Meribel Village (1400m) - Feb half term 2013

Anyone stayed in Meribel Village and can provide some insight?

We would be there during Feb half term so I'm hoping access to the slopes would be quieter. Apparently there is a free bus to get to Meribel centre.

We'll be using Eurostar via Moutiers drop off so very easy transfer.

I haven't stayed in Meribel village itself, but in the Meribel Centre. However the free ski bus is great, getting around couldn't be easier.
I'm not quite sure why you think access might be quieter then, quite the opposite, it'll be peak week of the season. Having said that the lift system is as good as any in the world so it will cope easily.
Plus there are a couple of big lift upgrades going in this summer so the two bottle necks there are will be no more.
I'm off to Meribel Mottaret in January.

Thanks Andy. I meant access to the slopes from Meribel Village rather than Meribel Centre.

We're accepting that it's going to be busy. Our eldest is now into her last year of GCSE's - no chance of going on holiday in term time.

I've read that the slopes suffer a bit in Meribel due to being south facing? Much of a problem in February or more of a March/April issue?

We've found the lower slopes in Meribel a bit soft/icy both in January New Year, and Feb half-term - in fact I would say that the snow in Meribel is the worst out of Courchevel, VT and Meribel. But at least it is very quick and easy to get out of Meribel if there is a problem with the quality of the snow.

Best of luck with your family holiday!

Have not stayed in Meribel village but there is only one lift out Golf
The free bus will take you upto Chaudanne where you have 5 lifts to choose from
Meribel is in a Valley with North and South facing slopes the busier runs can get soft but these can be avoided
By staying in Meribel Village 3 lifts will get you over to Courcheval without going into busy areas, no idea as to how busy Golf lift gets first thing in morning though
Great area you will have a good time

Thanks for the feedback. I've just booked our accommodation. Just waiting for the Eurostar tickets to be released now.

This is a record for us. Both ski holidays booked by July!!

Bedrock Barney, if you're looking for direct ski train tickets for Feb half-term you've got to be very quick.

We have bought these several times and grouped seats usually sell out by around lunch time on the day they release tickets to the general public. Last year I managed to get some of the pre-release seats because I pre-registered with Eurostar for them a year early!

But I have found that you can still get single seats several days later. We did that one year and then found some kind people who didn't mind us moving so that we could sit together.

Once the direct train tickets have sold out you have to take the indirect train and change in Paris.

A grumpy bedrock barney reporting in.

Ally's warning about the eurostar was very prescient. I got on the phone to Eurostar at 9am last Tuesday (the day of the release of the ski train tickets). I needed to call rather than book on line to secure the ski club discount. 25 minutes later I was still on hold. i then had to go out for a couple of hours. Came back and it was pretty much sold out. There are a few tickets left but we are looking at £1,600 for the 4 of us which is just too much.

Clearly Feb half term is a complete bun fight and I think we will avoid from now on. We've now looked into flying but that is also pretty expensive, especially once the Geneva transfer is factored in.

Therefore our 2nd ski trip looks like a non starter