 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi!
I wonder if I could have some advice from anyone who has been to Meribel if possible please?
I’m going there next year with a group of friends. We have booked accommodation/flights etc but nothing else. Our group is mixed ability. Some are good so they will go off and do their own thing but some are beginners or, like me, have only been once before - so we need a week of lessons. I was wondering if it is better to pre-book lessons prior to going or arrange lessons on arrival? Is it more expensive? Is it easy to arrange lessons? Any suggestions for ski schools?
The second question is about ski passes. I understand you can either get a Meribel area pass or the 3V pass. I was managing reasonably well after my week of lessons last year so hopefully I should pick it up again. Do you think the Meribel pass would be adequate or should I opt for the 3V pass.
Thanks for your help!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ragski, when are you going first of all? If it's a peak time then you will need to pre book lessons (well I would anyway, just in case). Should be no price difference but if you want to get into a particular ski school then best to pre book in my view. Some might give a discount maybe on pre booked lessons.
If you want a ski school in Meribel then look at British ski school Parallel Lines. http://www.parallel-lines.com/. They will be a bit more expensive than say ESF but the groups will be smaller and will be worth it for you in my opinion.
Meribel pass would probably be adequate for you if you've skied once before, but the difference in cost is 225 Euros to 182 Euros, so you need to decide if it's worth the extra money to go wherever you want without restrictions and that depends on how much ground you are covering already. The ski school will advise you as well when you book because they will know from your level where they take you to ski usually. There are also some nice green and blue runs over in neighbouring Courchevel that you won't be able to go to without the pass. Saying that, it is possible to upgrade the pass mid week to a Three Valleys pass instead of Meribel only if you want to, whether it's better value to have the Three Valleys pass to start with though I don't know because I've never upgraded the pass half way throughout the week.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sat 8-11-08 20:19; edited 1 time in total
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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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ragski, hello and welcome to snowHeads! I've never taken lessons in Meribel, but a little search around (see the tag 'Forum Search' just under the picture - I don't find it terribly intuitive, but you can usually turn something up if you play around) has produced this thread. If you are going in high season, I would have thought that it might be an idea to pre-book but someone else with more knowledge than me will probably be along shortly, to confirm that, or otherwise.
Not sure about the pass. My inclination is to say that, if you got reasonably confident after a week, you'd really enjoy exploring Courchevel a bit, as there are lots of long, wide open, flattering runs over there. I have just been researching, myself, the possibility of getting a pass for just the Courchevel and Meribel systems since, when I go to Courchevel in January, I'm slightly dubious that I'll get over to the third Val Thorens valley. Unfortunately that doesn't seem possible, the passes are just for one valley, or for all three. If you want to save the pennies, and if you will be in school every day, I shouldn't have thought that you would get bored skiing for a week just in Meribel. But again, others may disagree. Sorry, that's a bit vague, I'm afraid.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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ragski,What time of year are you going?  For lessons you should book before you go. The price may not be affected for lessons if you wait but, for peak weeks, you may struggle if you wait until you get to resort. New Generation would be my recomendation.
If this is your 2nd week, you'll find more than enough ski-ing in the Meribel valley, so a 3V pass may be a bit extravagant. Ask the ski school what pass is required. Most lessons are only for a few hours so there is plenty of time to 'do your own thing'. If you think you'll need to go into the other valleys more than a couple of days then a 3V pass is cheaper than the upgrade charges.
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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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The full area pass will cost about £30 more than the Meribel only pass, put this into context with what you'll be spending over the week and it's peanuts, so go for the area pass, then relax in the knowledge that if you take a wrong turn and end up in the wrong valley you'll be OK. As others have said, some great terrain for you over in Courcheval and it's easy to get to.
For ski schools and other info, these pages are useful
http://www.merinet.com/
http://www.meribel-unplugged.co.uk/
Most people on here will advise against ESF. I couln't comment specifically as I haven't used them in Meribel, nor any ski school in Meribel for that matter. But when I have used the ESF they have always been fine. Arguably the smaller schools will offer smaller group sizes but they do come at a premium. While researching ski schools for my kids, the non ESF ones were approx. twice the cost of ESF - I'm not convinced they will be twice as good.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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My goodness! I didn't expect to get a reply that quickly! I'm going on the 17th January so that should still be out of the peak season I think, but as you say pre booking might save a bit of time and hassle.
Great advice from you both and thanks for replying.
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| ragski wrote: |
My goodness! I didn't expect to get a reply that quickly! I'm going on the 17th January so that should still be out of the peak season I think, but as you say pre booking might save a bit of time and hassle.
Great advice from you both and thanks for replying. |
Even for mid Jan, i think pre booking ski school would be wise. 
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Hi
Since I am now back from my holiday I thought I would come on here and answer my own question in the hope that others will gain from my new found knowledge!
Firstly I would definitely recommend a 3V pass. I had only skied for 1 weeek prior to my holiday and I wouldn't class myself as superfit but even on the first day I had managed to venture into the Courcheval area which required the 3V pass. Courcheval, as mentioned above, has some lovely easy pleasant skiing areas so for a low intermediate is very pleasant to ski in. By the end of the week I had used my pass for all three areas so for the sake of £30 or so the 3V pass as opposed to a single area pass in my opinion is definitely worth it.
As regards the lessons, probably best to pre book. Even though it wasn't peak season and you could probably have got them sorted out in some way, it probably saved a bit of hassle to have them pre booked.
My mates did the beginners lessons with ESF and had a great time - no complaints/no real language difficulties. I did the Parallel Lines lessons - again very good ski school - no complaints either.
Hope this is of use to someone else!
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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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ragski, great, thanks for reporting back and glad you had a good time. 
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