Brides les Bains

Hi, thinking of driving to BlB at xmas. Anybody been and how good is it?
Cheers

You'll find Brides les Bains is really quick and easy to get to, no long climb up the mountain - you do that on the gondola ride every morning. The gondola takes about 25 minutes to reach Meribel then you have to take more lifts to ski BUT the accommodation in Brides is cheaper and there's a good choice between various hotels, B&B's and self-catering. The village is attractive and has several bars and restaurants though is much quieter than an average ski village. There is a village shuttle bus which takes skiers directly to the gondola but rather than hang around we walked but it's quite a drag uphill (no parking) with all your gear. Coming down, given the right conditions you can ski from Meribel to the lower mid-station at Les Allues before getting into the gondola for the final descent.
As a base, Brides works well and you can access all the 3 valleys from there no problem. Personally I'd rather be up where the action is and avoid the long lift ride at the beginning and end of the day.
You can read our full review of Brides les Bains on http://www.mountainpassions.com/winter_ski/resort_reviews/alps/ski_brides_les_bains.htm

Agree with much of what Julia says. The gondola is a bit odd, 2 forward, 2 reverse facing seats ~ around a central pole, with snow going down your neck! You can leave skis at the bottom of the Gondola for 2 Eu a day, but I preferred to carry. The downside is that you have to catch the last gondola down, so no slope-side drinkies. I would not have described B-l-B as "attractive"

Like most spa towns, Brides les Bains has some lovely old buildings and hotels. The centre is quite modern and less interesting but the town is trying hard and looked quite jolly when we were there.

Not quite the end of a typical ski day, Julie! I agree there were some individual old buildings, that were well looked after. As a painter, I am always looking for good alpine subjects. Not in B-l-B. Nor to be fair in many French alpine locations.

Thanks for the replies. Julia, found your website info usefull Cheers. 8)