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Val d'Isere resort snow
Lat Long: 45.45° N 6.95° E
Ski France

Val d'Isere Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Val d'Isere at 2700 m altitude

Issued: 1 am 07 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Val d'Isere: 0.4 cm on Thu 7th  (after 5 PM)

Visitor reviews for Val d'Isere Ski Resort

Val d'Isere Ratings

Overall: 4.2. Based on 73 votes and 64 reviews.

Rate this resort

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

Variety of pistes: 4.7

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Val d'Isere has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.7

  • 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: 4.4

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.5

  • 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 d'Isere

Public Transport: 4.0

  • There are no buses or taxis to Val d'Isere
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.4

  • No places to stay in/near Val d'Isere
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.0

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

Luxury Hotels: 4.8

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

Ski in/Ski out: 4.5

  • 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: 4.2

  • There are no child care facilities at Val d'Isere
  • 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 d'Isere 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 d'Isere
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Val d'Isere are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.6

  • 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 d'Isere is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.4

  • If snow conditions are poor at Val d'Isere, 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 d'Isere 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: 4.4

  • The staff at Val d'Isere are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Val d'Isere are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 4.0

  • 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: 3.8

  • 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: 4.7

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

Advanced: 4.8

  • 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: 4.1

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

Cross-country: 3.4

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

Luge/Toboggan: 2.3

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

Mountain Dining: 4.3

  • 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: 4.7

  • 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: 4.7

  • 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: 4.6

  • 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: 3.8

  • 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: 4.1

  • 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): 4.0

  • Overall, Val d'Isere 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): 4.0

  • Overall, Val d'Isere 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 15, 2009
TJ from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Evolution2 is a big black dog with saucers for eyes seemingly devouring the very Alps themselves; it has a string of money tied to it's tale. The quality of instruction: ordinary. The price: above average. Their attitude to customer satisfaction: poor. You have a choice, don't choose Evolution2.
January 30, 2009
Helen from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Val d'Isere has something for everyone: skiing; there are plenty of wide inviting runs for beginners, all be it that runs back to the village can be demanding. There are plenty of lifts at Val d'Isere and a bubble as an alternative and the bus system around the resort is great for tired kids. Advanced skiers can be challenged on a huge number of blacks and off-piste (with gudes) and having been twice a year for the last 5+ years I am still finding new runs or new routes to take me from La Fornet over to Tignes and down to to Tignes Le Brevier. There are routes and runs that accommodate a party that includes overconfident 18 year olds to 73 year olds all able to ski over a wide area without having to go up and down the same area each day. Ski schools are all great; we have always used Exolution2 who have taken my kids from beginner to off-piste. They all speak great English and kids can stay for lunch which can be booked on an ad-hoc basis. The instructors know that it is important that the kids have fun (mine demand ski lessons.) Mountain restaurants are not cheap, if you opt for a table service restaurant but there are some that are worth the expense. Signal is a favorite of ours (table service upstairs, which you must book for as it's so popular and self service down stairs). It serves great food and has very friendly staff. Clochetons has an open fire that meat is cooked on and a fab terrace on a sunny day. Trifollet always has a great 'plat de jour' (lamb shank last time we went) and great Pizza for the kids. There are other self serve options that are cheaper. At night there are a number of restaurants to choose from - my top 3 would be Casserolle, La Luge and La Becca (at Lassinant) but there are plenty of others to choose from. Bars are numerous and, for "oldies" at the Blizzard hotel bar, David serves great cocktails in mellow surroundings. A visit to Val d'Isere is not complete without a visit to the patissier "Chevallot" on the main street for a coffee and cake or if self catering a whole tart for dessert. Expensive but worth it. As you may have gathered, I am a Val fan, I am looking forward to my next trip in March.
January 20, 2009
Richard from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Poor lifts? Poorly connected? What? Amongst my friends and most off-piste written guides etc, the connections and lifts (at Val d'Isere) are widely regarded as being among the best in the Alps. The valid criticisms are for things like the lack of truly challenging steep pistes (more than made up for, in my opinion, by the easily accessible off-piste over several mountains). It can be done on a budget. Self catering accommodation is widespread and the supermarkets offer fantastic produce at a fair price for somewhere up a mountain. I've skied probably 200 days in the last 10 years and Val (Val d'Isere) is still one of my favourites; shaded by St Anton for it's party atmosphere. As for the valleys, well the slush of Meribel, the prices and the horrible Russian rudeness of Courchevel and the just plain ugliness of Val Thorens keep me away after I had learned to ski well. 3 valley skiing is like motorboating rather than sailing. You can go for long distances, get to different places, but it's not that pleasant doing so and all there is to do when you get there is come back again.
January 05, 2009
David from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just returned from Val d'Ripoff; luckily reasonable snow just about made up for long queues, poorly linked and generally aging and slow lifts, now have popeye arms from all the poleing that is part and parcel of this over rated and vastly over priced resort. Also, anyone considering using Ski France LTD and their appalling View Village Club Chalet, please don't. Companies like this deserve to go out of business for the singular lack of service they provide. I have never in 20+ years of skiing heard any staff so disgruntled with their lot, but at least they were not paying for the disgusting experience of staying in this filthy dump. If you have booked already, seek your money back as this place is the pits. Go to Canada or USA for an entirely better holiday. Regards
November 05, 2008
Emma from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
This is such a great resort that I have decided to whisk my primiary aged son out of UK school & send him to the local French school so we can enjoy a whole season out here!Despite comments below the local French are friendly as long as you make a little effort to converse with them in French and smile! The skiing area is vast and offers something for all levels once you get up the mountain. I am not a great skier but Progression Ski and Snowboard school have been brilliant at boosting my confidence and improving my technique. My son also skis like a demon thanks to them. Snowberry offer the best rental service. Both of the latter are run by Brits (you can see why the French get annoyed!). If you want to ski then Val d'Isere is the place to be - just remember the world championships are on 2-15 Feb 2009 !
October 31, 2008
Phuqnose from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
OK, this is not a cheap resort, but look carefully at the displayed menus first. The pizza cafes are usually the best bet. Check out the 'happy hours' this can make a big difference. Book your ski hire with snowrental.net and get 40% off-same shops, better deal.Ref the lack of 'loos' - why do you think the piste is yellow near the lift summits? Val D'Isere really needs to move into the 3rd millenium on this one and catch up with 3V and Megeve. Plan ahead, good luck.
September 05, 2008
will from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Exellent resort all round although some of the pistes can become very icy and difficult for beginners
June 26, 2008
Martin from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Some really good skiing and a huge area with the link to Tignes. My only complaint was how unfreindly many of the French people are. The instructors seemed fine and offered very good tuition, but the bar and restaurant staff were genuinely rude. Also the prices in Val d'Isere are very high. Les Arcs would offer a better all round holiday at lower prices also not as far to travel from the airport or trains. I am surprised that France is such a popular destination with Brits when Austria is far more freindly with a great atmosphere and Italy is great fun for less money.
April 09, 2008
Dawn Thompson from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
My holiday to Val d'Isere was out of this world. However, my only advice to anyone visiting this resort is to stay clear of the LE SIGNAL mountain restaurant based in Le Fornet. This restaurant was recommended to me by a chalet host who must have clearly been delusional, as the lunch I endured there was over priced and the food distinctly average! To add insult to injury the staff were extremely impolite!! Later on during the same afternoon skiing I made a toilet stop at Le Signal restaurant and was told I was not allowed to use the toilets as they were for customers only! Attempting to explain that I had eaten there earlier on failed to allow me entry and I was abruptly asked to leave and use ‘zee public toilets’. There were only ONE set of public toilets in Le Fornet and these were out of order – I was not impressed. Skiers - stay away from this awful restaurant!
March 02, 2008
Jessica Hamble from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Thanks snow-forecast.com. Just been to Val d'Isere; great snow considering it has not snowed for a while. I had a brill time skiing. I joined an off-piste private ski lesson with Martin Mckay Skiing >>> skimckay.com. Great instructor, I highly advise anyone going to Val to book ski lessons with Martin Mckay. GREAT RESORT!! Jessica H.