Snowsure: 4.9
- 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
- La Rosière is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for La Rosière 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
January 23, 2007
Bob Powell from
United Kingdom
Bob Powell from
United Kingdom
La Ros - great little resort that has everything that you would want apart from snow making - 4 cannons is hardly enough. I was there with my family over Christmas and we had sunshine every day. Thank God it was cold so the snow was preserved for much of the holiday but got very rocky on the pistes that were open (that should have been closed as well). Italy (La Thuile) offers much better skiing and I would recommend anyone with a few days under their belt to get over there. 2 very long but simple drags and some polling get you over there is about 45 minutes but it's well worth it as the snow is so much better served as it is by 30 or so cannons. Ski (or ride) down to La Thuile for some great "proper" Italian food, not the plastic pizza that you get on the slopes. Start back from La Thuile around 3pm or you could get stuck and it is a long and expensive taxi ride back!
Plus points...
* Pretty resort
* Small enough to be friendly, large enough for decent facilities
* Shortish transfers from cheap flight airports
* Food not that expensive off the slopes, usual rip off on the slopes
* Link to Italy
* At 1850m high enough to keep the snow
* Beautiful views
* Evo2 Ski school excellent and cheap private lessons
Minus points
* Area quite small but link to Italy makes up for it but long distance to travel
* Little number of piste watering holes
* Poor artificial snow coverage
* Can get very busy at the weekends
January 03, 2007
Stuart Ibbotson from
United Kingdom
Stuart Ibbotson from
United Kingdom
A very pretty and compact resort, but thank goodness for the link with La Thuile. We were in La Rosiere for Christmas 2006 and had wall to wall sunshine, which was great weather but there was a lack of snow and many runs and lifts were shut. There is a woeful lack of artificial snow making in the resort which means complicated plans to get back to some accommodation. Thankfully the Italian side of the linked resorts is much better organised. I would not book ahead for this resort but if the snow is good and you don't want much of a challenge, just pleasant slopes and great scenery, then go for it.
December 01, 2006
Dave Collins from
United Kingdom
Dave Collins from
United Kingdom
La Rosiere is very good because it is quiet. Over the years I have been to such resorts as Les Arcs & Chatel. I do find quiet a significant the differance in the whole feel of the town and atmosphere, probably due to the fact that La Ros is small and cheerful in contrast to Les Arcs which is busy and loud. I give La Rosiere 10 out of 10!
December 10, 2005
Iain MacNaughtan from
United Kingdom
Iain MacNaughtan from
United Kingdom
I won't disagree with alot of what chris has stated; it's all true, but worthy of note is the replacement of two of the main chairs in La Rosiere with swish, fast 6 man ones last season. A massive improvement.
There are quite alot of drag lifts, but whilst they're old and can pull a bit (with practice you can do tricks from some of the takeoffs!) they can keep running in the winds that the resort is known for.
Some of the off piste is top, and whilst there is not as much of it as there is in bigger resorts in the area (Les Arcs, Val d'Isere etc.) it takes alot longer to get tracked out.
November 18, 2005
Chris from
United Kingdom
Chris from
United Kingdom
La Rosiere (Ros) is a constantly expanding resort though still fairly small compared with its neighbours Les Arcs, Tignes, and Val-D. With the connection to La Thuile in Italy the pistes cover a substantial 150km of piste and there are vast off piste options available between them.
The area lift pass gets you discounted day rates at other resorts close by, definitely head to ste. Foy, voted one of the top ten off piste resorts in the world, where all the instrutors go on their days off, for just 10 euro for the day and only a 15 min drive from Ros; get someone to tell you the quickest way. Car hire available from Bourg St, Maurice.
The general feeling amongst people that visit this resort is that it really only caters for beginners to intermediates with mainly tame blue and red runs. More advanced skiers can ski both resorts completely in a couple of days with their only thrills being the blacks down through the trees into La Thuile and some off piste opportunities around the Fort area and that's as hard as it gets.
The resort is an ideal family resort and is dominated by the large influence of the specific child care companies that are there. It is also mainly all owned by the same french family, the "Arpin's", and this adds to the cosy warm welcome you get there. The resort is full of character and charm, a real idyllic alpine treat when covered by snow; a slagheap through summer though.
2 ski schools, both as good as each other, and similar prices.
It is much easier to let your travel company get your lift passes 'coz the office can be mayhem some mornings.
The lift system is not the most modern you will have ever seen even with the introduction last year of two new six-man lifts. There are a lot of surface lifts which are quite old and can give quite a nasty kick to get you on your way. The most important fact I can tell you is that those new lifts do not have an optional cover, oh no, you are a sitting duck to the wind that will take your skin off if you don't protect yourself against it particularly in 2nd half of January and all of February.
The snow record is pretty good, with an almost gauranteed dump lasting at least a couple of weeks in February i.e. a very cold blizzard and lots of white outs. With that in mind the best time to visit Ros for powder is either last week in feb or first week in march. Slush and uncertainty before new year and although the end to the season has sporadic small dumps that keep the resort going, most of the last week in march until the end of april is freeze/thaw conditions.
This resort is south facing so you can get your tan here too! The sun is only ever beaten by a good dump so take precautions or you'll be blessed with lovely goggle marks, etc.
Night life is not a big part of La Ros with just 4 bars in town. The best for entertainment, hospitality and value would be Le petit danois - the little danish? And if Meds (sounds like mess but slightly with a D in it) is there behind the bar this year you're sure to have a wild time! Loads of good evening restaurants in resort, personal favourites include Le chalet (may be closed 05/06), L'ancolie or le petit danois (for a good pizza).
Eating during the day is best done in Italy, its both cheaper and tastes better.
Oh and beer, but don't have too many or try to carry loads back, coz you'll end up in a mess somewhere on the way back!
Ros has a chips/kebabs/pizza shop, only opens til 8pm.
Internet available in resort. Photography and video service too. Cinema and gym in town for white outs!
A few good equipment shops, but all at resort price, take a bus to Bourg st Maurice if you want stuff cheaper, I really recommend the "tip Top" board shop there.
Only one doctor in resort, he's good with bones and injuries but not much else, take nurofen or other painkillers with you in case, if the doctor writes you up for painkillers thats all it will be! but just cost you more! oh and even take bandages coz he will provide you with fancy ones at a cost though suppose if your insurance is good that'll cover it but he will expect to be paid by you in cash.
Piste rescue costs a lot, if you are going to be going off piste definitely take out a "carte neige" with the lift pass office, its really cheap and will get you off the mountain for sure, I've heard people with experience tell me that they won't take you unless they know they will get paid first so at bear minimum carry a credit card.
Crimes do occur every season, main threats to you are equipment thats not locked up overnight, coats in busy bars and monies from unsecure chalets.
Prettiest run, "fontaine froid" a red through trees in Ros Snow park is ok but kinda basic, you can get a nice back flip off one of the red kickers.
Overall, the resort is good and although i've started to sound negative I just wanted to give you a true insight to things that could potentially happen but are actually quite rare. So I would go back, but then I'm not an advanced skier, I hope I've not put you off, this resort is great if you are learning or improving.
Good activities available such as heli-skiing or snow shoeing.
Don't expect to see loads of st bernard dogs, even though this is where they originate from, the only ones your likely to see are the stuffed toy ones.
Oh, and La Ros is called so because of the beautiful sunsets and the pink colour it makes the snow look.
Happy Dayz!
April 30, 2004
Jimbo from
United Kingdom
Jimbo from
United Kingdom
La Rosiere (La Ros) is a fairly small resort and not normally one I'd consider going to owing to the limited runs (but it was a cheap deal and I was broke !).
The limited skiing problem is alleviated by the links with La Thuile in Italy (no ? you don?t need to ski with your passport!) making the overall resort a reasonable ski area. It is still much, much smaller than the Three Valleys, La Plagne / Les Arcs
Ski area : If you ski hard (e.g. first lift in the morning, last run down at night) you can ski the entire resort (including Italy) in three days. This means that you then spend the rest of your time skiing the same runs - or going off-piste. Italy has some great black runs which are well worth the on drag over from la Rosiere
Lift System : Have you ever seen those really fast, six man lifts in Les Arc ? Well you won't see any in La Ros! The lift system in is very old and slow (I half expected to find Oompa Loompas operating the pulleys to make the chairs move!).
La Ros also has a higher than average reliance on drag lifts. Again ? these are very old and it?s beginning to show. Most drag lifts will get you on your way with a bit of a jerk and reasonable acceleration but nothing to worry about. Some of the drags in La Ros result in a start that aircraft carrier pilots would be proud of. Quite a few times we actually managed to ?get air ? as the drag suddenly caught the wire and literally whips you off your feet. It?s bloody uncomfortable and painful ! As with the lifts - they?re old and need servicing or replacing (or simply employ more Oompa Loompas to operate them more smoothly)
On the plus side the lift pass is reasonable (?100 for both France and Italy) and the electronic system works well.
Eating : There are few mountain restaurants in la Ros / la Thuile - but the ones that are there are reasonable quality. They sell beer and omelettes - what more do you need ? The cost however is marked. In France a pasta dish and a beer will cost you about ?15. in Italy ? About ?7 !!! It is significantly cheaper to eat in Italy. In fact you might be better off staying in la Thuile and then skiing across the la Ross if you want to. You then get the best of both worlds - an affordable resort with a reasonable ski area.
Mountain Info : La Ros is just across the valley from Les Arcs - you can see Arc 2000 from la Ros at night. La Ros does suffer from high winds closing lifts (and especially the link with Italy). It is quite possible for La Ros to have the top lifts closed whilst les Arcs has no wind at all ! If this is the case you can always get a bus down to Bourg St Maurice and get the funicular up to Arc 1600 (total journey time - LR to Larc - 1 hour).
Night life : La Ros is fairly quiet - but there are enough bars to keep most people happy. After all - if you're up all night drinking beer and then sleeping off a hangover in the morning - what are you doing in a ski resort ? Go to Ibiza instead !
Kids - Don?t have any?.but I expect that parents and kids would quite like La Ros as it?s self contained, quite friendly and has skiing for kids to learn.
Snow record - actually very good. Sometimes better than the other side of the valley (Les Arcs, La Plagne) but bear in mind the situation re: wind. No point in having lost of snow if you have to ski in a blizzard !
Overall - Would I go again ? No - not unless they upgrade the lifts, replace the awful drag lifts and develop some more runs. It?s simply too small and not challenging enough. The resort is also far too dependant on the weather - a few days of high winds can really ruin your holiday in La Ros whereas you?d have been OK in Les Arc / anywhere else.
If you have kids learning to ski ? or you like to ski half days (the point of a half ski day being ?????) you?ll probably like it !
October 29, 2003
john glenon from
United Kingdom
john glenon from
United Kingdom
La Rosiere is a wonderfully uncrowded resort where you can get away from all the hustle and bustle that is the norm at other better known resorts. Perfect for learning and improving your sking with lovely wide slopes available all over the mountain. Linked with La Thuile in Italy, it offers the best of two worlds. pasta and pizza on the slopes for lunch and a tasty french fondue for evenings back in the friendly village.The resort is ideal for those who want to enjoy their sking without having the 'in your face, full on' nightlife that is the norm in other better known/commercial resorts. All the restaurants are very warm, friendly and offer superb food. The sunshine is fabulous during the spring months and always in abundance and the views across and down the valley provide a breath of fresh air. La Rosiere has a great snow record compared to other resorts even in bad years. Book now for a really pleasant experience, you won't be dissappointed..
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