Visitor reviews for Le Grand Bornand

• October 11, 2008
  Andrew from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  An update on the lift attendant situation - it seems that from this year there will be keycards, not the mildly annoying plastic cards around your neck or arm. Purchaseable in advance online, and can be topped up online if you keep it.
  Which is nice.

• August 08, 2008
  Stephen from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  We simply love the place. We live in Northern Ireland, but we've property in LGB for family and friends only as we use it for about 4 to 5 months per year. It's a super resort in winter and summer and it is authentic France. No posers here. Le Grand Bornand offers a wide variety of restaurants - La Croix St Maurice, Casanova and Le Traineau [Michelin star] to name a few. The hotels are very central and offer good value. ESF is the main ski school, but you should try Emmanuel [Manny] a local ski instructor [+33680570803]. He really is excellent and totally fluent in English. He also runs a paracending school which is a very popular summer [and winter] sport. Watch out for the hot air balloons on Saturday mornings - excellent. You can get a ride, but it's not cheap! Check out LGB's web site for activities. Most of the towns have several fairs per annum - great fun. Keep a look out for the big Kid's festival at the end of August each year and also for the 'Tour' which regularly goes through the town.

• June 04, 2008
  Dan from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I don't rent out property for tourists either - I just like the place.
  It is a bit odd to criticise a French night club for being French though. As for lack of expert terrain, that also seems a bit harsh - as witnessed by the extent of off-piste mentioned below (and there seems to be plenty). The black pistes and mogul fields (and dedicated free-ride area off the back of the Lachat) seem quite advanced to me. Still, what do I know?

• May 09, 2008
  Tony Wade from FRANCE
  

  Just a little update for those of you who are interested in a review from someone who does NOT rent property in the area for tourists.
  As of last season the crap nightclub was closed in order to make way for yet more rental property development. If you're coming away with the idea of late nights out you'll be in for a surprise.
  The paragliding is still excellent.

• March 09, 2008
  A.kimber from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Travelled to Le Chinaillon for New Year with boys 14 and 16 years. Stayed at Pistes du Soleil appartments in a fantastic location overlooking ski runs with a huge balcony. Sourced apartment direct from owner at fantastic price! Lovely resort especially as thanks to a top up overnight snow fall on the first night had uninterrupted sunshine and fantastic skiing all week. ESF ski school; brilliant again, and, as a very nervous 40 something female, I felt I made good progress. Good for beginners and, from what my boys and husband told me, the rest of the resort ~ bits I would never see according to them ~ was great. The comments I have read about the lift operators I can't agree with but the system is not automated with passes needing to be checked visually. Used a fantastic ski hire shop that allowed your ski and boot storage at no extra cost with very helpful and friendly staff. Can't recall the name but it was literally at the end of the 'eglantines' run back to the resort. Resort itself, small with a limited number of restaurants and shops but buses run regularly to Le Grand Bornand which looked a delightful Haute Savoie town. Again, along with Les Saisies which we skied at last Easter, it was another very French uncrowded gem. Hope it stays that way!

• March 01, 2008
  sue from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Second visit to Le Grand Bornand in Feb 08. Had another fabulous time. The skiing was just right for beginners/intermediates. We have yet to explore many of the routes. We have not skied anywhere else so have nothing to compare it to. Having 2 children (10yrs and 12 yrs), night-life is not important. The choice at the restaurants is very good with a great market on Wednesdays.

• February 18, 2008
  Andrew from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  In addition to the reviews below, having just returned from Le Grand-Bo for a very sunny but cold week of nice family skiing, there are developments. It seems to be becoming more popular with the British and there has been a lot of building over the last two or three years. I hope they don't over-stretch themselves. The sheer amount of off-piste tracks, some of which must have taken hours of hiking to reach, was mind-boggling: look out from the Col des Annes and they go forever, and there were also many from the mountain behind the Vieux Village which seemed to come from miles away.
  I would also like to give a mention for the excellent Starski ski school. They've got my 7-year-old son unafraid of red pistes after only two visits, which can't be bad.

• February 03, 2008
  ian Wickham from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Hi All,
  Another fantastic Le Grand Bornand holiday. Snow was great in Le Chinaillon but the runs down from Rosay to Le Grand Bornand were closed.
  Still a great holiday and the kids were awarded their 1st star by a fantastic Esf ski school.
  Guess where I'll be going next year.

• January 11, 2008
  Fiona from FRANCE
  

  Grand Bornand is a lovely place for families & couples not looking for buzzing nightlife. I read one reviewer complaining about the night club. If you want night clubs and fancy bars go somewhere else. This is a laid back resort offering a relaxed break for beginners to intermediates. There are plenty of non ski activities and the people are very friendly.

• January 10, 2008
  chris wilson from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Grand Bornand is one of the best kept secrets of the French Alps. A lovely unspoilt and completely authentic part of the Aravis region. The village is charming and the locals are some of the most friendly I have met whilst skiing. In summer the place is enchanting - and as one of the region's biggest agricultural communities there are three times more cows than people.
  The skiing is excellent - with a great snow record and, because a lot of the skiing is on mountain pasture, it does not need the depth of snow which much rockier resorts need to get a decent coverage. While the piste map does not indicate a massive amount of skiing on the scale of the mega French resorts, this is deceptive. A morning with a local instructor will show you lots of fabulous intermediate to very difficult off-piste areas.
  I have been coming here for the last 4 years - and will keep coming. Cant wait until they build the interconnecting link with La Clusaz!

• January 07, 2008
  Sam Brown from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Great resort. Quiet and traditional. Just got back and the snow coverage was very good over the Christmas period. The town is fairly quiet but very nice nonetheless. Very nice in the summer too :p

• December 27, 2007
  Lucy Brown from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I have visited Le Grand Bornand on many ocassions now, both in the winter for skiing and the summer for walking. It is quiet enough to be relaxing and peaceful in summer, but busy enough in winter to have a bustling ski resort feel to it. With plenty of beginner and intermediate slopes to choose from, it is an ideal place to learn how to ski. There are a number of more challenging slopes, plus great transport links to other Aravis resorts nearby where there are plenty of slopes to keep all abilities happy. I look forward to returning again soon and hope not too many people find out about the delights of the area, so that it retains its small friendly French ski resort feel.

• February 06, 2007
  Ian Wickham from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Hi all,
  Just got back from Le Grand Bornand. Snow not as good as last year and there were a few more English voices to report ( Thomson now has property here). When we arrived the resort was 80% green but a good dump of snow on Tuesday/Wednesday opened the resort. We have now been back home ten days and it has taken me this time to repair the ski damage to three sets of ski's (from stones). Still, we will be going back next year.

• January 22, 2007
  Tony Wade from FRANCE
  

  Having lived in Grand Bornand for the past 5 years I am fairly familiar with it. The skiing is fair. Great for beginners or low intermediates, but if you can ride or ski well you will soon realise that there is very little expert terrain. The lift system is good, but the attendants are pretty lazy about keeping the chair from slapping you in the back of the knees and I have frequently found them sleeping(!!!) in the liftshacks while at work. There is no notion of crowd control so on busy days prepare yourself for frustration while you wait in line and watch empty chairs flying up the mountain.

  The village is very pretty, but getting worse all the time as building permits are handed out to big developers to put in some rotten apartments and blow holes in the side of the mountains which look like stripmines. It's a shame.

  As for the nightlife, it's very tame in comparison with other resorts I have known. The only nightclub is 6 km up a windy road where you can expect to pay 8 euros for a pint and sit in a, usually very, empty club listening to some really poor French tripe. About as energizing as taking a valium.

  The paragliding is excellent however.

• December 30, 2006
  Ian Wickham from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  A beautiful resort, like previous reviewers a very french resort with few english voices.There are some loverly resonable priced restaurents with good home cooked food.
  We are returning to le grand bornand in January 2007 which is very rare for us, the snow cover last year was fantastic here's keeping our fingers crossed for 2007.

• January 20, 2006
  Andrew from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  A lovely resort, not huge but big enough and you can get a lift pass to cover La Clusaz and the rest of the Aravis if you want. Unpretentious, good skiing and also not over-priced. Not only is Le Grand Bornand village itself a nice place to stay (can recommend the Hotel Croix St. Maurice), but you can stay up the mountain in Le Chinaillon; even Annecy, a beautiful city with lots of everything is only 40 mins. drive away, giving the opportunity to ski all day and get some city sophistication in the evenings. If you like that kind of thing...

• March 22, 2005
  marcus from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  If you want a European resort away from all the Brits, and like the idea of a very 'Frech' resort, this is it. Very picturesque, good value, not the wildest at night, fairly small ski area (when compared to the big ones like Val d'Isere) but very unpretentious. A breath of fresh air if you want to avoid all the English hordes - excpet me of course.

• December 03, 2003
  Will Cox from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Le Grand Bornand is a beautiful resort in Summer and Winter. It retains its old charm and has fantastic skiing and mountain walks in the Summer. We have been coming here for 5 years ever since we bought our chalet.