Alpe d'Huez, good or bad?

Hi,

There are 5 of us looking for a skiing holiday on the 24th feb 07 (4 skiing, 1 snowboarding) for 7 nights. We are all of different standards.

We really have a very restricted budget (around £500 for accom,equip & pass) and Alpe D'Huez keeps popping up.

We are also after a decent apres ski too but last time I went skiing it was with my school 13 years ago (27 yrs old now!!)

Basically if anyone can offer us any idea whether this is a good option for us or advice of any kind I would be most grateful.

Thanks in advance,

Ian

Hi Ian,
I know Alpe d'Huez very well and I like it a lot. So I have a bias.

It is an excellent resort for mixed skiers. There is a bowl of easy greens immediately above the resort and some excellent blacks and reds for more experienced skiers. Glacier skiing is good. You can drop from 3300 t0 1100 metres on pistes without taking lifts. Also the Sarenne (16 kilometres( is the longest black in the Alps. There is very good off piste but best undertaken with a guide.

Alpe d'Huez is part of the Massif des Grandes Rousses. There are six resorts all linked by 280 kilometres of pistes. The best apres ski for young people is in Alpe d'Huez itself although it is not as an attractive development as the other satellites.

I can't help you with the prices but there is masses of information on accommodation etc on www.alpedhuez.com. There are also links to the satellite resorts and villages.

Good luck.

Geoff Smith

mog123 wrote:Hi,

There are 5 of us looking for a skiing holiday on the 24th feb 07 (4 skiing, 1 snowboarding) for 7 nights. We are all of different standards.

We really have a very restricted budget (around £500 for accom,equip & pass) and Alpe D'Huez keeps popping up.

We are also after a decent apres ski too but last time I went skiing it was with my school 13 years ago (27 yrs old now!!)

Basically if anyone can offer us any idea whether this is a good option for us or advice of any kind I would be most grateful.

Thanks in advance,

Ian

Hi Ian, Geoff is absolutely right Alpe d'Huez is a great resort but dont narrow your choices, there are lots of great resorts with snow sure conditions and good apres ski, albeit France is not the best place for apres ski, in my opinion, Austria is. As for prices try logging on to Skitopia.com, they are all inclusive, including a free bar
Good luck Steve

Thanks a lot for your help but dont let that stop anyone else with advice joining in!

Ian

We're just back from a week in Alpe d'Huez, and though the pistes were a bit restricted due to not enough snow, we had a good time. There are plenty of easy runs for beginners and loads of challenging runs for the more experienced, particularly of Pic Blanc where it's blacks only. Some of the blue runs are quite challenging in places too. Our 7 year old had a fantastic time and even skied down reds, which in France seem to be more difficult than those in Italy (just my opinion). There is loads of choice though, when the resort is fully open.

The town itself is quite spread out but if you're near the centre there are a few bars that looked worth trying if you don't mind paying French beer prices. (We stayed in self catering and bought our beer from the supermarket, much cheaper!). There is also an outdoor swimming pool and an ice rink which are both free with an area lift pass (the Visalp one). There are some nice shops including chocolate, sweet and patisserie shops as well as all the usual ski shops and fashion shops, restaurants and bars.

The prices in the mountain restaurants were a bit steep if you just wanted a drink. If you had waiter service you could pay £4 for a cup of coffee! I'll bring a flask next time. The meal prices weren't bad in the mountain restaurants, I have to say. We had a nice meal on Christmas day at the top of the 1st Troncon gondola and the rest of the time we ate paninis or chips.

The only complaint I have about the place (apart from the restricted snow which I trust won't be a problem when you go :wink: ) is the amount of dog sh1t around. The French people seemed to think it was OK to drag doggy round the resort and let him dump his load wherever he felt like it, even in the middle of the footpath so watch where you're walking and don't get any on your ski boots! I've a good mind to write to the mayor and complain but I don't know what good it will do.

I hope whatever you do that you all have a good time!