Is Chamrousse any good?

Looking ahead to next year.........

First week in Jan is ADH but we want a second trip at feb half term.
As we will be taken our daughter out of school for the Jan trip we cannot go any other time apart from half term so we are looking for a cheap break.
Chamrousse seems to fit the bill especially as some TO's give free lift passes but is it really any good?

For me, if something is free then it is generally rubbish!

Could anyone with experience of this resort give me the heads up?

Thanks

We skied Chamrousse this year (Jan 2011) and had a fabulous time. There's much more on offer there than you'd think and is great for families with long blue and red runs and Olympic ladies and mens runs to get your heart racing. It's one of those places where you actually laugh out loud on rollercoaster pistes which you do time and again just for the hell of it.
We stayed in the Domaine de l'Arselle at the far end of the villages which was great and had nearby lift access. The other good place to be would be at Chamrousse 1650 where there is other new self-catering accommodation and a fast gondola straight to the top.
See our full review of this great resort at http://www.mountainpassions.com/winter_ski/resort_reviews/alps/ski_chamrousse.html

We went in April the last week of their season. After a warm winter there was only snow left up high, but we still had a fantastic time and swore we would go back to Domaine de l'Arselle when the snow was better. Even with only a few pistes open it was not crowded.The apartments were convenient to everything, the ski bus service was good, and unbeatable value. No catches!

I skiied Chamrousse with the kids last year and it is excellent value - one of the real benefits is the very short transfer from Grenoble and when taking the children this really matters. There are some excellent prices for the resort as well and the Domaine de L'Arselle is great but....Balcons de Recoins is even better, I think
http://www.zenithholidays.co.uk/france/chamrousse/balcon-des-recoin/

The Balcons de Recoins are very well placed and you get easy access onto the gondola straight to the top of the station plus a few more shops and restaurants on the doorstep. Here's a self-drive package
http://skicollection.co.uk/Chamrousse/Ski-Apartments/Les-Balcons-de-Recoin.htm which seems great value. :-)

Thanks guys for all the info.

The only thing that puts me off is the size of the place, did you all find there was enough skiing to you occupied for a week?

In reality, if you are skiing with the kids then there is enough skiing for a week.[i] There was for us as we skied in the morning ourselves and with thchildren after ski school and it worked well.
If km is the key criteria and you want lots, its not your choice......but you will be paying more. The age old trade off!

We were in Chamrousse a couple of days and had by no means skied everywhere. We spent quite a bit of time doing runs which were so much fun we did them over and over such as the Olympic pistes which have several options as you descend. And , being there such a short time does mean we probably packed in more than if we were staying longer. If you get good snow then a week could be OK. However, as people who like to get some mileage under our skis, the prospect of a whole week without a few distractions would make us think twice.
Take a look at what other activities are on offer on http://www.chamrousse.com There's also a notable cross-country area, and the city of Grenoble to visit just 20 minutes away.
If you fancy the idea of a smaller family resort but want high mileage, why not look at some of the linked villages such as those in the Espace Diamant (Les Saisies is fairly snow-sure), or how about Valloire / Valmeinier (stay in Valloire for the village atmosphere), or maybe the huge Foret Blanche from Risoul or Vars ? You'll find independent reviews of all of these on our website.