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Alpe d'Huez resort snow
Lat Long: 45.10° N 6.07° E
Ski France

Alpe d'Huez Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Alpe d'Huez at 2225 m altitude

Issued: 1 am 21 Apr 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Alpe d'Huez: 0.5 cm on Wed 22nd  (after 9 PM)

Visitor reviews for Alpe d'Huez Ski Resort

Alpe d'Huez Ratings

Overall: 4.0. Based on 82 votes and 110 reviews.

Rate this resort

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

Variety of pistes: 4.4

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Alpe d'Huez has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.0

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.1

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.9

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Alpe d'Huez

Public Transport: 3.8

  • There are no buses or taxis to Alpe d'Huez
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.4

  • No places to stay in/near Alpe d'Huez
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.6

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 3.9

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Alpe d'Huez

Ski in/Ski out: 4.5

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 4.2

  • There are no child care facilities at Alpe d'Huez
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 4.1

  • Alpe d'Huez relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 4.1

  • There are no snow groomers at Alpe d'Huez
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Alpe d'Huez are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.2

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Alpe d'Huez is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.4

  • If snow conditions are poor at Alpe d'Huez, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.1

  • Alpe d'Huez usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.1

  • The staff at Alpe d'Huez are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Alpe d'Huez are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.6

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 4.3

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.4

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 4.5

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.5

  • No intermediate terrain at Alpe d'Huez
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.4

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.7

  • Not even a kicker at Alpe d'Huez
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.8

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Alpe d'Huez
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 3.5

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Alpe d'Huez has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 4.0

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 4.3

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 4.1

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 4.5

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 3.9

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 3.9

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.7

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.8

  • Overall, Alpe d'Huez is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.8

  • Overall, Alpe d'Huez is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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February 12, 2007
Nick from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Was there in mid Jan with the scary warm weather, had one powder day over the back but then lifts were closed due to high wind so freshies were out of bounds. In general conditions were awful, ice, slush and off-piste concrete, like the rest of the French Alps at the time, to a worse or less degree. It looked like the resort had potential with the right amount of snow for good off-piste. I actually thought the place was limited with pistes compared to other resorts in France I've been to, also no tree runs but this was due to the weather and the fact lower runs to outlying villages were closed. Liked the resort, but didn't love it, even if there had been enough snow. Check out the church in the village, a weird modern build and unusual organ, worth a nose!
January 27, 2007
skibum from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Huge resort and no comments for nearly a month about weather skiing conditions. Any news,tips and advice? Some smaller resorts have livelier reviews than this one. Grab the keyboards and type something about this lovely place .:)
January 19, 2007
Buzzer from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
For Michelle, I guess the Stuart you mention is Stuart Adamson of British Masterclass, He is not the cheapest but you will learn more in 3 days from him than most others can teach in 5, leaves you more play time. His e-mail is a little iffy, but phone numbers are tel/fax 0033(0) 476809383 and mobile 0033(0)679673456 Best of luck and post back info on your return as to how good or not the lessons were TA.
January 11, 2007
skibum from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Alpe d'Huez is probably the best place for early intermediates. Everywhere you go up to 2700m there are vast and wide opened runs down to resort. Added bonus: The snow cover is good considering this seasons' mad weather. I have done the difficult job of teaching my wife who is now ok on skis and happy to just ski down without the risks. Different thing with my kids who are now into racing. Basically the early you start the better. Skiing is best!!
January 11, 2007
Millsy from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Love listening to people like Tom and Co. moaning on and on about things no one has control over, ie. gondolas closed because of wind, terrain closed because of lack of snow! Moaning Minny Tom does have control over where he stays in resort (staying central is best, obviously, not out in the sticks!), and when he visits a resort. No one has a devine right to be skiing in neck deep powder, especially before New Year, so quit complaining, you've been skiing afterall!!!
January 09, 2007
Michelle from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I am going skiing again to Alpe d'Huez on the 2nd of Feb 2007 and I would like to know if anyone can recommend and English speaking instructor. I have read a few people on this site recommend "Stuart". Does anyone know this man and how I can contact him. I would be really grateful as I am losing confidence with my ability year by year. Thanks
January 07, 2007
skibum from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Reply to Tom and company. I think you realise that it is best to stay in the center of Alpe d'Huez rather than the edges and satelites resorts. We didnt have any problems with closing lifts etc. If something was closed for reasons-wind wisibility etc., you can just ski to the other corner of Alpe d'Huez. You are right that the the interactive map was not very precise but this is a mountain and weather changes many times during the each day. We used the gondolas to 2800m only on our last 2 days .From the DMF gondola if we see that the big one your end is moving up we quickly go towards it and take it. If it was not working we stayed with the center. Actually we managed to ski almost everywhere for the 2-3 days skiing. Again snow below 1600m was not for own skis just for hire one because of many paches and rolling small rocks which damage the skis all the way from top to bottom when touching the bases. Alpe d'Huez being resort with only south facing slopes will suffer from ice in the morning or melting faster that in other places but it is briliant for a family with wife skier who is slower and less chalenging and prefer runs with perfect views all day long. In Feb we are looking forward for testing the blacks up there and the Tunnel. My kids can wait another month. Bad points from Tom and Co but the weather is very bad this season and lower resorts always suffer in situation like this. We were ready to go skiing before the New Year but held it until I saw tha weather forecast for definite snow coming and then quickly booked just from 1st until 4th Jan and this way we avoided the icy slopes everywhere and very thin cover up to the 1st of the month. Even in the last moment we had quite a good choice of accomodation and it was not expensive at all. Alpe d'Huez is probably the best resort to go now (in Europe of course) and in the next few days until the snow falls everywhere. If you want alot of powder - head accross the pond. Wondering if they are any forums for this resord with more traffic. If Yes PLEASE POST THEM ON THIS SITE. regards skibum and family
January 06, 2007
Tom Waterschoot
We were in Oz en Oisans for a week (29/12 till 05/01). Alpe d'Huez has the potential to be a very good resort. But they have some very WEAK points at this moment. Information flow is disastrous: - Almost no info about weather conditions + expected weather for next days - At none of the major elevators information about open and closed slopes/elevators of the rest of the area - We ended up 3 TIMES (different days) on the Alpette, hoping to take the big gondola to 2800 meter (into Huez area), but the gondola was always out of work for different reasons. We could only take this gondola 2 times during the whole stay. This was supposed to be our highway to the center of the area, but it was more a source of anger. - The availability of the glacier is a disaster. The gondolas cannot work when there is some wind. - Elevators were supposed to open at 9, one day we could only take the first Poutran-gondola at 9.35! No explanation was given. On the contrary, the CLOSING times of major elevators are respected up to the minute. - Information on their website is very poor. Interative map does not work. Snow and ski info is misguiding.. I admit the exceptional weather conditions are not their fault. I expect that, if we could have done some myths like the Sarenne or the Tunnel, I would have been more positive. I can also understand that the weather was the reason for the bad condition of the lower slopes like Poutran/Olmet/Alpette/Petit Prince.. Anyway some positive points: - We did some unprepared, very nice slopes at the back of the Signal, this was really fun. - Taking into account the circumstances, waiting times were acceptable. I don't think I will return to the area. Certainly not before they address the weak points mentioned.
January 06, 2007
skibum from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just back from 2 days skiing in Alpe d'Huez. 1 Jan the conditions were very bad ,the snow was very thin brown patches everywhere. The snow started that night and the next day the place was transformed into winter land. 40 cm snow cover overnight and it was still snowing all day. Started thinking of how to get back down to Grenoble. Wed 3rd of Jan the weather was sunny and just perfect. You could ski almost everywhere except the top into glacier - nothing was opened above 2800m. Anyway, with so much snow we didn't miss that. After few queue problems on the main gondolas on the normal chairs there was max. 2-3 minutes wait. Very pleased with the place. Read some feedbacks on this site and was expecting much less. Stayed next to the open air pool and 5 min to the main ski area. It looks that if you stay in the lower part of the resort there are more walks involved to the main chairs. The higher towards Rond du ski place are better. Only didn't like the fact that the whole resort allows cars everywhere and that spoils the place. Alot of apres for the kids-sports center, tramplolines, ice rink, swimming. Very pleased that the prices were cheaper than average for french resorts. The runs to Vadjany and anywhere lower than 1500 meters were icy patchy and only for hire skis. All in all, booked another one this time staying for 10 days at half term this February. It is very rare for my family to book twice in a season to the same resort. The only anoying thing with the resort I found was that the lift passes are still not electronic - only photos hanging around like a Xmas trees decorations. Suprised a resort of that caliber has not to invested in the credit card ones. To be desired:- the webcam is only one and for the 5th resort in France that is just not acceptable. If you are going on a self catering holiday and drive to Alpe d'Huez dont bother with buying food supplies from the towns down below. Not worth it. In the resort there are plenty of supermarkets and very reasonable prices. Just remember that they all close at 8pm or at least that was the case this time. In February, I am looking forward to the night skiing and hoping for even more snow. Ah and one more thing. There are some very old and slow chairs here and there which have to be replaced soon. Bur no worries if you stick to the fast ones you will be ok and have alot of mileage each day.
March 28, 2006
Anthony Hartley from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
What a place! First went back in 2003 during the Summer time with my family. Since been back in Winter and WOW...so much so we've bought an appartment there. Done the Swiss ski stuff...loved every minute...but Alpe D' Huez is home! ESF Jac Sert-Marc; top instructor!!!!! Go and see d' huez ;-) Anthony Julie Orla and Bliss Hartley Preston Lancashire