The Official 2012 Snow Calendar

Visitor reviews for Les Menuires Ski Resort

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• December 21, 2011
  Peter from Belgium
  

  I will be going to Les Menuires next week, after a fantastic week last year. We stayed in the Belhambra Neige et Ciel, which is great for families, with a very good buffet.

  Skiing in Les Trois Vallées is simply fantastic. The infrastructure in Les Menuires is very good (with shorter queues at the lifts then in Méribel), but I find the views in Val Thorens Better.

  My interest goes to skiing and not to the apres-ski (we have a 6 year old daughter), so I can't write much about that. Ski-passes are expensive, but for 600 km of well-maintained pistes, I find it worth the money.

• Les Menuires Ratings

  Based on 4 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 Les Menuires.	Public Transport: 3.5 (1) There are no buses or taxis to Les Menuires, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
  Scenery: 2.8 (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: 4.2 (1) No places to stay in/near Les Menuires, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
  Cheap Rooms: 4.0 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.	Luxury Hotels: 4.2 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Les Menuires.
  Ski in/Ski out: 4.8 (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: 4.5 (1) There are no child care facilities at Les Menuires, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
  Snowsure: 5.0 (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) Les Menuires is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.	Snowmaking: 4.5 (1) Les Menuires relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
  Snow Grooming: 4.3 (1) There are no snow groomers at Les Menuires, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Les Menuires are groomed daily.	Shelter: 3.5 (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) Les Menuires is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
  Nearby options: 5.0 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Les Menuires, 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: 4.0 (1) Les Menuires 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: 4.3 (1) The staff at Les Menuires are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Les Menuires are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.	Crowds/Queues: 3.3 (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: 4.3 (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: 5.0 (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: 5.0 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Les Menuires has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.	Beginners: 4.0 (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: 5.0 (1) No intermediate terrain at Les Menuires, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.	Advanced: 4.2 (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: 4.3 (1) Not even a kicker at Les Menuires, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.	Off-piste: 4.3 (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: 4.0 (1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Les Menuires, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.	Luge/Toboggan: 3.3 (1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Les Menuires has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
  Mountain Dining: 4.7 (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: 4.3 (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: 3.7 (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: 4.3 (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: 4.0 (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: 5.0 (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): 4.0 (1) Overall, Les Menuires 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): 4.0 (1) Overall, Les Menuires 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 4 votes. Vote

• September 23, 2011
  Bex from United Kingdom
  

  Feb28 - Mar 5 2011

  We stayed in Les Balcon d'Olympie, Preyerand, found great apartment at great price, everything we needed and nothing too far away. We decided on these dates out of UK half term...hmm, not such a great idea, we didn't know that the French have 3 split half-term weeks so we hit the BUSIEST week EVER!!! OMG, it was SO busy!

  We did have a dumping of snow on the night of arrival which was great until the sun melted, it then froze overnight and left with really icy conditions, that mixed with chaos made me as a learner, not make the best of my holiday.

  We ate out every day and found costs on a par with UK except you get really great food and absolutely massive amounts. Would recommend La Ruade, a great family run restaurant, bit pricier that a lot but you leave feeling over satisfied. We also had a great little place (don't remember the name) right outside our apartment down some steps, the raclette was amazing.

  After reading the comments on here about the rudeness of the French, we didn't have any rudeness from restaurants or shops, we did try to speak French...badly. On the slopes...slightly different, they do cut you up, they do push and not queue, I learnt very quickly to behave the way that they do, they aren't rude verbally, it seems that it is just their way.

  We are going back to the same apartment next year but this time a month earlier to avoid all those lovely families during their holidays!!

• February 07, 2011
  Cormac from Ireland
  

  Reasonable value in Les Menuires for food and drink, in comparison to any of the other 3 valley locations anyway. Skipass for 3 valleys is exorbitant at €234 for 6 days, I've been in a number of great places in Switzerland where ski pass is half that price. Lots of good runs, looks like great off-piste options but for us this year there was no fresh snow (29thJan - 5thFeb 2011-no snow for 2+ plus weeks). So it was rock hard and fairly icy but I'd say with fresh snow it would be heavenly. Val Thorens was easily accessible, as was Meribel and Courcheval. Self catering accommodation (Chalet Dame Blanche) was in great condition, had sauna and the beds were comfortable.

  Personally, I find the French extremely rude which would put me off going back to French Alps but maybe it's a cultural misunderstanding. This applies to service and encounters on the slopes.
  We rented gear from InterSport Troxler. The boots were junk which looked liked they'd been picked out of a skip somewhere (mine leaked when the snow melted on them), the boards were alright although definitely a few years old and they didn't have a helmet to fit me comfortably (my head isn't small but it's not extraordinary). All of this I could live with if there was some comforting words, but again with the French attitude all I got was a hmmmph and a shrug of the shoulders.

  Overall, it looks like great mountains for fresh snow but pricier, less welcoming and definitely less professional than equally good resorts in Switzerland (pending the exchange rate returning to normal levels).
  

• January 17, 2011
  Ray Lambert from France
  

  Wednesday 12th January 2011. Disappointing day. Following the fatal avalanche in Val d'Isère on Monday, the French Avalanche Service issued a grade 4 avalanche warning for today for all of the Northern French Alps - bit of panic setting in, I think. Dire warnings on Météo France, who have to pass on the message. In fact, we barely had 10cm of fresh snow on a snow pack which is pretty stable. I would put the avalanche danger today at 2, 3 to be really cautious.

  The result was that all of the upper lifts were very late opening. The pisteurs, regardless of what they thought, had to act on the warning by closing the upper lifts and blasting all the likely spots. They only managed to produce a few minor slides - a complete waste of time. The danger is that avalanche warnings from the Service could be ignored in future. Certainly the ESF were ignoring the grade 4 warning - there were plenty of groups with ESF instructors skiing off-piste.

• January 12, 2011
  Peter from Netherlands
  

  Les Menuires is for me the place to be. Not because of the village by itself, (ugly buildings as you can see on the webcam) but the area around it. Skiing is great everywhere. Val Thorens (lots of crazy young people) great high pistes. Meribel (trees averywhere) Courchevel, (just to see the rich and famous.) Buy a Trois Vallees skipass and you have almost 200 lifts and 600km piste to go.
  Apres-ski? No, then Les Menuires is not your place to be. And 10 bucks for a vin chaud? Never found that place.... Even not on the top of La Masse.

• December 12, 2010
  Stephen ROGERS from United Kingdom
  

  I spent all of last season in Les Menuires and will be going just after Xmas for this season. The last entry states £10 for a coffee or vin chaud in Les Menuires, where?
  Le Skilt on the Croisette: 3 Euro, whilst many others: 4 maybe 5 Euro but £10, no.
  This is a great location for skiing. If you want to eat on a budget go to "Le Croc" snack bar. Burgers, kebabs, chips: 5 to 6 Euro, if not, there are plenty of restaurants that suite all price ranges and believe me, there are some little gems hidden away serving good filling meals usually. The 'plat du jour' is around 12 to 14 Euro, some including a drink. One I can think of serves you that for 10 Euro. Look around and use the vouchers out of the weekly program, it all helps because, lets face it, skiing isn't the cheapest of sports in the first place.
  

• November 21, 2010
  Ray Lambert from United Kingdom
  

  I live to ski all winter in Reberty. Have done since I retired. Try looking at my report of snow and weather conditions, updated every evening, from mid December to end April.
  3xw.lambert.eggconnect.net

• September 10, 2010
  Simon Davies from United Kingdom
  

  Spring 2010 at Les Menuires:
  Skiing - not bad. Very overcrowded - even late in the season after the holidays.
  Prices - utterly extreme - £10 for a coffee or a Vin Chaud.
  Ski school - avoid ESF like the plague - utterly incompetent.
  Accommodation - pretty good.
  Weather - nice.
  Nuff said.

• January 23, 2010
  Richard from Germany
  

  I was coming to Les Menuires since 1984, sometimes staying 2 or 3 weeks in a row. In recent years the experience was that they don't care at all about customers and all about maximising profits. Ski lift company takes every excuse to close lifts. You can see with the bare eye that in Val Thorens the funitel runs all the way to 3200m, you see people arriving in Les Menuires from Meribel/Mottaret but in Les Menuires nothing runs above 2600m and the few opened lifts are totally overcrowded.

  That used to be different 10 years ago. Apparently, since the split up of the 3v lift company into smaller units things are running down.

  As of accommodation - it is "French". Beds are short and often miserable, equipment tends to break and for every broken piece of equipment you have to complain persistently for several days to get it repaired.

  Last year I wanted to sue Agence des Alpes, one of the worst accommodation providers I did ever come across (I have been to Africa!). The French lawyer told me that while I would win the case hands down the French law does not provide adequate recuperation of lawyer and court fees to the winning party. That means if I win a court case in France I still have to pay for it.

• October 27, 2009
  Caroline from United Kingdom
  

  I have spent holidays in Les Trois Vallees for years and rate the skiing as the very best for mixed ability groups. There is really excellent skiing and enough never to get bored. Les Menuires is very user friendly but very ugly. I stay in an apartment in Bettex/le Bettaix, one of the traditional villages between Les Menuires and Saint-Martin de Belleville. You get the best of all worlds with beautiful tranquil surroundings yet it is linked by chairlift to all the downhill skiing and cross-country trails and walks. There are no shops but there is an excellent restaurant with a bar upstairs which sells fresh bread and croissants in the mornings. It's only a very short drive to all the amenities of Les Menuires and Saint-Martin but I do a big shop in Moutiers on my way and top up in my rucksack before skiing home ( green/blue) each day. To be highly recommended. If you prefer catered accommodation, there are chalets in Le Bettaix/Bettex as well.

• December 30, 2007
  ryan from United Kingdom
  

  Stayed in a fully catered chalet in March 07. Had great time, 6 blokes boarding, 1 skier, untold amount of runs and no matter how hard you try you could never do it all in a week, and we tried very hard!!!! Resort is quiet but there are a few lively bars to try out. Going back in Jan with girlfriend as plenty of gentle slopes for her.

• April 24, 2006
  Tomas from United States
  

  stayed in the Hotel des Alpes. Perfect location on foot of slopes. The food did not have a large choice but was still very nice. Plus the hotel was very cheap and with very friendly staff. It is very easy to ski to both Meribel and Val Thorens and beyond! BUT, for my friend and I at night there was hardly anything to do. it was "dead".

• February 15, 2006
  Shorty from United Kingdom
  

  My girlfriend and i spent the last week of 05 here and we had a thoroughly good time. It's fairly quiet of an evening as there seems to be a family atmosphere. I never experienced any wait for the lifts even though it is considered to be a high season week and some runs are nothing short of excellent(I was on a board). If you wish to do some distance, save some money and have a few quiet beers & a meal of an evening its the place to explore the 3v.

• February 15, 2006
  Rachel from United Kingdom
  

  Stayed in Reberty in Feb 05. A satellite village just up the hill from Les Menuires main resort and much more 'sympathique' than the concrete jungle of Les Menuires itself. We had absolutely fantastic accommodation, real ski-in, ski-out chalet with SilverSki, even included a hot tub to rest the weary legs. Wonderful to ski right back to the garage door at the end of the day and it's so high up (just above 2000m) that even the last run had delightful snow and no horribly icy bits for tired legs.
  Three Valleys skiing is phenomenal if you just like to cruise and cover lots of ground. Potential for completely different terrain and views every single day you go out. We had great snow so were able to ski all the way down to St Martin de Belleville which was a first in three holidays in this area. La Masse had superb snow, as did the fourth valley which has a couple of fantastic long runs and was virtually deserted by 3 o'clock in the afternoon (everyone is obviously panicking about getting back to base before the lifts close!)
  Can't recommend this place highly enough, 6 days of superb sunshine following a huge dump of snow on the weekend we arrived. Has to be the best ski holiday ever!

• January 19, 2006
  Pete - UK from United Kingdom
  

  Same height as Courchevel 1850 so snow is pretty much guaranteed. Loads of stuff to go at - La Masse has huge off piste potential and is usually quiet as it's the furthest from Courchevel and Meribel. Check out that fantastic new sports centre as well - amazing new facility right in the village centre. Some nice new chalets available now. Bit of an undiscovered gem for us Brits.

• December 13, 2005
  Glenn McMenamin from United Kingdom
  

  From a tourist point of view, this is not the prettiest resort in the 3 valleys.

  However, from a budget point of view, it is substantially cheaper than the likes of Courchevel and Meribel etc, but has equal access to the same skiing areas, so do the maths.

  There is a lot of money being spent year on year to bring the resort in to keeping with the more traditional style of its neighbours, and I think that you will certainly see this reflected in price rises in the coming seasons.

  You must check out La Masse area, which has very good snow cover, and quieter slopes, especially in the morning.

  I am now a property owner in the resort, and have been for the last 4 years, this is in a new suburb, just below the main resort, which is fast growing, and is built in the traditional wood/stone way etc, making the area look a lot more authentic.

  Just my 0.02p anyway !

  G.

• January 05, 2005
  Alberto Pinho from Cape Verde
  

  Mágnifico. Tempo espectacular, boas pistas, excelentes restaurantes e gente muito simpática. É para repetir.

• March 25, 2004
  Nick Blamey from United Kingdom
  

  great skiing, friendly locals and some great restaurants up at Les Bruyeres. Forget Croisette: just snack bars, Shame that french dog owners are allowed to let their dogs pooh all over the resort. Disgusting when you have small children and statistically more dangerous to children than used needles apparently!

• February 27, 2004
  Mike Hutton from United Kingdom
  

  Stayed here in Feb 2004. Great value resort in relation to Meribel and Courchevel in neighbouring valleys.
  Skied in all three extensively to find that Les Menuires has the most interesting mix of easily accessible red runs with enough variety in blues to keep the wife occupied perfecting her parallels.
  Meribel Mottaret has the most challenging and well thought out snow park by far for me and the boys (13 & 14 yrs, skis and boards), and Courchevel 1850 the best scenery and black runs, with plenty of choice in all other departments.
  The day before we arrived there was a dump of 0.5m of powder, followed by 6 days of cloudless blue skies, making the whole experience the best winter holiday ever.
  Plenty of bars and restaurants in town for apres ski activities. Restaurants on the hill were generally steak hache/frites types with one at the top of the Bruyeres 1 cablecar offering a wider selection from a substantial hot food counter.
  Still much terraine to be discovered so expect to be back there next year.