Visitor reviews for Leysin Ski Resort

• January 07, 2014
  Family of 4 from Switzerland
  

  Just returned from a week of ski holiday in Leysin, from Dec 28 to Jan 4, this is our first time in Leysin, but we have being skiing across the other side of the valley in Villars for many years.

  Compared with Villars, Leysin seem to attract fewer skiers, which is fine with us; less crowded at the lift chair waiting lines.

  In general, the ski area is okay. However, the cable car access is not very user friendly. You need to climb two levels of stairs to get to the cable car; a pain in the neck when you have the ski boots on.

  For the slope, in general, is quite okay when there is snow. We are fortunate because most slope are not open until Dec 28 2013 due to lack of snow.

• Leysin Ratings

  Overall: 3.9. Based on 6 votes and 14 reviews. Vote

  Access: 4.7 (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 Leysin.	Public Transport: 5.0 (1) There are no buses or taxis to Leysin, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
  Scenery: 4.7 (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: 3.5 (1) No places to stay in/near Leysin, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
  Cheap Rooms: 3.2 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.	Luxury Hotels: 3.4 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Leysin.
  Ski in/Ski out: 3.2 (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: 3.8 (1) There are no child care facilities at Leysin, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
  Snowsure: 3.8 (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) Leysin is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.	Snowmaking: 3.7 (1) Leysin relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
  Snow Grooming: 4.0 (1) There are no snow groomers at Leysin, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Leysin are groomed daily.	Shelter: 3.3 (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) Leysin is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
  Nearby options: 3.7 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Leysin, 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: 3.7 (1) Leysin 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: 4.5 (1) The staff at Leysin are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Leysin are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.	Crowds/Queues: 4.3 (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: 4.2 (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: 4.2 (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: 4.0 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Leysin has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.	Beginners: 3.8 (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 Leysin, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.	Advanced: 3.8 (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: 4.5 (1) Not even a kicker at Leysin, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.	Off-piste: 4.0 (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: 3.8 (1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Leysin, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.	Luge/Toboggan: 4.0 (1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Leysin has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
  Mountain Dining: 3.8 (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: 3.5 (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: 3.5 (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: 4.3 (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: 3.5 (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: 4.0 (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: 3.5 (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): 3.7 (1) Overall, Leysin 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): 3.3 (1) Overall, Leysin 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.

  Show all 35 ratings

• November 01, 2013
  Virginia from Switzerland
  

  I love Leysin; I moved here and I will never leave, the village is a paradise on Earth.
  It's great in the winter (skiing from mid-December to mid-April) and it's wonderful in the summer with several activities at top level, such as mountain biking, especially downhill, plus hiking and discovering hidden lakes and rivers, amazing spots for outdoor open fire cooking.
  A big plus are the sport centres: ice skating, curling, pool, tennis, squash, gym, hammam.
  And the Glacier 3000 is nearby (15 min drive) with great skiing from end of October to beginning of May.

• March 24, 2013
  Bill Glover from United Kingdom
  

  We had been skiing for a number of years in Leysin and really enjoyed it; best proper mountain huts in all the resorts we have been to in the Alps and the Fromargerie, in town, was excellent. Easily accessible by train and cog railway from Geneva. It is not always snow sure and you can do most of the runs in 3 days. The first couple of times we went to Leysin, Diablerets and all pistes in that area were accessible because there was a daily shuttle included in the Glacier 3000 ski pass, brilliant. In our view, stopping the free shuttle bus is a huge mistake, a real disappointment and access to Col de Mosses is no substitute as it is low and the bottom of the runs is often sloppy or bare.
  If Leysin Tourism doesn't reestablish the inclusive shuttle to Glacier 3000, we won't be going back.

• February 03, 2013
  paul from United Kingdom
  

  Very disappointed with Leysin. Very unhelpful staff in the ticket office miss-sold us our lift pass, in my opinion. We bought the full pass, including Glacier 3000, but were not warned you need a car to get there or else you are looking at a 40chf journey by train/ bus which would take over an hour and a half! Not accessible in my eyes. Next the Solpraz chair was broken all week and the shuttle bus wasn't running at the foot of the Solpraz chair so we could not get to Les Mosses without a 45 minute public bus journey from Leysin. Ok, things break but the chair was down all week, surely a special shuttle from Solpraz to Les Mosses could have been laid on and then a return to Leysin so we could use the Les Mosses ski field we had paid for? So for 295chf, plus 5chf for the card, not great value for us. Will never go back. Apres very poor too, no nice apres bars at the foot of the home run.

• January 04, 2013
  Gordon Brown from United States
  

  Leysin is slightly better than paradise and much less difficult to find.

• December 07, 2012
  Stefano Maida from Switzerland
  

  I love Leysin; I moved here about 3 years ago and I will never leave.
  It's great in the winter, we are having a huge snow fall right now, and it's wonderful in the summer with several activities at top level, as mountain biking, expecially downhill, plus hiking and discovering hidden lakes and rivers, amazing spots for outdoor open fire cooking.

• September 17, 2011
  Steve Sainsbury from United Kingdom
  

  I've just returned from my sixteenth visit! Like some other reviewers I knew Leysin well in the Club Vagabond/Grenier days, and spent almost a year living there in the late 80s. Later visits did reveal it a little run down, and of course the end of the Vag and Grenier. But things seem to be picking up again now, with a lot of very nice new properties going up. I haven't tried Le Lynx yet, but the Yeti Bar retains some Club Vag atmosphere, and is currently moving location. La Lorraine is quite nice and reasonable by Swiss standards. Even the old 'Bottom Pub', now the Saloon is okay, though extremely quiet at the moment! But the views and air never change and I'm still planning to spend another year there in 5 or 6 years' time. And if the Dalai Lama thinks it's the centre of the spiritual universe it must have something other resorts don't have, and I reckon he's right!

• June 06, 2010
  Martin from United Kingdom
  

  I went to Leysin in March 2010. It's small, quiet, and like the rest of Switzerland, expensive.
  Transport is a cinch as Leysin is reached by a cogwheel railway from the nearby town of Aigle which has regular intercity connections to other Swiss cities, most notably Geneva and it's airport.
  Leysin is a medium sized resort and I would say it is aimed at beginners and intermediates. There is only one black run which is not too demanding. I would classify myself as an intermediate and I managed to do all pistes several times in two days, so I would suggest Leysin is a good place for a short break rather than main holiday. Lift pass prices are at the higher end of reasonable, close to what you would pay across the border in Austria, but the prices of food and drink on mountain are extortionate. This is definitely one resort to take a packed lunch for the day. Leysin is very quiet at night and aimed at families, not the party crowd.

• November 26, 2008
  Darryl from United States
  

  I lived in Leysin in 91/92 and have returned on occasion. I loved that place and the moniker "Magic Mountain" could not have been more appropriate. The mystique of living on the mountain was the most incredible experience of my life. However, when I returned in '03 I was completely pained by the downturn that the village had taken. Some of the all-time great places no longer existed; La Grota (greatest pizza in CH), Whispers and of course Club Vagabond- truly one of the best bars in the world.

  To those who lived in Leysin during its heyday and have not yet returned, the town retains its natural beauty but all that we knew as Leysin is no longer. A sad end to an absolutely incredible story.

• October 15, 2008
  Alex from Switzerland
  

  I've been back to Leysin this spring and it was a sad view! Many buildings look pretty tumbled down compared to the really great time I had in 1988/ 1989 till about the mid 90ies. Where once stood the "Le Grenier" (in 2002 or 03) there was at least still a Disco, but the door to get in wasn't even there anymore. The Whispers was closed (like it was in 03), everything was overgrown there. The Top Pub was also closed (open after 5 pm). The fountain in front looked in poor condition too, and the Nelson Pub was already the Western Saloon in 03). To think how much I missed that place and it's people, how I envied the people who could still be there, I can't imagine anymore! For me Leysin has lost a lot of it's glamour, seems like a Hollywood Star sinking down into darkness :-( sadly to say that it's rather a dead place now! But I still like to remember the great time I had there and I'm glad I was able to have lived there for 1,5 years.