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
- Val d'Isere is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Val d'Isere Ski Resort
Click here to submit your own review of Val d'Isere
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
February 28, 2011
Spec from
United Kingdom
Spec from
United Kingdom
Went to Val d'Isere first week of January 2011. Great resort has everything an intermediate and above needs.
Beginners beware of how the slopes are graded, a lot of the greens are blues, but you can find the greens with a bit of help - I would suggest the Solaise area and part of the Tranquil area. Lift system is good for beginners as you don't need to ski back into resort. Reason I know this is that I took my daughters who found it harder than skiing in La Plagne. I can recommend Evolution 2 for lessons as they were with them all week and improved immensely.
Fornet is a great area to ski as no-one goes there and when it snows, also it's a must to try the scare chair ie the Lessieres Express which goes into it - it's just like a roller coaster.
As for it being expensive you just need to know where to eat and drink but if you've been waiting for it all year then why bother going if you're gonna cut back.
The best pubs are Cafe Face due to beer costs and Le Petit Danois which is also does good food and the bar staff. Also the Moris Bar is a good one with it's happy hour and band and live footy.
For me it's not as good as the 3 Valleys for Beginners but it is for the Intermediates, it's party scene / apres ski is not as good as St Anton but it is still good for a night out.
Just beware of the paths as we were told by our rep the Local Mayor likes Val D to look like a winter wonderland, therefore none of the paths are kept clear of ice and he has fresh snow dumped on the roads - skiers in boots or in general beware.
January 07, 2011
Joe from
France
Joe from
France
May 01, 2010
rl from
United Kingdom
rl from
United Kingdom
Top of the range, ski esprit for third year, wife and daughters (6 and 8) all on third week of skiing at Val d'Isere. Skied La Plagne peviously but skiing in Val is on a different level. Me very experienced intermediate, girls all coming on well and skiing here is so varied and extensive that we all had a great time. Already booked again for 2011.
February 27, 2010
Bozorgzadegan Abbas from
Iran
Bozorgzadegan Abbas from
Iran
Is there anybody to invite me to Val d'Isere for alpine ski? I would like to see there, and get actual sende about what I have read through resort reviews! Thanks and remain...
[note from the editor: this post shall remain on the site for a short period. It is not a review of a resort but I do hope a response is generated.]
January 18, 2010
Andy Moore from
Pakistan
Andy Moore from
Pakistan
Just returned from Val (Val d'Isere) and must say the skiing experience here is still one of the best in the Alps. As an ex-racer I skied all over Europe in the 70s and have revisted many since to see them at a slower pace. Anyone who is advanced will immediately appreciate Val for its 10%+ black runs and tons of off-piste skiing. The powder here can be deep and 'dusty', (as it is right now) particularly off the top T-bar on the Le Fornet side and off the top 'old' charlift on the Tignes side (sign-posted as servicing a steep off-piste area) - [not true actually].
One needs only a few days to learn the lay of the land to figure out where to deviate from runs to access powder, often untouched days after a snowfall. The funicular from Tignes offers one of the best easy to imtermediate skiing at one go in the Alps... the funicular (Standseilbahn or train) takes you up a whopping 1000 meters or more to stunning col at the foot of the Grande Motte where you can ski down non-stop for 15-20 minutes on packed powder runs to the tunnel entrance. So after reading about the crowded icy ski outs from other contributors this is the place for you. Or you can continue from the col up the Grande Motte to the 3456 meter level and ski a great intermediate to advanced 'freeway' down groomed or non-groomed runs to the col or off to the right down int/adv run to a chair (and it's true that easy runs can become more difficult, in spite of its designation).
As one contributor pointed out it is true that the Austrian 'gemutlichkeit' will impress you more than what passes as French service (charming as the language and culture are), and the high-speed lifts of Switzerland are superior to its neighbours chairs and T-bars..., as is the case with costs where Val (Val d'Isere) is definitely at the upper end of the scale (generalizations, but true). But from a skiing perspective you'll find it hard to beat the quality of snow and massive area to explore of Val, particularly if you explore beyond Tignes down the valley with a guide.
I don't plug anyone or any establishment; there are plenty of sites to find out where the best places to eat and stay are. Suffice it to say you do still pay 14% tax in restaurants (it was not rolled back as of Jan 17 2010 as one contributor had hoped for) and reservations are needed at the good ones. Quality and variety of food varies a lot, but most have a nice French style alpine ambience. Do your homework on restaurants as there are a few fabulous establishments that are a must visit.
Get out and walk through the old town at night... it can be magical. Walk up to Le Fornet (don't take the bus). Walk back to Val on the mountain trail that starts on the other side of the bridge (over the gorge).
As a world traveller (from North America, Asia, Australia, Middle East) you may also be less than thrilled to find out how over-run Val (Val d'Isere) is now with one nationality. In my week here this time (less so in the past) I was rarely in the company of French/German/Italian speakers. For me, riding lifts, being in restaurants, and sharing the breakfast room day after day overwhelmingly with one nationality/language/culture in a French resort makes me want to travel to Whistler, Mont St Anne, Aspen, Vail, Lebanon, or Slovenia to slip into another world. What most people don't know is that the Eurostar from London travels directly to Bourg St Maurice (closest train station), and when it pulls in the cultural lanscape changes considerably. All resorts have changed this way to some extent, but Val And St Anton have been most affected. If you are looking for a more cosmopolitan continental European skiing experience and want excellent skiing then Verbier, Saas Fee/Zermatt, Sella Ronde/Val Gardena/Alta Badia are a few great locations.
But if skiing is your passion, and you have the time, ability and money, then the huge resort of Val (Val d'Isere) is one of the best in the world (Quatre Vallee [Verbier...], Trois Vallee [Val Thorens...], St Anton/Lech-Zurs/Rendel/Stuben, St Moritz/Corvatsch..., and Saas Fee... being the other European mega-areas).
December 30, 2009
Dave Jones from
United Kingdom
Dave Jones from
United Kingdom
I skied Val d'Isere for a week, for the 1st time last season and stayed with a company called YSE, (they were superb). I'm returning again this year on the 24th Jan (straight after a week at Verbier), how lucky am I? Also skied Whistler last year. I’ve skied 3V's many times, Chamonix twice and La Plagne. Out of all of them I just loved Val d'Isere! Chamonix comes close but is poorly linked with lots of bus rides, 3V after a while is a bit boring. Long chair rides at La Plagne. The town in Val is great, brilliant nightlife and the slopes are amazing, all easily accessible and clearly marked with some awesome red and black pistes, loved The Face. I would say I believe there are better places to learn to ski, some of the runs have unexpected steep sections. We had some beginners with us last year and they were nervous of trying new blue runs that they hadn't skied already (For example the blue back into Le Forner). It is, however, one of the best places in the world for a competent skier. It really does have everything!! IMHO bien sûr!! Bon Ski toute le monde…..
October 06, 2009
Michelle from
United Kingdom
Michelle from
United Kingdom
For me, Val (Val d'Isere) has to be my favourite ski resort in the Alps, just pipping Zermatt. We've been twice now and it just seems to tick all the boxes. Can't wait to go back. Just booked for January to La Gelinotte (ski power), and would recommend it after a great trip last year. Now I'm praying for snow as good as last year.
The resort is beautiful and has a real buzz about it. Great Bars, restaurants and shopping - don't miss Banana Bar, just off the slopes for Apres, which has an amazing atmosphere and also does great Tex-Mex food.
As for the skiing, we just find it faultless as intermediates. The variety and sheer extent of the slopes at Val d'Isere is amazing, and the lift system seemed excellent when we were there in March, with no sign of queues. I would definitely recommend getting the full Espace ski pass though; it gives you so much more skiing for a few extra euros.
Some of the restaurants and bars are really quite expensive but I've read that they could be getting cheaper this year because the French have stopped charging VAT in restaurants, to encourage spending; fingers crossed. To save money, we always ate lunch in the village which was a bit cheaper and got a good deal on our hotel which included dinner.
All in all, I would thoroughly recommend Val d'Isere.
March 25, 2009
David from
United Kingdom
David from
United Kingdom
March 04, 2009
Duncan from
United Kingdom
Duncan from
United Kingdom
Visited Val (Val d'Isere) for the first time this year. It was 1 week after a trip to the 3 valleys with fantastic snow. Some say that Val is expensive but it is nothing like the inflated prices of the 3 valleys where it is typical to pay 19e for 'spag bol' as opposed to 10 in the Val/Tignes area. Having skied the so called 'big ones' I would rate Val (Val d'Isere) as good if not better than most with less queuing and great off-piste; so easily accessible. As for beginners, Tignes area is better but not as good as Alpe D'Huez but for the more adventurous it is a must. I will certaintly return again and put Val d'Isere at the top of my hit list.
February 19, 2009
Hoover from
United Kingdom
Hoover from
United Kingdom
Having skied in Val (Val d'Isere) a few times and the 3V a few more times over the last 10 years or so I would say that if the most important criterion in choosing a resort is a wide choice of high quality restaurants then go to Meribel or Courchevel but if you want almost guaranteed good snow, freedom from lift queues even at half-term, variety of runs, easily accessible off-piste, choice of excellent ski schools (we have found TDC and Oxygen to be particularly good) and friendly locals then it's Val (Val d'Isere) every time.
Mountain restaurant prices can be painful but you can always eat more at breakfast & dinner and skip lunch until the exchange rate improves.
Nearest