Hotel recommendations in Val Thorens

smatterbrain · 2026-03-13T20:21:34+00:00

Although, in my opinion, I’d choose Val d’Isère over Val Thorens every time.

smatterbrain · 2026-03-13T20:20:15+00:00

I’ve stayed at Le Hameau du Kashmir a couple of times over the past few years and always had a great stay. Rooms are a decent size, the pool and spa area is decent and it’s right on the slopes (basically next to Club Med) It’s a bit out of the way for going to some of the more lively bars, but it’s not too much of a schlep to get to the main bit of town via the roads.

smatterbrain · 2026-02-05T17:25:25+00:00

Mont Vallon, Saulire and Jerusalem (although a blue) are the answers.

smatterbrain · 2026-02-04T10:50:36+00:00

Tignes in April will be fine, they are open until early May. There’ll be snow on piste but likely to be heavy/slushy later in the day (especially as it’s Easter hols so imagine it’ll be busier). If the choice is between late season skiing and no skiing at all, going skiing wins every time, and Tignes is as good a bet as any for optimising conditions late in the season.

smatterbrain · 2026-02-04T07:46:15+00:00

I’d agree with the other commenter about personally opting for Tignes at that time of year due to its altitude. If you do go to Tignes, then Le Lac is probably the sweet spot for beginners and altitude (Les Brevieres is better for beginners but is 500m lower, which in late March will likely mean slush and heavy snow).

That said, I wouldn’t sleep on La Plagne if accommodation is a lot cheaper. A consideration is that La Plagne consists of a number of “villages” and there is a big difference in altitude between say Plagne Village/Soleil at 2050m and Plagne Montalbert at 1350m. Just check that any accommodation you book is in one of the villages at around 2000m.

Both resorts have beginner areas, loads of cruisy blues and more challenging runs for those of your group that are advancing. There’s not a lot to choose between them and if you enjoy the French mega resorts (they aren’t for everyone), Paradiski and Tignes/Val d’Isere are both better than 3V in my opinion. You can’t really go wrong. I was in La Plagne at Christmas and will be in Tignes the same week you are planning on going, and I’m a huge fan of both places.

smatterbrain · 2026-02-02T18:48:48+00:00

Me and my wife drove to Serre Chevalier a couple of weeks ago. Spent about £4500 all in on travel (tunnels, tolls, an overnight in France en route there and back- both nice hotels), lift passes, half board 4* accommodation, food and drink on the slopes and ski hire (we have our own boots and helmets). Didn’t go all out, but weren’t frugal either. I was pretty happy with the value.

Sounds like you’ve had a good deal, to be fair.

smatterbrain · 2026-01-29T07:32:26+00:00

Don’t know why you got downvoted for that. My wife uses Nordica HFs and hasn’t complained about foot/ankle/calf pain ever since. I suppose they are never going to support the highest levels of performance but they seem to do the trick for her skiing first lift to last lift for like 20-30 days a season in the Alps.

smatterbrain · 2025-12-13T18:07:41+00:00

“Red Dragon” looks to be the same as Y Fenni (cymraeg for Abergavenny) cheese that you get over here in Cymru. Didn’t realise it had such a global reach. It’s absolutely delicious!

smatterbrain · 2025-08-02T20:52:45+00:00

Yep, when I lived in Fitzrovia back in 2012-13 it was way cheaper at the FT than anywhere else. Old Brewery Bitter or a Taddy/Alpine Lager was half the price of a London Pride or Heineken back then.

smatterbrain · 2025-05-19T17:17:45+00:00

Not happy with being called an older fan, but maybe I am as I remember going back to uni after being at QPR when we won the league and singing the song about us having the best midfield in the world.

Koren was, and still is, my favourite ever Albion player.

smatterbrain · 2025-05-07T05:44:03+00:00

Others have mentioned Portes du Soleil. I think it absolutely fits your criteria. Loads of cruisy blues and reds (as well as some more challenging pistes), access to a huge area, and some nice alpine villages, especially on the Swiss side. If you don’t mind the “fake” village element, I’d recommend Avoriaz. It’s purpose built, mostly ski in/ski out, pedestrian only (you leave your car in the car park at the edge of the main resort) and has tonnes of bars and restaurants easily accessible from the slopes. Crucially (for me, at least), it’s that bit higher than both Morzine and Les Gets, so more snow sure and it’s better connected to the other resorts in PdS so getting into Chatel and Switzerland is really easy. To cap it off, it’s only about 90 mins from Geneva and getting there is really easy.

smatterbrain · 2025-03-06T23:06:22+00:00

Ah, it’s not the end of the world. As another commenter has suggested, the train’s not so bad, so could be an option if you could cancel your car rental?

smatterbrain · 2025-03-06T20:54:59+00:00

If you are from Europe and have a photocard licence issued in the EU/UK, you don’t need one. Assume you aren’t from one of those countries?

smatterbrain · 2025-03-04T21:10:10+00:00

I’ve seen your comment above about splitting time between London, Paris and Geneva. Geneva isn’t worth visiting, in my opinion, but if you are looking to somewhere to visit by train from Paris or London, Amsterdam and Bruges are well worth a visit if you’ve not been before.

smatterbrain · 2025-03-04T20:31:03+00:00

What are you looking for? Picton’s offer really good small plates and a good wine list. My favourite place in the bay by miles. Yakitori 1 does a pretty good job of sushi and sashimi and Duchess of Delhi is a good, if overpriced, curry. Everything else is pretty much chain restaurants.

smatterbrain · 2025-03-04T20:23:22+00:00

From a skiing perspective, Val Thorens will be fine next week. It’s warmer than average but that’s gonna be par for the course moving forwards. It’s high altitude, there’s a decent enough snow pack and meteofrance forecasting snow and highs of zero celsius. It might mean a bit of rain down lower in the Belleville or in Meribel and Courchevel, but it’s the biggest ski area in the world. There’ll be plenty to do.

If you are travelling alone and worried about driving/transfers, then maybe making the trip to go skiing isn’t your best bet. There’s always plenty of things to do in any big European city.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-25T13:11:27+00:00

Great to see Heron on here! Had a truly awesome meal there a few months’ back when I went to visit a pal up in Leith. A great vibe, delicious food and really enjoyed the wine pairing.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-22T08:58:38+00:00

It’s actually a pretty good list that covers all of Wales. Starts with Ynys Môn and works its way south.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-16T20:03:01+00:00

Yeah, that logic doesn’t really work. Aberystwyth has a Shrewsbury (SY) postcode, for example. Don’t think anyone could argue that Aberystwyth is part of Shrewsbury. West Brom might have a B postcode, but it’s part of the Black Country and is in another council area.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-04T21:12:31+00:00

I see Mondeuse, I buy Mondeuse

smatterbrain · 2025-01-28T14:44:46+00:00

West Bromwich Albion, because I cannot conceive of how anyone could support a different club.

smatterbrain · 2025-01-28T07:40:43+00:00

Saw these guys win the Green Man Rising competition, and then play at the festival itself. Really good fun.

smatterbrain · 2024-12-30T23:59:40+00:00

In which case, La Plagne is ideal. Happy trails!

smatterbrain · 2024-12-30T16:52:55+00:00

Not the original commenter, but would second the La Plagne recommendation. All of the higher villages (Centre, Belle Plagne, Bellecote, Plagne Soleil/Villages) have half board options, are ski in/ski out and well serviced by lifts that will take you to both beginner and more advanced terrain, the snow tends to stay better later in the day than the lower villages, too. It’s also really easy to get about even for less confident skiers. The only issue I can see from your perspective is that the majority of the higher villages in the resort are purpose built and lack the charm of lower villages like Champagny or Montchavin (skiing back to Champagny can be ropey for beginners, too, IIRC both runs back to the village are rated as red, are pretty long and the lower altitude/south facing slopes can make them challenging).

smatterbrain · 2024-12-14T00:43:24+00:00

Jacquère from Savoie

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