Overall:
3.8.
Based on
13
votes
and
7
reviews.
Vote
Access: 4.3
(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 Auron.
Public Transport: 4.1
(1) There are no buses or taxis to Auron, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
Scenery: 4.4
(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: 3.6
(1) No places to stay in/near Auron, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
Cheap Rooms: 3.5
(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.
Luxury Hotels: 3.0
(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Auron.
Ski in/Ski out: 3.8
(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: 3.2
(1) There are no child care facilities at Auron, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
Snowsure: 4.3
(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) Auron is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.
Snowmaking: 4.3
(1) Auron 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 Auron, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Auron are groomed daily.
Shelter: 3.7
(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) Auron is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
Nearby options: 3.5
(1) If snow conditions are poor at Auron, 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: 3.9
(1) Auron 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: 4.2
(1) The staff at Auron are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Auron are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.
Crowds/Queues: 4.0
(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: 4.1
(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: 4.7
(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: 4.2
(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Auron 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: 4.2
(1) No intermediate terrain at Auron, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.
Advanced: 3.7
(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: 2.8
(1) Not even a kicker at Auron, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.
Off-piste: 3.4
(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: 2.8
(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Auron, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.
Luge/Toboggan: 2.6
(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Auron has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
Mountain Dining: 4.1
(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: 3.8
(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: 3.4
(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: 2.8
(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: 3.2
(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: 3.7
(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: 4.0
(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): 3.8
(1) Overall, Auron 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): 4.1
(1) Overall, Auron 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.
This resort competes with the other similar altitude resorts of the south of France. The 4 resorts are Auron, Valberg, Isola 2000 and Limone in Italy. All 4 are similar distances from the French rivière, with e exception of Limone, depending on which side of Nice you are starting from. From the get go, Limone, has the best food on pistes, it has also a dominant north facing set of pistes and therefore, benefits from the initial snowfall that sometimes does not make it over to the French side. Between Auron and Isola 2000, well one has aged and moved with its times better than the other. That would be Auron. It is. not only more picturesque, which serves no purpose admittedly if you are merely looking at the skiing aspect. But it certainly does, when you are looking for somewhere to chill for apres-ski compared to the concrete jungle that is Isola 2000. That said, Isola 2000 has a great variety of pistes to choose from whether it be for morning skiing or afternoon skiing since the resort is predominantly set in a definite v shaped valley, with one side favouring the east and the other favouring the west. This is where Auron differs, the pistes are multiple and face to different cardinal points, so ensuring that when you get to know your way around, you can chase the sun. Especially in February and March...
We've been regularly skiing Isola for years & never given Auron much thought as we thought it too low. What a mistake that was!
Firstly, compared to Auron village, Isola 2000 is the absolute pits. The main Auron village square is a pretty alpine affair set around an ice ring that provides fun for children & adults alike. Little chalet stalls like those of Christmas markets are set to one side, while shops flank the other. Plenty of shops, bars, restaurants & hotels to choose from, all with friendly attentive service.
Yes, you can't ski back to the village itself but you can drive or catch the gondola that is just a few minutes up to the main ski area that features an excellent debutant green served by a chair lift perfect for beginners (no hideous drag lifts to put beginners off).
The skiing is perfect for a long weekend with lots of choice in both difficulty & length, plenty of lifts & some good off-piste if the conditions are right. Good snow cannon cover too, ensuring you can make a circuit of the resort runs. Like Isola2000 they have an airbag, but it's FREE & they also do bulk deals on ESF lessons, again unlike Isola2000.
Lots of lovely places to stop for lunch or a drink, from converted stone shepherd huts to large self service affairs & everthing in between. Wish we'd made the effort before, way better than Isola in all but altitude. We've switched our allegiance! Couple of top tips; Le Grizzly on St Etienne side has good food & rooms so you can stay on piste. Blanch on near the debutant runs is great for lunch & the best little hotel we found was Hotel Le Blainon. Faultless in terms of cleanliness, service & location....
December 19, 2010
Vickie Cantwell
from
United States
I skied Auron and Vallberg as a kid of 12, 13, and 14. Wow, that was 47 years ago. Still looks like a great little place. Would love to go back some day. I remember one New Years eve we were swimming in the Med on the Cote D'Zure (where we lived) and the next day: New Years Day, we were in such a blizzard of a snow storm in Auron, even yellow goggles didn't help much. I have great memories!
I have skied in Auron for the past 30 years, and every year the runs and lifts have been improved, to the point where there are the best part of 150 Km of pisted descent to enjoy. Quick lifts, practically no queuing, well maintained runs, mostly red or blue, some blacks to keep the adrenalin flowing (but not terrifying!).
A good holiday resort, but not by any means "Bling": no shopping, hip nightlife etc. But for the" golden oldies" free ski passes- yes, if you are 70 or over you ski for free at Auron!!!
I have been fortunate to ski since I was a child all over Europe; in small 'off the beaten track' resorts in Austria, in Switzerland, but mainly in the larger and rather obvious French resorts of Val d'Isere and the 3 vallees. My parents moved to the South of France about 7 years ago and being the Geographer that I am, I would spend my days looking at maps of the local area and would eventually discover a host of resorts in "Southern Alps" or Alpes Maritimes as they are known down here. To quote the other review here, not only had I never heard of Auron, I never even knew that you could ski this far south.
My wife to be and I set off one late autumn morning from the mild climes of the Var, in search of some potential ski resorts and a few days away in the mountains. As we drove north from Nice we called in at Isola with its modern highway taking us up to 2000m. As you drive up, it appears a pretty inaccessible place and I imagine that before the purpose built resort was developed there would have been nothing there. In the summer (even early November) you can drive up the dirt track to the Col (I can't remember its name) and admire the views over into Italy. But, for us, Isloa seemed void of charm and so we headed off.
Next on our list was Auron, a short hop up the valley. We arrived at dusk to a quiet, small but traditional Alpine village nestled into the side of the valley. This would suit us pretty well we thought. We cagily stuck our noses into one or two hotels and settled on one at the top of the square. We enjoyed a very good raclette for dinner across the road, which was very good value by general resort standards, and headed back to the bar in our hotel for a few drinks after, mainly because that was where all the noise was coming from. My fiancee has been spoiled on the best and biggest ski resorts in Europe and wasn't convinced. Not big enough. Won't be enough runs, no nightclubs. But I was determined to come back.
So we did; last year in March. By all accounts way too late to be skiing down here. "March in Auron", the locals would say, "take your sun lounger". We sort of guessed this, but also knew that it was unseasonably wet with Mum and Dad and that meant that snow would still be falling. Auron and Isola had also had more than its fair share all winter. We had an amazing four days. Plenty of easy stuff and enough reds and blacks for the more competent. For those with experience you will ski this resort out in a few days, but there is plenty to go at and above all it is empty. The Nice'oise come up for the weekends and you can, apparently, have to queue; whilst the school kids get a half day on Wednesday and the place is awash with little tiddlers bombing around the place. But other than that we had the run of the place to ourselves. Blistering weather, skiing in t-shirts all week, though the air temperature was cold enough to hold the pistes together for most of the day. After lunch, it got a bit slushy further down, but we soon worked out that there are some good north facing runs in front and to the left of the village and a whole lot more over the back. All the off-piste was baked hard - so we were confined to the motorways, but they were beautifully kept.
We opted for a different hotel to one we had previously stayed in and if I had a criticism, it might be the accommodation. The hotel we stayed in on our reconnaissance trip had undergone something of a facelift and was now the place to be seen in the town (again I can't remember its name, but we might stay there the next time we visit). Our hotel included an €8 breakfast supplement, which seemed extravagant for a croissant and a chocolat-chaud, so we ended up buying a couple of croissants form the boulangerie in the square and enjoyed them with a chocolat-chaud on the terrace of the hotel at the top of the square again. They didn't seem to mind and the blond girl in tight jeans serving us seemed happy to see us.
If you are looking for Val d'Iere - then you should head there. But if you are looking for something a little different, a bit of old fashioned charm, a decent steak-frites on the mountain and somewhere to come with a young family of some friends for a few days - try Auron. I loved it. The misses liked it - one day I'll get her to see it like I do. Next time we would go in January or February.
November 13, 2009
Julie Smith-Moorhouse
from
United Kingdom
Auron is a pretty village full of charm and is a little gem in the Alpes-Maritimes. It is located just 55 miles from Nice & Monaco.
I have skied for over 30 years and had never come across this resort in any of the UK ski brochure. I discovered it 3 yrs ago when I was touring the region. I liked it so much I ended up buying a property there.
Auron has a 135km of excellent beginners/intermediate slopes and 9 black runs along with plenty of excellent off-piste skiing. Well groomed slopes and supported by an abundance of snow cannons. There are great family facilities including a creche and an excellent adult/childrens ski school. There is good access to slopes at Auron and hardly ever any queues. There is also an excellent bus service from Nice airport direct to the village for just 1 euro. You don't need a car once you are in the resort. In the spring months you can combine it with a visit to the French Rivieira. This region boasts excellent snow conditions and more sunny days than anywhere else in the Alpes. Auron must be on your list of ski resorts to visit.
December 18, 2008
Anthony Ellard
from
United Kingdom
Auron is generally considered to be the best intermediate/advanced skiers resort in the Alpes-Maritimes. When fully open it covers a wide area & offers varied terrain above & below the tree line. Auron is not as snow sure as nearby Isola2000 but the snow cannon coverage seems to improve every year. A tip for people thinking of going; stay in linked St Etienne de Tinee; beautiful little village, no crowds & direct access to the best slopes
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