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Les Arcs resort snow
Lat Long: 45.58° N 6.81° E
Ski France

Les Arcs Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Les Arcs at 2390 m altitude

Issued: 1 am 05 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Les Arcs: 1.9 cm on Tue 5th  (after 5 AM)

Visitor reviews for Les Arcs Ski Resort

Les Arcs Ratings

Overall: 4.2. Based on 87 votes and 84 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.7

  • 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
  • Les Arcs is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.8

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

Off-piste: 4.5

  • 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: 4.2

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

Access: 3.8

  • 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 Les Arcs

Public Transport: 4.4

  • There are no buses or taxis to Les Arcs
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.7

  • No places to stay in/near Les Arcs
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.8

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

Luxury Hotels: 4.2

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Les Arcs

Ski in/Ski out: 4.8

  • 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 Les Arcs
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 4.2

  • Les Arcs relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 4.6

  • There are no snow groomers at Les Arcs
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Les Arcs 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
  • Les Arcs is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 4.0

  • If snow conditions are poor at Les Arcs, 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: 4.4

  • Les Arcs 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: 4.3

  • The staff at Les Arcs are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Les Arcs are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.7

  • 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: 4.6

  • 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: 4.7

  • 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: 4.3

  • 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: 4.7

  • No intermediate terrain at Les Arcs
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.7

  • 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: 4.2

  • Not even a kicker at Les Arcs
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.7

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

Luge/Toboggan: 3.9

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

Mountain Dining: 4.3

  • 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: 4.4

  • 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: 4.0

  • 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: 3.7

  • 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: 4.0

  • 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: 3.9

  • 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): 4.0

  • Overall, Les Arcs 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): 4.1

  • Overall, Les Arcs 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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November 21, 2008
David Jacobs from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Stayed in Arc 1950, Le Manoir, in March 2008. Great accommodation, with the added benefit of a heated outdoor pool, sauna & steam room. Fresh French bread delivered to our room every day; what a plus !. Total ski in/ski out. Meals can be pricey in 1950, but 2000 is better value in the evening, though Valentinos and Luigi can be good value, if you're careful. The snow was amazing with no queues, but best rental value is in 2000, or if you are driving at the InterSport in Bourg on the way up. Last season the cable car link to Plan Pleissey was closed, buy now it's open again, so much more skiing is available. I've already booked for two more weeks this coming season. Reading some reviews that Arc 1950 can be expensive to eat....have you been to any of the Courcheval resorts recently !!!
November 19, 2008
Simon Canning from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Keep the bad reviews coming please. That way Les Arc remains a really cool non Anglicised (Meribel etc) mega ski area with no queues, totally brilliant skiing and a small selection of quality apres venues. Accom..do you notice it when you are asleep. Food..eating is cheating. Ski and play and Les Arc has all you need.
April 22, 2008
steve from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I've been fortunate to stay in Les Arcs 1950 twice this season in Jan and April. The snow conditions on both trips were exceptional. For April we had snow 6 out of 8 days, little or no lift queues .. simply fantastic. A few comments. It's true that the concept board shop can get busy on Sunday am and Friday pm. One alternative is to rent from Arc 2000 taking the Cabriolet lift (which is open until 10pm) .. it takes about a minute! My favourite places to eat are Valentinos (pizza), Meli's burger bar (great at lunch time: €5 burgers) and the creperie. Also the waffles by the clock tower are great. I've also eaten in Chez Anne (Tartiflette was good .. they do takeout as well) and the 1950 brasserie (no complaints). Nice places to hang out are the wine shop and the club/bar down at the Manoir end of the village. The Spar supermarket is very well stocked .. the rotisserie chickens always smell fantastic outside! If you can stock up in Bourg St. Maurice then it's cheaper than the Spar. Finally, the accommodation (I stayed at the Radisson side of the village) is most similar to North American facilities rather than the typical concrete pigeon hole. The rooms are large and well furnished. Ours had a balcony, TV with UK TV channels, free WiFI access and most importantly access to a large heated outdoor swimming pool , along with jacuzzi, steam rooms and sauna! I love being outside in a pool when it's snowing! Another nice touch is the village is car free. When we were there they had sleigh rides through the village, another time husky rides. One final note, it would take < 5 mins from leaving our room to being on the piste. It really is ski-in/out. Looking forward to next years season already!
April 19, 2008
Fiona from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Prompted to write after seeing the two poor reviews of Les Arcs posted earlier. I would hate anyone to be put off this resort. I've visited over the past three years with my husband and four kids and had a fantastic time, particularly this year with the amazing snowfall. I've stayed twice in 1950 (exceptional apartments, high quality and truely ski in-ski out), but unfortunately the resort was fully booked this year, so stayed in 2000 at Chalet des Neiges. Again, I was impressed with the high quality accommodation and facilities (pool, sauna etc). I see that other reviewers have criticised other accommodation. I would say that, as an observer, the older apartment blocks look dated and not that appealing. But, I think it's true to say "You get what you pay for". The newer accommodation is superb and can't be faulted. As for eating out, I would agree that the restaurants are generally expensive and not amazing. Only exception is the Creperie in 1950 which we all loved and is worth paying for. However, the supermarket in 1950 is very good and we were more than happy to grab a quick snack at lunchtime and then cook our own evening meal. Nothing could be nicer than sinking into an armchair with a glass of wine and looking out of huge patio windows at the mountainside. All in all, I think Les Arcs is a fantastic place to stay and the skiing is wonderful
April 15, 2008
Alastair from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
First ski trip to Les Arcs & the conditions are awesome. Temp low & lots of fresh snow. Unbelievable conditions for April (actually the conditions would be good even for Feb-March!). If you can get a late booking go for it this year! What makes this resort different from the other high altitude French resorts is the variety of runs. When the weather sets in you can head for the trees (unlike Val d'Isere & Tignes when you're pretty much stuck when it's white-out conditions). When the weather clears go high-Aiguille Rouge for challenging, but quiet runs with excellent snow. We love Val d'Isere, but when conditions are this good Les Arcs is better. Arc 1950 accommodation is superb and is underpriced considering the quality-but eat elsewhere or self-cater as the 1950 restaurants are overpriced and of variable quality. We found some simple but decent restaurants in 1600 eg La Malouine (with great nautical decor) and if you look you can find good (albeit pricey) on-slope restaurants (eg Les Chalets de L'Arc).
April 01, 2008
Matt from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
The resort itself is not bad but the accommodation is the worst designed French rubbish you're ever likely to stay in. I can't comment for the more up market accommodation, but the self catering stuff is truly dire and needs urgent bulldozing. As people have previously commented, the food is utter rubbish and, quite frankly, I can't see from this resort how France is supposed to be any leading authority on food when the most basic of foods taste awful. If you can put up with the shoddy accommodation and the disgusting food and hit the slopes hard you won't be disappointed, especially when there has been a good dump.
March 26, 2008
Guest
We visited Arc 2000 in the third week of March. I have quite controversial feelings about this trip. Positive issues are good snow & mountain conditions, in general. On the negative side, the time of these "Le Corbusier mountain-industrial" villages should be over. Ski accommodation places like Aiguelle Rouge at Arc 2000 do not respect both people and mountains. They should be demolished and replaced by more human-friendly accommodation places. Les Arcs needs considerable investments to it´s lift infrastructure as well. Arc 1950 seemed a more comfortable place, but a really expensive one as well. Les Arcs, as a resort, can´t be compared with much superior resorts: Val d´Isere and Meribel for example (if we talk about French resorts). Short resume - Arc 2000 was probably a very ok ski resort at 1977, but in 2008 it needs considerable investments to bulldozers, to new architecture and to new lifts. Because the snow & mountains are very skier-boarder friendly there.
February 29, 2008
Paul from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Stayed in Les Arcs 1950 - HMC "Jardins de la Cascade" for half term 08. Very pleased with appartment (an "espace" 2 bedroom was great for our family of 5). Really convenient for family (kids ski school on door step, ski back, easy access to Cabriolet cable car, park car under apartment, bakers on doorstep etc.) Spirit 1950 school was reasonable, and care of small kids was great (5,9,11). Booked equipment on Snowrental.net - they use the Concept Board Shop - astonishing queues to get kitted out on Saturday (1.5 - 2 hour queue). Basically everything really good except the restaurants. We found the food to be awful and over-priced - particularly Chez Anne (Savoyarde style) which was disgusting and crazily expensive (EUR160 for a 1 course meal for our family). Leave 1950 to eat out. For lunch, ski down from the village (Pre St. Esprit piste) to Belliou la Fummee - great proper French cooking (not cheap but worth it). Paul & Family London N10
February 11, 2008
Ken Thompson from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just had a great time. It snowed on two days, sunny on the other four. Stayed in Bourg and took the funicular. I am warming to Les Arcs. Lots of choice of pistes. Good tree line skiing down the reds into Villandry. Scary blacks, excellent reds, plenty of cruising blues. Excellent resort for a mixed ability group. Lots of accessible off-piste but that gets skied out quickly because it's so accessible. There is other off-piste for the hardy treckers. They did chuck a lot of low intermediates off-piste when they shut a red run at the bottom for filming. Bad form. A lot of very surprised young ladies looking scared and then sliding on their bottoms.
January 29, 2008
Gordon Bloch from Ski Israel Israel
This our second visit to Arcs 1800, and just as good as the first. We had hired (privately) a self catering apartment in Bellecote, adjoining the Golf Hotel, from 18-26 Jan 2008. The area had had a huge snowfall the week prior to our arrival, so was extremely well covered and groomed. On the Tuesday there was a fairly heavy fall, with conditions so that we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces. We gave it up and took the funiculare down to Bourg St Maurice, where we walked about for a couple of hours. The village itself has everything one needs including restaurants and pubs. Enough to keep one occupied, besides nightclubs, that we did not visit. The locals are friendly and the pistes are well prepared. Skiing, what can I say, out of this world. No long waits, or no waits at all for the chairlifts or cable cars. The slopes are ample, and even though we couldn't get to La Plagne due to the Vanois Express being closed, we had more than enough runs, with some as long as 7km! A really enjoyable holiday; good memories, wonderful apartment, good food and wine - fantastic skiing - what more could one ask for? Highly recommended.