possible and cheaper to hire the kit from the shops at the bottom. Lockers are provided in the hire shop free of charge if you hire their gear.
  There is a good selection of slopes for all abilities. The pistes are topped up at night with snow cannon and immaculately presented in the mornings. The mountain restaurants are better away from the Plan Checrouit and are very good.
  There are 4 express chairs, from which the vast majority of the ski area can be accessed. There are 3 older and slower chairs which provide a welcome break and an opportunity to catch your breath.
  About half of the ski area faces SE and the remainder faces NW. Take the opportunity to hire a ski guide (office in town centre) and ski the Col D'Arp or the Vallee Blanche. Cost was 79 Euros in Feb 08. Both are very worthwhile day trips and excellent value for money.
  The best restaurant we found was the "Travety". I may have misspelt this, but it is next to the pharmacy, down a flight of steps at the northern end of Via Roma (main street in town centre).
  Another excellent day trip is to La Thuile. This is just 30 mins away by bus. Time tables are available from both the bus station and the offices of the lift company, which are just at the top of the access road to the Courmayeur cable. Skiing the black #3 piste is a must (gradient of 73%).

• January 23, 2008
  Gary Snow from ITALY
  

  Visited Courmayeur in early January 2008 - good skiing for beginner's and intermediates but the more advanced could easily ski the whole area in 2 days. However, superb scenery and fantastic mountain restaurants more than make up for any shortfall.
  The ski area is located at Plan Checruit - a short cable car journey away from the town/residencies but be warned, as it starts at 8.45 every morning, early risers and fresh piste hounds should head for nearby Dollonne and catch the earlier running 4 person gondola to the top. It is well worth hiring a locker here for ease and convenience - we found the best restaurants at the top of the runs compared to those unimaginative and pricey ones at the base of Checruit. We found out later that the upper ones are largely run by the Italian locals-much, much better.
  The town is very pretty and upmarket, with many high quality patisseries, pizzerias, local produce shops, coffee shops and designer label cloth shops - not too expensive as many claim. In all we had a good time and yes - we would definitely go back. Take full advantage of the lift pass and visit nearby Pila (ideal for beginner's) and through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chamonix.
  P.s. well done Sam Spray - you picked it all up well !!
  Gary and the Redditch Mob

• January 08, 2008
  Katie Rathbone from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Fantastic week! Snow conditions superb even for beginners! This was my 2nd visit. The ski school was excellent and everyone was very helpful. The slopes were varied with some quite challenging terrain and the many restaurants were fantastic - especially Maison Vielle.
  Courmayeur as a town has much to offer in the way of shops & restaurants with many good eateries e.g The Tunnel and Mont Fret. Hotel Berthod was a family run hotel with good facilities and is very central.

• January 29, 2007
  Kermit from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I went with Interski!! It was amazing!! I went with my school it was the best trip I've ever been on !! Jay my instructor was very hot !! lol cyoo

• February 01, 2006
  Andrew from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Some great skiing for not too long a break. Once you get up the mountain that is...

  It's easy to get to from Milan / Turin / Bergamo airports, which makes it possible for a weekend (which I did), and the town itself I thought was beautiful. Also, if you're hungry, get to the Bar Roma on the main street round about 6pm for free food of very good quality.

  I suppose that's just ruined it for some people, but I'm sure I'm not the only person who's passed on that information!

• January 18, 2006
  Andrew Downes from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Courmayeur is unique in my experience. An easy motorway from Milan means lots of wealthy Italians have weekend homes here, which has resulted in a pedestrianised street of boutique (luxury) shops and a big sprawling town stretching up the valley. It feels like a proper town, not just a ski resort - the main ski hire shops are actually up the mountain at the first lift stations, though there is at least one hire shop at the bottom of each of the two cable cars. The presence of "old" money means that although the locals know what they're doing, we felt their attitude to customer service was a bit lazy (with some notable exceptions), a feeling confirmed by talking to a Milanese guy who said he has seen attitudes decline over 30 years. You will probably need to reserve a table at restaurants, either in the town or on the mountain, or you'll be greeted with snooty looks and a corner table at best. English isn't widely spoken but, being on the border, French is.

  The main Courmayeur cable car takes 130 people at a time but is inadequate in the Italian holidays. We went at New Year and there was up to 90 mins wait by 10:30am, though I believe there is a plan to build another lift by the 2006/7 season. I agree with Simon Taylor's advice to use the Val Veny cable car if you can, it's smaller (45 people) but there were no queues when we were there. There's a car park or if your hotel is at the Mont Blanc end of the resort like ours you can use a public bus. You'll probably be wearing your normal shoes for the car journey or walk to and from the bus stop, having left your skis and boots in a locker at your ski hire shop. You can't ski back to the town - you have to come down in the cable car, or ski down and get a bus.

  We went on a late deal with Crystal to the Hotel Astoria, a pleasant 3* with attached night club called Jimmi's open from 11pm most nights. This is allegedly the only club in the resort though lots of bars are open late in the centre. We never really went to the club, but the soundproofing is great and it never disturbed our sleep either. Hotel food was fine, very traditional, service was mixed. The hotel is a 45 min walk out of town but does run a free minibus to the Courmayeur cable car. It ran 4 times an hour when we were there, although I believe it normally runs only twice an hour. There's also a public bus to either Courmayeur or Val Veny cable cars (free with a lift pass or €0.80 single) but they don't run as often as you would like - only once every 40 minutes or so.

  The Astoria is just metres from the Mont Blanc cable car. Covered by a separate pass, this goes up and over the big mountain to Chamonix. You can sight-see and take lunch at a mountain restaurant or if conditions are right you can get off halfway and ski the legendary 22km Vallee Blanche run down to Chamonix - a guide is advised as it's not pisted and there are apparently plenty of crevasses. We didn't do this run, unfortunately. Getting back would either be via the same cable car or by arranged pickup - if you go with a guide it will probably be the latter.

  An interesting destination, one I'm glad I went to but not one I'll be back to in a hurry. The pistes were slightly ordinary and the lifts (even once up the mountain) largely antiquated, but the food, location and scenery were all excellent.

• November 10, 2005
  Dan Robinson from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Words don't quite explain the amazement as we borded the cable car in the morning, up to the runs. The resort is truly magnificent, and the sights are amazing when there is a lot of snow about. Right in the shadow of Mont Blanc, this resort makes wonders for sight seeing, and with its location next to loads of other resorts, it makes a wonderfull week. Loads of off-piste to be had and you don't have to go too far off track to get it!

• January 08, 2004
  Simon Taylor from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  It seems Bouton D'Or is popular with users of this site - we stayed there too. It's a beautiful town and the food on and off the mountain is fantastic - Try Mont Frety and Pierre Alexis in town and La Grolla (Pendeint) on the Mountain. It's not a cheap place, but if you put quality first you'll love it. Only disappointing aspects are the relatively small ski area (although the top Cable Car serves some great off-piste runs - If you're up for a challenge hire a guide and get off the beaten track) and the access to the mountain. There are 2 cable cars and neither is that convenient for Hotels. If you've got your own car take the Funivia up from the next village down the valley (Val Veny).

• January 08, 2004
  Bob Slattery from UNITED STATES
  

  Courmayeur is a beautiful medieval town. The ambiance was perfect for our 1st visit to the Alps. We stayed at the Bouton D'or Hotel. The family that runs it are great and it has nice views Mont Blanc. We have stayed there twice.
  Eat dinner at restaurants in Courmayeur. The food is excellent and there's no reason to eat at the same place every evening.
  The skiing can get boring after a few days. We rented a car for the week and skied all over the place; Cervinia, Zermatt, La Thuile etc. Now you can get back from Chamonix too!! Courmayeur is super!