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Visitor reviews for Le Mont-Dore Ski Resort

Le Mont-Dore Ratings

Overall: 3.8. Based on 17 votes and 3 reviews.

Snowsure: 3.1

  • 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
  • Le Mont-Dore is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.4

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Le Mont-Dore has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.6

  • 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: 4.4

  • 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 Le Mont-Dore

Public Transport: 3.7

  • There are no buses or taxis to Le Mont-Dore
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.1

  • No places to stay in/near Le Mont-Dore
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 4.1

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

Luxury Hotels: 2.4

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Le Mont-Dore

Ski in/Ski out: 3.9

  • 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: 3.5

  • There are no child care facilities at Le Mont-Dore
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 3.2

  • Le Mont-Dore relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 5.0

  • There are no snow groomers at Le Mont-Dore
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Le Mont-Dore are groomed daily

Shelter: 4.0

  • 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
  • Le Mont-Dore is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.2

  • If snow conditions are poor at Le Mont-Dore, 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: 4.5

  • Le Mont-Dore 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: 4.6

  • The staff at Le Mont-Dore are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Le Mont-Dore are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.1

  • 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: 3.2

  • 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: 4.2

  • 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: 4.6

  • 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: 4.0

  • No intermediate terrain at Le Mont-Dore
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.3

  • 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: 3.0

  • Not even a kicker at Le Mont-Dore
  • 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 Le Mont-Dore
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 3.7

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Le Mont-Dore has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.2

  • 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: 3.8

  • 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: 3.1

  • 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: 4.0

  • 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: 4.5

  • 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: 4.5

  • 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: 4.4

  • 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): 3.7

  • Overall, Le Mont-Dore 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): 3.3

  • Overall, Le Mont-Dore 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

January 23, 2015
alan bainbridge from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
My wife and I are both retired but enjoy our skiing. We have skied in Le Mont Dore for the past few years and have found it perfect for our needs. The people are really friendly and the ski staff are very helpful. Lift passes are very reasonable and flexible. The town, itself, is very good for shopping and, again, the people are very friendly. We have a property near Bellac so travelling to the resort takes around two hours using mostly motorways. If you need other Brits around you, you will be disappointed. This is mostly a French ski resort but we have found everyone friendly on and off the piste. As a retired ski coach, I can recommend Mont Dore to all levels but it is especially good for beginners and intermediates. Alan Bainbridge
August 24, 2013
Glen from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I skied here for a season over 2008-2009. During the entire season I met 1 English family so it really is undiscovered to the UK market. It is, however, my favourite ski resort of all those I have visited, whether in the Alps or the Dolomites or elsewhere. Of course, it is small, is difficult to get to from the UK due to the lack of flights to Clermont Ferrand, needs a bit of TLC when it comes to accommodation, is fairly low etc but what it lacks in these areas it more than makes up for in a relaxed charm and good skiing. On a good day you can be skiing in powder with no-one else around in the most dramatic scenery; not like the Alps but with a distinctive allure- it is the only place I have skied into an extinct volcano half pipe and witnessed a misty morning rainbow brockenspectre looking from the super besse ridge down into Le Mont Dore. Breathtaking. It is also cheap as chips; the least inexpensive ski resort I know.
January 20, 2009
Chris Turner from Ski France France
There is some really good skiing to be had here (Le Mont-Dore) and now the link with Super Besse is open there is some 90 kms of skiing. There is a panoramic restaurant at the top of the telecabine, food is reasonable but the whole place needs renovation. There is also a restaurant at the bottom of the chair lift. When you cross over to Super Besse you will be surprised at the extent of the skiing available. There are plenty of restaurants and bars here all offering a good variety of tucker. Overall, one of the most interesting and unknown ski resorts to the British public (6 day ski pass - 145 Euros, Meribel by comparison is 225 Euros, but of course you have access to the largest ski domain in the world).