Meribel-Mottaret takes a lot of beating as a ski resort. Smack bang in the middle of Les Trois Vallees, arguably the biggest and best skiing area in the world, it benefits from great snow, a wide variety of accommodation and decent shopping.
At 1700 meters, it is some 250 meters higher ... Read review
Reliable snow, door - to - door skiing, huge terrain
Disadvantages:
Expensive
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Meribel-Mottaret takes a lot of beating as a ski resort. Smack bang in the middle of Les Trois Vallees, arguably the biggest and best skiing area in the world, it benefits from great snow, a wide variety of accommodation and decent shopping.
At 1700 meters, it is some 250 meters higher than the main village of Meribel and about 5-10 minutes further on by road, making it effectively a self-contained resort. Access is easy from Lyon (St. Exupery) Airport. The journey by coach takes around 3 hours and costs 62 Euros each way, or you can hire a car and do the drive in less than 2.5 hours.
Geneva and Chambery airports also give easy access,, but hiring a car at Geneva is less convenient and flights to Chambery are limited.
Driving all the way is also a popular way to get here, with the journey from Calais taking around 10 hours. Don’t forget to allow for road toll charges when working out the cost of this route. I haven’t done this for a while but I think they currently work out at about £70 each way.
Because Mottaret is much smaller than Meribel itself, its accommodation is generally more conveniently placed than in the main village. Much more skiing to and from the doorstep, which suits me as carrying heavy skis up hill is not my idea of fun.
There is a good range of hotels, from 2 to 4 star, and plenty of self-catering accommodation, but some of it is up some pretty steep steps from the village centre, so it pays to check on the exact location. There are a couple of good supermarkets, which have plenty of delicious French delicacies for self-caterers and picnickers.
Restaurants are plentiful, and there are some great alpine specialities on offer: cheese fondue is a perennial favourite, as is pierrade (cooking pieces of meat, vegetables and chicken yourself at your table on a hot stone), raclette (hunks of cheese which you melt on a special table-mounted grill and eat with boiled potatoes and charcuterie), and tartiflette (a delicious mixture of potatoes, lardons and cheese).
Skiing facilities are superb. The modern lift system whisks you to all areas of the Meribel valley, as well as providing easy links over the top of the mountains into Courchevel on one side and Val Thorens/St. Martin de Belleville on the other.
Even late risers like me can get to the Bel Air restaurant above Courchevel 1650 in plenty of time for lunch. Surely one of life’s great pleasures must be sitting on the restaurant terrace, in the warm winter sunshine, downing a steak-frites accompanies by a bottle of decent wine.
The entire 3 valley ski area has 600 km of pistes, so you can ski there for weeks and barely ever cover the same run twice.
The cost of lift passes last year was 157 euros for the Meribel valley alone, 193 for a pass covering the entire Trois Vallees, and I would highly recommend the full pass to anyone into their third year of skiing or more. For beginners, there are good nursery slopes right in Mottaret village, and a choice of ski schools offering group and private lessons in skiing and snowboarding. There are plenty of shops to choose from when it comes to hiring equipment. The cost will vary depending on the standard of equipment you need. It’s probably reasonable to allow about £80 a week for basic boots and skis.
There are pubs and clubs for night owls, and a free shuttle bus runs between Meribel proper and Meribel Mottaret.
Just one caveat: skiing is expensive and, since the arrival of the Euro, it seems even more so. Everything from drinks to accommodation will make a deep hole in your pocket.
Happy skiing. ********************
If you’re daunted by the prospect of arranging your own trip, there are lots of package tours on offer from companies like Crystal and First Choice.
Advantages: Guaranteed Snow / Amazing Ski Area/Great Apres Ski/Excellent Restaurants Disadvantages: French School Holidays.Very crowded.
Meribel just has to be one of the best ski or snowboard resorts in the world.
SKIING & SNOWBOARDING:
BEGINNERS:
Total Beginners do not need a lift pass for the first day or two.There is a free drag lift at the Altiport Area that not many people know about.(Catch the Free Bus from Town).The same applies to Snowboarders.In fact I know snowboarders who spent all week at the Altiport and never bought a pass at all.However it can be boring and a simple ... ...do not need the full 3 Valley pass.I would also advise Ski School.It is well worth the extra money.In Meribel there are about 10 different ski & Snowboard schools.Everybody seems to really enjoy ski school here.Far more fun than practising alone (Or letting your boyfriend/husband teach you).
INTERMEDIATES:
This is absolutely the place for you.It has 600km+
of fabulous pistes in all 3/4 Valleys.You can ski for a week here without ever doing the ...
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Advantages: Location, Piste Area, Snow Disadvantages: Night life
Accomodation
I said in the Le Hameua Mottaret appartments, these are located right at the upper most end of the Mottaret resort, just a short ski away from lifts to take you away on your days skiing. With the ability to ski to and from your door, Lets be honest thou it is never door to door, it was a short 1 min work to the main slope area. So i couldnt really complain much about that.
Room:
The accomodation was of adequate quality, a simple no ... ...ski holiday. The 2 of us were in a study to sleep 5 so there was ample room, thou i wouldnt really of recommend it with 5, toilet and shower facilties would of been hard to cope with. Facilities provided in the room are as follows.
Toilet
Bath/Shower (sink)
All cutlery plates etc. With full occupancy (5), you have enough cutlery for 2 full meals.
Dishwasher. (Excellent no more hours spent washing up, 2 free tablets provided enough for the one ...
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Advantages: huge areas to ski in Disadvantages: a bit expensive
Having been to Meribel twice in the last three years, I can thoroughly recommend going there. We booked with Meriski, and stayed in one of their larger chalets. There were 11 of us (three children). The chalets are absolutely gorgeous, open log fires, huge patio doors leading out onto a large balcony which went halfway around the chalet. We had two live-in staff, who were fantastic. They cooked and cleaned for us and generally treated us like royalty. ... ...to the bottom of the slopes, which meant we weren't lugging our skis and boots everywhere. The shuttle bus continued its service throughout the day and up until about midnight every night. The facilities for the children were excellent too, they booked those that wanted it into ski-school and the kids into junior ski school (Magic In Motion). Meriski also provided an evening crèche/babysitter if required. I totally recommend Meriski when going to ...
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Advantages: too many to mention Disadvantages: perhaps geared more to the advanced skier
Meribal is, by far and away, the best resort i have visited - i have skied in Austria, Switzerland, North America and France). Though extremely enjoyable for the advanced skier, it may be less so for those wanting to learn. The pistes are varied and challenging and can catch out the best of skiers.
Furthermore, the resort is, by far and away, not the most expensive by any means - if you are after the exclusive skiing holiday, then Verbier should ... ...the 3 vallees, which means you can, with the right 3 vallees ski-pass enjoy a trip over to courchevel, which again is definately worth a visit.
The apres-ski, again, is lively and varied. Meribel is the home of the original Dick's Tea Bar, a venue that is renowned throughout the Alps as being a great night out and plenty of fun if nothing else. The locals are very receptive and cater for your every need and the main lifts up to the slopes are a ...
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Advantages: Ski Area, Snow, Shuttle service Disadvantages: Night life
Meribel is roughly a 20 hour drive from london crusing at around 80mph.
on my trip we stopped of in chamberry for a overnight stop, its about 70miles from the resort and thanks to some advise from the man who sold me my snow chains it saved me alot of time.
The drive down is best if you plan the route, head down to lyon (going the east way around paris), there are signs most of the way. from lyon head towards chamberry. in the morning after the ... ...ensure you miss the traffic, if you start towards 9am you will be in traffic till around 3pm. And im not joking. once you have left the traffic of the motorway you just have to make your way up the hill to the main resort.
I stayed in meribel village which is made up of mostly apartment hotels. It has all the essentials, ski hire, Spar shop (with cooked roast chickens), 2 resturants, 1bar, bakery, and its own lift meaning you dont have to get stuck ...
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Advantages: Cheap, Loads To do, Fantastic Atmosphere, Great Linked Skiing for all Levels, All year round Skiing on with Glacier Disadvantages: Not much ski to the door
...I really enjoy skiing, where ever I go, but for me this area really stands out, I think that the main thing for me is the people and the atmosphere.
The skiing is great don't get me wrong, there are untold runs all linked up, there is a Galcier offering all year round skiing, (where the Austrian National Ski team Train), the people make the place.
Whether you are with your family or a group of friends you will have a great time here, I have been to this area time and time again, and have never experienced any offensive behaviour or snooty (unlike meribel) behaviour people are just there to have fun and that is what I go for.
I haven't said much about the skiing, I think that it is more challenging than the 3 Valleys and there is enough to satisfy all levels. Great for groups When we go over this new year there will be 17 of us...
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Advantages: Good skiing Disadvantages: Make sure you're in the right part of la Plagne
...La Plagne's great - I've been there 3 times now.
- The nightlife isn't as good as at Val d'Isere or Meribel, but there are enough bars to keep you going.
- There's a reasonable chance of getting ski-in, ski-out.
- The shops aren't bad.
- Skiing there is great - the area is huge and there are plenty of runs for all abilities.
If you are interested in going out in the evening, make sure you're in Plagne Centre.
- Plagne 1300 is low (so even if you get to ski back, it could be icy)
- Belle Plagne is good for families, but there's nothing much else there.
The bus is OK, but I think it goes every 15 or 20 minutes so you want to time it right if the weather's poor!...
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Advantages: Properly French Disadvantages: No globalised mod-cons such as an Internet cafe
...Have you ever felt the need to escape to a place where you can feel truly at peace with the world? A place that is relaxing, yet not spoilt by the tourist trade? A place far enough removed from your every-day life, but not far away physically? Well, look no further than Brides les Bains.
Pronounced "bhreed-la-baahn", this small village in the Savoy region of France is the perfect place to unwind. In winter, it's close to Meribel and the vast area of snow known as the "Trois Vallees". Meribel itself is set up for English tourists and therefore lacks the French charm that Brides offers, which is only a gondola (AKA bubble, telecabine, chairlift thingy)-ride away. At 600 metres above sea level, Brides has also been known to get snow during winter. Although there is a skiing/boarding trail from Meirbel, it's rarely used and is more...
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23.11.2004
13.10.2000
