 Poster: A snowHead
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So currently pondering going to La Thuile in mid Feb and struggling to find any really up to date info (other than bits and bobs on other people's threads or a couple of older threads)
From what it sounds like from doing a bit of reading, it's a relatively quiet, relatively cheap resort with a good variety of runs, good lifts and options for further ski away days at Courmayer/Pila etc?
Just wondering if I can seek out some knowledge from your good selves on what the resort, runs and snow are like and also any downfalls we haven't considered? Does anybody know what the Planibel apartments are like/stayed there as these seem to come up a lot when searching for accommodation.
Snow at the moment still seems fairly low, but rumour has it up to 1m could be falling across Italy this weekend...? (shhh, whisper it!)
Ta!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Good runs, good-sized ski area (links to La Rosiere in France). Snow is generally good, unless totally blasted by the wind through the pass. One thing to watch out for is that all of the runs coming back down to the resort are steep, some of them very steep. There are 2 somewhat easier options to the extreme skier's left and skier's right of the piste map (one of which is the summer road down from the Petit Saint Bernard pass) but both would be a bit of a mission for beginners or low intermediates.
You can take the cable car back down from Les Suches if the ski back doesn't appeal. Resort is quiet and the immediate development around the ski lifts is a bit grim, but the old town is nice and there are some great restaurants.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@FiFi_Trixibell, February is a long way off. I'm here at the moment and although we had snow yesterday which has made the resort look white it hasn't opened any more runs. The only runs back open today and all last week were black 2 & 3, its really cold and the wind has been blowing a lot of the snow around high up. I did go to La Rosiere during the week which appeared to have better conditions. The forecast for next week shows more snow and cold weather
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You pretty much summed it up in your post.
I was there over New Year. The resort is small and quiet, in a valley shaded by mountains, but prices are reasonable. In terms of the town, there is a really good butchers, a couple of little supermarkets, a cheese shop, a chocolate shop and a small variety of bars/cafes/restaurants which were generally pretty decent. Not many late night options - either Kings pub in planibel (we hated it - tacky brit pub immitation) or music cafe, which doesn't get going 'til late.
Skiing wise, not all runs are open due to lean snowfall this year. When we were there, they worked hard to preserve the pistes that were open, moving snow each night to where it was needed most. It is easy enough to download via the gondola, we had to for the first half of our week as no resort runs were open, but they did open a black later in the week. Despite all this,it still had a reasonable variety of runs from beginner friendly blues, a decent enough number of cruisy blues and red, and a smattering of blacks (some groomed, some moguls). La rosiere is easy enough to visit, although the ski over is a bit of a punt (some flats, uphills - boarders beware) and the return is ok as long as you don't mind drag lifts. I am happy to ski the same runs so the part closure of (mostly red) pistes didn't worry me, but its not the place for high milage skiing. More pistes than Pila, more cruisy than Courmauyer. Only other thing to consider is the La Thuile side can be windy, and is typically colder than La Ros, and occasionally the links can get shut due to high winds.
If you have any other questions, just ask. I enjoyed my skiing there, the locals were friendly, the planibel complex is convenient if not exactly pretty (we didnt stay there - we rented belvedere apartments via holiday lettings). However, its not somewhere I'd keep going back to.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Accommodation nit good there
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I was there last year, in the last week of February. Snow conditions were good then, but the biggest selling point for me was how quiet it was - I only had to queue for lifts a couple of times all week! Apparently this is due to the majority of the rooms in resort being owned by Italian people who mostly come up for weekends and don't rent them out. The quietness meant that the pistes were clear and there was always plenty of fresh powder off-piste.
Apart from that, the town is nice; quiet and inexpensive. And Pila can be reached easily enough - the TO I was with organised a coach trip there for a day. And there is the option to do heli-skiing, if that's your cup of tea.
As for downsides... many of the runs have flat and even uphill sections. As a boarder I got caught out a few times. And the piste grading can be misleading, some of the reds would be blues in most other resorts.
But overall I'd recommend it if you like the sound of quiet slopes and a quiet resort.
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I didn't care for the look or atmosphere of the Planibel complex - all a bit Eastern bloc, I'm afraid. Hotels like Du Glacier and Boton D'Or are much more appealing. Pleasant old town where the restaurants and bars are better.
No queues whatsoever for the lifts and plenty of room on the mountain. La Thuile skiing a bit steeper and more varied than La Rosiere. Beware the tour ops away day to Pila; the coach went to virtually every hotel in Courmayeur going and on the return trip. Didn't get back to La Thuile until well after 8pm. Very annoying!
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I was in La Rosiere last Feb and I preferred the skiing over in La Thuile...helped by the fact that I went over there when the weather was good and the sun was shining eating pizza on the terrace...and I am a confirmed Italophile! The weather did change as I crossed the border. So, if it's rough in Italy, it might be better across in France.
The runs were really varied, some went well away from the lifts to the far left and right of the piste map and those really testing (and avoidable) blacks down the front face were heart in the mouth fun!
La Ros just seemed like lots of runs down the same face of the mountain all at more or less the same gradient and mostly bleak & windswept with few tree-lined runs to shelter, only Ecudets, but it was raining down there. A day in La Ros might make a change if you were staying in La Thuile though...the panoramic view up and down the Tarentaise valley was spectacular and the Tartiflette might make a change from Pizza & Pasta! 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'm going out there tomorrow, if I get my act together and remember to take my camera out of my pocket I'll do a TR when I get back.
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Hi all, thanks so much for the input. We're pretty certain this looks like a good bet based on the accommodation and flight options that suit when we can go (having spent the vast majority of our saturday evening tonight researching resorts armed with a chinese!)
I love the fact that the biggest selling point is quiet pistes and minimal lift queues, even mid feb. I was a little worried about the size of the resort initially, purely on the basis that we like to clock up the mileage and have been used to bigger resorts i.e via lattea, 3v, espace killy regions etc. Generally we like to ski as many varied pistes as we can in a week without having to loop the same place over and over (definitely dull), and like being able to just ski around and see what takes our fancy without too much planning. I'm hoping that even though it's 150k between the two resorts, if we end up spending most of our time just on the Thuile side, having the opportunity to ski to La Ros (don't mind the sound of the "ominous" 2k button or the odd flat bit if required) and being able to catch a bus to Pila; I'm thinking we will be absolutely fine. Will be nice if we can ski a bit of powder too and I'm liking the sound of tree runs lower down, even if up high gets a bit windblown. In December temps hit -18 with wind chill at the top of Val D so I don't think it will be much worse than that was!! . I noticed there are some openings in the trees under the cable car/chairlift on the piste map. Any info on what these are like would be great. Guessing this is your typical off piste run back down? The reds and blacks should be fine for us though but keeping fingers crossed it's not as bad as the busiest home runs back at 4.30pm in france.
Not fussed on architecture this time tbh! Usually I will always prefer a pretty location or more attractive chalet but this is a cheeky holiday number 2 hence why i wondered about the planibel apartments for cost effectiveness and location to lifts. Concrete jungle style is not my thing being a country girl(!) but if it's cheap, there's a decent enough kitchen and a good supplier of cheese I'll be well away! Is there any Apres ski/happy hours at the base of the mountain that's worth doing, along with any restaurant recommendations? Probably cook x 3, eat out x 3 but its just me, hubby and brother-in-law so not table dancing or 4am raves as not really our scene!
Thanks for input already, v much appreciated 
@lilywhite, that would be great
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Been to La Thuile about 10 years ago. Went to La Rosiere about 5 years ago. Liked both. Skied in both resorts both times. Agree with the comments above about resorts / runs / etc.
Stayed in the Planibel Appartments. I think the block we were in was called Monte Bianco. It was fine. Not a super scenic log cabin chalet with exposed wood everywhere but I put it as above the Peirre et Vacances apartment blocks in France (and I have stayed in them and find them to be cheap and cheerful and adequate).
If I remember correctly, you get the use of the swimming pool sauna etc attached to the Planibel Hotel. As it is Italy you have to wear a swimming cap (it cost €1 to buy one 10 years ago).
I agree that the architecture is not the most sympathetic. There was a good pizzeria across the courtyard from our apartment, and a good cafe (coffee and croissants for breakfast) just below. If you went around the back of the hotel and apartments (away from the river and the older town) and followed the road for a bit there was a good restaurant up some stairs.
It is definitely worth the effort to go into the old town. Plenty of choice of bars and eating places there.
The one thing that really sticks in my mind about the place is the impression that someone had invested a lot of money in developing the skiing infrastructure and had planned it out very carefully. It is perfectly possible to go into the town from Planibel (Hotel or Apartments) but to do so you have to cross the river by one of the bridges that are not perfectly convenient and so it is easier to eat close to Planibel and to use the shops there. And the ski hire. And everything else. And it just 'felt' like someone was influencing my decision of where to go to eat / shop / etc. Nothing wrong in that. It just makes me more determined to go and walk into the town and see what there is there. If you are going to walk into town, a torch was useful 10 years ago. Don't know what it is like now.
Lovely blues across to La Rosiere, and as I remember it, an alternative quieter but nicer blue slightly to the right (when facing La Rosiere). As I am sure you will realise, the world's longest poma tow back from La Rosiere to La Thuile.
When I stayed in La Thuile, the resort runs were mostly closed so we used to download in the gondola.
When you go up the first gondola, the cafe a little bit away on the right (facing up hill) has the best hot chocolate drink ever.
Would I go back?
I fly out there on Saturday.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Planibel is very very convenient for the lifts. Difficult to get much closer.
Can't remember there being any apres at all to speak of but we went off season.
have just re-read the posts above and been reminded about the really crap 'pub' in the Planibel complex. Better to walk into town. Decent choice there.
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The trees under the chairlift/cable-car are VERY steep. Some locals do ride them, but there are small cliffs and rocks all over the place. Be careful!
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You know it makes sense.
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| stevomcd wrote: |
| The trees under the chairlift/cable-car are VERY steep. Some locals do ride them, but there are small cliffs and rocks all over the place. Be careful! |
Thanks...that'll be a definite no then for me!!! I like the odd bit of slope through the trees when I'm fresh but I know what I'm like at the end of a long day and while I'm usually happy on a red or black run home I think I would cause myself some injury/sig stress if steeps rocks and cliff is involved!  Would explain why theyre not just red or black tree runs though.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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There are some more mellow trees higher up, near the Chalet lift.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Went there last year - as mentioned above, very quiet resort but fantastic skiing. Had planned to spend a day in Pila or Courmayeur but La Thuile/La Rosiere more than adequate for a week.
We stayed in the old village in the Miramonti hotel which was lovely. Got a great deal as kind of a last minute thing. Those staying at the Planibel complex said it was fine - not pretty but clean and well maintained and very convenient for the slopes.
Very good value on food and drink (especially if you're used to skiing in France) both on and off the mountain and good happy hour deals in bar across from main ski school meeting point. Goes without saying that it being Italy, the food is absolutely first class. Didn't have one disappointing dining experience. Try the chocolatier on the way from Planibel complex to old village. Incredible.
As previous poster said, main bar in Planibel complex is a pretty ropey Brit styled pub although does have Sky Sports if you really need to catch a game. Some nice, quietish bars down in the old village near the Miramonti (big yellow hotel).
Do take the 30 minute trip down the valley, to the fantastic spa at Pre Saint Didier one evening. €3 return by bus. Cheap entry after 5pm to use all the facilities (treatments extra) and further discount on that if you have lift pass. Great way to give aching muscles a bit of TLC in middle of ski week is a soak in the outdoor thermal baths with views of mountains all around. You'd pay small fortune to enjoy same level of luxury in Ireland/UK and you wouldn't have the views!
Went to ski school 9.30-12.30 for five days - well worth it as was basically ski touring service to every corner of the resort and got to visit some excellent mountain bars/restaurants off the beaten track.
Not a party town or one for night owls but considering the extent of skiing there, fantastic lift system and the value, one of the most underrated resorts out there. Don't tell everyone!! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was in La Ros over NY. Made the trip over to La Thuile but I was slightly disappointed. The larger runs on either side of the piste map were closed. This left the main runs down the centre which were good. However, with more of the resort open I am sure there is plenty to enjoy. A couple of the lifts were slow which I personally found frustrating. As said in a previous post this is not a resort for clocking up the kms. I did not head down to resort as all resort bound pistes were closed.
The route over to La Rosiere is OK. Yes it was uncomfortable in the cold wind but its not too bad. Just remember to put your scarf on. The route back on 1 or 2 drag lifts is OK for skiers and probably annoying for boarders.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Mike-H, @Paul100, thanks fir reviews, v helpful! Keep hearing about this dos - shall be giving that a whirl! Also, were more than happy to spend the night in with a cheese board and box of wine so were really not fussed about the après in all honesty. If we can get a beer or two on the slopes at the end of the day we'll be happy enough!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@FiFi_Trixibell,
Some nice little shops selling local cheese, wines, etc. so you'll be well set up. The one near Planibel does a tasting evening on Monday night iirc.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Paul100 wrote: |
@FiFi_Trixibell,
Some nice little shops selling local cheese, wines, etc. so you'll be well set up. The one near Planibel does a tasting evening on Monday night iirc. |
That sounds good! between the 3 of us going we're going to cook 1 night each and then eat out for 3 nights. Hoping from what I've read, prices are reasonable, and just gotta figure out what to cook now. The last time we did self catering was as a massive early 20's group, mostly students or non-cooks thus entailing vats of slightly dodgy insipid pasta and not that exciting sauces on many nights. Just gotta remember the few cooking bits from home that we don't want to buy out there and we should be able to enjoy some good meals.
What are the on mountain restaurants like? Hoping for a great lunchtime Pizza recommendation to break up the packed lunches during the week!
Finally if anyone knows of any good instructors for private tuition that would also be massively helpful as always try and do a couple hours a week if we can afford to.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Favourite pizza (and very good non-pizza!) place is Pepita Café in La Thuile. It's on the main road to the Petit Saint Bernard, a little above the town centre, just next to the petrol station.
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@FiFi_Trixibell, sorry can't help with instructors, there doesn't seem to be many during the week as the resort gets busy at weekends only. There are as many if nor more british interski instructors on the hill during the week with school groups. Th main ski school is right on the piste
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+1 for Pepita Cafe and the Spa in Pre St Didier (gorgeous place and really affordable in the evening).
We loved La Thuille, especially the old village- not that keen on the look of Plannibal, although undoubtably convenient for the lifts. If you decide not to do SC, there is a great 3* B&B called Hotel Du Glacier, which we loved and was really good value.
Skiing wise, we enjoyed the runs on the far side of the area facing Mount Blanc. All quite long and a good variety, but it does get a bit chilly over there. On sunny days get over to La Rosiere early to enjoy the best of the sun and come back for lunch when it starts getting slushy. Courmayeur is also quite convenient for a day (35 mins on the bus) and a nice change of scene included in the lift pass. Have fun
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Another vote here for the Hotel Du Glacier - charming owners who couldn't have been more helpful.
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Sure some will definitely find the hotel recommendations useful - we have just gone with the planibel apartments as it was too good a deal to turn down. We're not fussy campers so sure will be fine and this is our "bonus" holiday of the year so it's all extra from the usual 1 week away - can't complain too much!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@FiFi_Trixibell,
Justo left of the top of Chalets Express lift there is a great restaurant that does huge pizza with perfect thin crust , baked to order as you watch.
Two great options too off red run 7. Might be tough for any boarders in the group but both well worth a visit.
Also, in town there is a great restaurant called LA Forde - bit off the main resort area but great value.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Just back from La Thuile. Definitely +1 for Pepita Cafe. Some very expensive (to me) items on the menu but a very good selection of cheaper items too.
If self catering in the Planibel Apartments, the cafe on the right (when facing the mountain) undrneathe the Monte Bianco Apartment block is good for coffee and croissant breakfast
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You know it makes sense.
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I have friends skiing there at the moment. They say the snow is perfect.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Just back from la thuile - will post a review soon! Great trip away, some positives, some negatives but overall had a wicked holiday. very sad to come home 
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