Snowsure: 4.3
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Alpe d'Huez is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Alpe d'Huez Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
March 23, 2010
David Keane from
United Kingdom
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
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
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
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
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
France
dod from
France
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
France
digger from
France
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
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
France
Joan from
France
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
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
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