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Val Thorens Resort Reviews


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Visitor reviews for Val Thorens Ski Resort

Val Thorens Ratings

Overall: 4.3. Based on 65 votes and 42 reviews. Vote

Snowsure: 4.8

(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) Val Thorens is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.

Variety of pistes: 4.6

(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Val Thorens has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.

Off-piste: 4.4

(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.

Scenery: 4.0

(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.

Access: 3.8

(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 Val Thorens.

Public Transport: 4.2

(1) There are no buses or taxis to Val Thorens, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.

Accommodation: 4.7

(1) No places to stay in/near Val Thorens, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.

Cheap Rooms: 3.6

(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.

Luxury Hotels: 4.7

(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Val Thorens.

Ski in/Ski out: 4.8

(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: 4.3

(1) There are no child care facilities at Val Thorens, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.

Snowmaking: 4.3

(1) Val Thorens relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.

Snow Grooming: 4.4

(1) There are no snow groomers at Val Thorens, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Val Thorens are groomed daily.

Shelter: 3.1

(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) Val Thorens is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.

Nearby options: 4.3

(1) If snow conditions are poor at Val Thorens, 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: 4.7

(1) Val Thorens 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: 4.3

(1) The staff at Val Thorens are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Val Thorens are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.

Crowds/Queues: 3.8

(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: 4.7

(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: 4.8

(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.

Beginners: 4.2

(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: 4.8

(1) No intermediate terrain at Val Thorens, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.

Advanced: 4.8

(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: 4.3

(1) Not even a kicker at Val Thorens, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.

Cross-country: 3.0

(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Val Thorens, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.

Luge/Toboggan: 4.4

(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Val Thorens has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.

Mountain Dining: 4.4

(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: 4.6

(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: 4.8

(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: 4.5

(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: 3.7

(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: 3.7

(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: 4.2

(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): 4.2

(1) Overall, Val Thorens 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): 4.2

(1) Overall, Val Thorens 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

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March 25, 2006
Roger from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
This last week was fantastic. Great off-piste.
March 21, 2006
laurence neumann from Ski Israel Israel
The good: fantastic skiing/boarding - got lucky with perfect snow and weather 2nd week March. Nice hassle free town - who cares about architecture etc. The bad: hotel/apartments that don't clearly state on website what is included and what is free. I stayed at Le Portillo which was fine as far as rooms etc go - but staff refused to call police to deal with noise - and be careful of rooms facing street and nearby pubs/discos. The ugly: drunk, noisy, selfish dorks from selected European countries that made a racket at midnite to 4am and disturbed the sleep and peace of people that simply want to ski the next morning. The town should not allow this!
March 05, 2006
Ron from Ski Netherlands Netherlands
I don't go skiing for nice authentic villages etc. Just loads of fresh snow, big pistes & good lift network and some good restaurants and bars is what's needed. Val Thorens (together with Tignes & Les Arcs) is one of the best to stay. Great skiing on & off-piste. Though it may be pretty cold in January & February. Also the French holidays are usually in last three weeks of February which means lot of queuing for the Cime de Caron which brings you to some exciting pistes. So best time to go to Val Thorens is March & April.
January 22, 2006
Ian Lancey from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just returned from Val Thorens yesterday after what can only be described as one of the best weeks of skiing i have ever had. Val Thorens offers a great mix of intermediate and advanced skking, with some challenging and exciting runs. Beginners fair less well with limited greens and easy blues, however, if you are willing to venture over to Meribel or Courcheval there are much better beginners opportunities. A good dump of snow helped conditions throughout the 3 valleys area but even before this fall, VT's snow was still pretty good, showing year on year VT to be one of the most snow sure resorts in Europe. Go for great skiing and boarding but not for a picturesque village that is quiet, the mix of English, Dutch and Scandinavian skiers and boarders results in a pretty good party town.
January 06, 2006
Tim Frampton from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Val Thorens is not that pretty, better than when I first came 8 years ago, I have come for at least a week every year since, if you want to go shopping and look good in a cafe on the slopes, best head of somwhere else! if you want good boarding piste or of piste, I have yet to find anywhere that can keep you on something new everyday. I have been to Canada around Europe and I think Val Thorens offers the best all round boarding Boarding, allways seems to have plenty of snow. To those who think its ugly, look at the mountains instead, they are the big white things outside the bars and appartments!
January 04, 2006
Daniel ter Maten from Ski Netherlands Netherlands
When you want to go skiing or boarding Val Thorens is one of the best places to go. The snow is almost always excellent and there are slopes for every level. One of the best things in Val Thorens is the off piste. Really numerous possibilities. If you're looking for a quiet place and skiing/boarding is only one of the many components of your holiday, you'll probably have a better holiday at another resort. Apres ski in Val Thorens is there for sure, but it's mainly quite massive. And of course the connection with the rest of the 3V is excellent. If you're a good skier you only need half a day, to go all the way to Courchevel in a relaxed way. When you do so, make sure you check the weather and snow conditions; they may really differ from those in Val Thorens. Last but not least, I would recommend to go in the late season. Good chance to get some excellent powder and the runs are not that crowded.
January 01, 2006
Tom Travis from Ski United States United States
I agree that the architecture of Val Thorens is unattractive. However, the Val Thorens is high so it has the best snow conditions of Les Trois Vallees. It also has excellent skiing on a variety of long runs with large vertical drops and the opportunity to ski on a glacier. I prefer to stay at Mottaret because it is in the middle of Les Trois Vallees with easy access to Val Thorens, Courchevel and the other ski stations. However, in a lean snow year I would stay at Val Thorens to maximize the chance for good conditions.
February 22, 2005
curt whaymand from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I went to Val Thorens with 2 mates and their parents over half term and it was absolutely quality!! We had 4 white outs in a row, making about 1 metre of powder off piste and nearly that on the pistes. Then, 3 sunny days made for perfect skiing. Skiing over to Meribel is especially good. I would recommend Val Thorens to anyone and i really wana go back!
February 17, 2005
pj from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Let's get a few things straight. Val Thorens is the highest ski station in Europe. You go their to ski and for the snow reliability. Anyone who thinks VT is one of the ugliest resorts around was obviously asleep of the transfer as they passed Les Menuires and has never been to Flaine. If it is a pretty alpine town you are looking for then go to Austria or Switzerland. VT is a lot more attractive than a lot of other resorts but it is designed for a reason - to cater for large numbers of people who want to ski as opposed to shopping and eating. The skiing is great with a wide range of runs for all levels easily accessed from all the accommodation. It provides excellent access to the rest of the trois vallees area. Just make sure that you get the last lift back otherwise you will have to pay for the bus back from Les Menuires or even worse take out a 2nd mortgage for the taxi fare from Meribel. There are plenty of bars and restaurants throughout the resort which are very reasonably priced compared to the other areas of the 3V's. The resort does tend to attract a large number of Scandinavians and Dutch who can be very noisy and boisterous both on and off the slopes. Excellent resort for skiers and boarders espacially early and late season.
January 15, 2004
Modi from Ski Switzerland Switzerland
Good for families with smallish kids because the ESF kids ski school meeting point and creche are litteraly in front of the Montana residence (20m), so look at valthorens.com town plan and chose nearby lodging - a major hassle saver when getting two 4 year olds to the slopes with all their equipment. Lots of noisy dutch and germans - this bothers many but should be a relief to families always worried that there energetic kids will upset some older self-centered single/divorced git. There is always some snow and lots of skiing if you look at all the 3-valais. Cheaper then Courcheval (but no yalping poodles and fur coats) and it snows in VT when it rains in Mottaret or les Menuires. Many of the Residence are on the piste = zero hassle. Its not that pretty though and restaurants are medium/average.

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