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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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January 11, 2008
makis tektiridis from Ski Greece Greece
Val is great. I hope the resort will change name, and called after my visit TEKTRIDISLAND
January 07, 2008
Jimbo from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Val is an impressive place with a huge ski area (easily comparable to the Three Valleys) when considered with Tignes. It also has a pretty town centre not dominated by concrete monoliths. Generally it's an expensive resort - expect to pay E10 on the mountain for spag bol, E5 for a beer ! The really annoying thing, which to my mind cheapens the whole Val experience, is that once you've spent E30 on a small lunch for two - they then demand another 50 cents to use their toilets !!!! To my mind that's just taking the pi$$ ! The runs are (generally) NOT for beginners. Their blues are more like reds and the few greens they have can be quite narrow. I was surprised that on one day they hadn't pisted the blue overnight, leaving the beginners to struggle down a significant mogul field in a gully (which of course means everyone is compressed into a smaller space) Generally the lifts are good quality and fast although there are some that could do with updating. By the way - if you drive there and you park illegally, your car will get towed. The police will store the car for you and charge you to recover the car. They only charged E4 a day for storage...cheaper than parking ! Val is definately a place to challenge good skiers. It's not really a beginners resort.
November 23, 2007
lou and coz from Ski Pakistan Pakistan
not been there yet but will after reading that amazing review
May 11, 2007
Steve Adams from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
We had a lucky (due to great snow)!!! and fun ski trip to Val d'Isere this year. We were taught by Martin Mckay in Val d'Isere, Martin was great, he taught us powder skiing techniques so fast I can't stress the happiness myself and my fiance enjoyed! Ski Val d'Isere and join >> skimckay.com!!!!!
April 25, 2007
Emma J from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Like Mary I too have recently returned from Val - my second week there this season! I too had an amazing, if v hot, week, and also skied with Ken, whilst my son skied with another Progression instructor, Karen Forsyth. I too highly recommend Progression ski school: Karen was amazing - taking my four year old down blue slopes, and almost doing parallel turns! She was exceptionally kind and I know Tom had great fun! Furthermore, Ken managed to persuade my mum to take to the slopes after an absence of 36 years and she loved it! Thank-you to Progression - they are an exceptional ski school and if anyone wants to improve their skiing whilst having a good time then they would be wise to book a session with them! They have shown, clearly, one is never too young or too old to learn!
April 13, 2007
Mary Elliott from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I have recently returned from a holiday to Val d'Isere - it was fantastic! The resort has so much to offer, great skiing, great nightlife and great shops. However, what really made the holiday so special for me was ski lessons. I overcome virtually all of my fears and my skiing improved far beyond I ever thought it could in a week, I learnt so much and had fun! This was all down to Ken Smith from Progression Ski School - he was just wonderful. I fully recommend Ken and his team www.progressionski.com. Val d'Isere will be seeing me again (you too Ken!) :0)
January 11, 2007
andy irv from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
James Smith Jan 2006. Val D for the first time. What can I say, I was very impressed. In 2005 we went to Val Thorens which we loved and had great weather although it was very cold -27 at worst -21 at best. At Val D, on the other hand, we had snow on the 2nd day(about 45cm)followed by warm sunny days which of course was great. The ski area itself is great although the ski back to the village, if your a beginner, is quite steep. On the other hand, if you are a good skier, the Olympic face is a great run (black). The apres-ski was also fantastic. We went to a few different bars. All were good fun and most had entertainment of some kind. On conclusion Val D is awsome and I will be going back.
December 31, 2006
Zenta Williams from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
We just got back from Val d'Isere last night 30/12/06 after a fantastic week's ski-ing. As a family of skiiers, Val d'Isere has always been our favourite ski-ing area especially at Christmas, when you have to go high.Our biggest thanks would go to the overnight piste workers and the continuous snow cannons, to maintain a high standard on the pistes.To have sun and blue skies for a whole week of ski-ing is rare this time of year but it was wonderful especially on the Grande Motte and to come back with a tan - wow! Happy New Year to all!!!
December 12, 2006
Mark Briant from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Myself and a group of mates went to Val D'Isere 3 years running, then last year decided we wanted to try somewhere else. (Val Thorens), now there is nothing wrong with Val Thorens but we missed Val D'Isere so much, the pistes on and off in Val D are perfection and the nightlife is great. If you fancy chilled our apres ski try L'Alexandra Bar,under hotel La Galise, good beer, good company, and Phil the barman... roll on 26/1/07 when we are on our way back staying in La Galise, get the Toffe Vodka's ready Phil.
November 02, 2006
Steven Underwood from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Good to see a dedicated snow website! Val d'Isere is my favourite resort hands down, I have tried many but this has a cool atmosphere and super skiing off-piste. Saw the previous visitors comments!!!! Love skiing with Martin McKay. Skiing in Val d'Isere off-piste, Martin is a ski hero and been at it a long time. I would suggest to any skier to join Martin at skimckay.com, he is a great coach. Meanwhile I have just booked my hols to Val, cant wait till 2007 . . . !