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Val Thorens resort snow
Lat Long: 45.27° N 6.58° E
Ski France

Val Thorens Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Val Thorens at 2765 m altitude

Issued: 1 am 05 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Val Thorens: 2.2 cm on Tue 5th  (after 5 AM)

Visitor reviews for Val Thorens Ski Resort

Val Thorens Ratings

Overall: 4.3. Based on 79 votes and 44 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.8

  • 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
  • Val Thorens is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.6

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Val Thorens 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: 4.1

  • 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 Val Thorens

Public Transport: 4.2

  • There are no buses or taxis to Val Thorens
  • 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 Val Thorens
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.6

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

Luxury Hotels: 4.7

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

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: 4.3

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

Snowmaking: 4.3

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

Snow Grooming: 4.5

  • There are no snow groomers at Val Thorens
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Val Thorens are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.1

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

Nearby options: 4.2

  • If snow conditions are poor at Val Thorens, 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: 4.7

  • Val Thorens 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 Val Thorens are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Val Thorens are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.8

  • 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: 4.7

  • 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: 4.8

  • 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: 4.2

  • 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: 4.8

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

Advanced: 4.9

  • 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: 4.3

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

Cross-country: 3.0

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

Luge/Toboggan: 4.4

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

Mountain Dining: 4.4

  • 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: 4.6

  • 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: 4.8

  • 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: 4.5

  • 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: 3.7

  • 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: 4.2

  • 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): 4.2

  • Overall, Val Thorens 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): 4.2

  • Overall, Val Thorens 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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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.
January 13, 2004
Dave Gilbert from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I am currently wasting a week of my life and what willprobablyturn out to be ?1,500 for old cobblers.Don'tdoit,there's better, much better out ther. Even this e-mail connection does not work. The runs are a challenge --high idiot factor with people with more money than sense skiing intoyoubecausethjey thinkthey'regood.
October 09, 2003
Jimbo from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
A few facts - Val Thorens (VT) is the highest resort in the alps (2200m) , its also possibly the most architecturally unattractive ! Its cheaper than Courchevel 1850. They are building newer, more traditional apartments which do look much better. Snow is almost always excellent and there is a really good mix of runs for all abilities (not as good as Courchevel for the beginners though). The only downside is the transfer from Moutier or Lyon - VT is the last stop so you may have to wait for everyone else to get off at various stops as you wind your way up the mountain.