We skied Les Menuires W/C 5th April staying at the Soleils Vacances Apartments. The accommodation was tiny, bordering on inadequate with simply nowhere near enough storage space for the amount of people in the room (2 adults and 1 child in this case). We had 1 wardrobe with 8 hangers and 4 small shelves and that was it. We’re used to the bijou nature of ski accommodation but this was taking things too far. Cooking facilities were OK and the kitchen had what you needed but again there was no space to store food. Location wise these apartments are good to start the day with easy access to the main run down to the ski school meeting points but are a bit of a slog on the way home unless you want to take a route up into the mountains at the end of the day and ski a long slushy green home.

The resort of Les Menuires is OK. There isn’t much to do if you’re not skiing though. We did find a swimming pool but it was very expensive and, as far as we know, that’s it. Restaurants were plentiful but all much the same and if you don’t like fondue, raclette, steak or pizza you’d best pack some sandwiches. Prices were a bit on the steep side for all but a basic pizza (9 Euros) but expect a meal for 2 to be around 40 to 50 Euros if you want much else. Drink prices were ok with a large beer around 5 Euros. The choice of wine and beer, like the food, lacked variety from place to place which is a shame as I like Pelforth etc. and we couldn’t find it anywhere. I can get Stella and 1664 at home thanks!

The skiing in the resort and the wider 3 valleys is all that’s it’s billed to be. For a start the area is massive and we knew quite early on in the week that we’d only do a fraction of what was available. The area probably suits intermediates best with absolutely loads of long, well pisted reds. Beginners will be happy and our 6 year old enjoyed the ski school and the afternoons out with us. The area generally lacks much in the way of pisted blacks so advanced skiers, who want to stay on piste, won’t see too many options. Off piste I haven't a clue. We skied all through Les Menuires, Val Thorens and a bit of Meribel but never made it to Courcheval. Best run was the Mont Vallon just inside the Meribel area but it needed to be done first thing as it was cut up and lumpy quite quickly. Lifts were generally uncrowded and well managed. Our daughter skied with Pro Neige ski school and had a great time. I'd recommend them over ESF.

Weather-wise we had a fantastic week but wouldn’t go so late in the season again. The ski area was well maintained but it just got too warm in the afternoons and the snow was like sand. The skiing in the early mornings though showed just what a great resort this could be a bit earlier in the season.

Overall then, Les Menuires is a great place to go for the skiing and an average place to go for everything else.