 Poster: A snowHead
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I've never been to the 3 Valleys area and I'm thinking about 3 or 4 nights in the area this winter. Looking at booking.com all the accommodation seems really expensive (€200+ per night).
Is there anywhere decent people can recommend?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Will obviously depend on when you go and what quality of accommodation you are looking for. As a general rule, Brides les Bains and Les Menuires are the cheapest places to stay.
There is also a 2 star B&B in the centre of Meribel which does Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday at €120/night: http://www.hoteldoron.com/rooms-rates/ Great location but beware of the music from the bar until 1am.
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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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It's just about the largest lift-linked ski area in the world and Val Thorens is the highest resort in Europe, so it's never going to be cheap.
Most accommodation in the lift-linked resorts is going to be for Sat-Sat bookings only during the main part of the season, so you're probably left with a few pricier hotels who don't mind doing flexible short-term stays.
You'll probably have to commute a bit if you want cheaper or pay the going rate in resort.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Bride les Bains or Orelle
You should find accomodation around 60 quid a night.
Both have lifts up to Val Thorens.
I liked Orelle.
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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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| Raceplate wrote: |
Will obviously depend on when you go and what quality of accommodation you are looking for. As a general rule, Brides les Bains and Les Menuires are the cheapest places to stay.
There is also a 2 star B&B in the centre of Meribel which does Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday at €120/night: http://www.hoteldoron.com/rooms-rates/ Great location but beware of the music from the bar until 1am. |
Thanks! Plenty of places in Brides les Bains and Les Menuires on Booking actually, are those towns connected via lifts?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@mrvinegar, a plan b would be to try Airbnb, so for example if you search on Airbnb in the Bozel area (a bus ride down/up from Courchevel) you'll find a couple of interesting places, at a fraction of some of the prices above. Looks like a few below Orelle too.
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| mrvinegar wrote: |
| Thanks! Plenty of places in Brides les Bains and Les Menuires on Booking actually, are those towns connected via lifts? |
From Brides, you need to take the Olympe gondola into the centre of Meribel each day and also return on it. It's a 25 minute ride and beware that it closes at around 5pm. There is a free ski bus goes around Brides to take people to/from the gondola.
If LM is in your budget, I'd go there. It's in the heart of the lift system with easy access to higher or lower places depending on the weather. Bit of a sun trap but that means it can be very good early season. The highest part, La Masse, often has the best snow anywhere in a poor snow year.
Both towns are more French than other areas of the 3V's so not much of an apres scene. You can drink at The Folie Douce in Val Thorens though and it's one lift home to LM (or none if you take the terminally dull Boulevard).
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| Quote: |
Is there anywhere decent people can recommend?
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@mrvinegar, Dont rule out suggestions for those who arent decent, they may have ideas too. 
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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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If you were staying a full week you'd have a lot of choice of inexpensive but good chalet operators like Snow Retreat. http://www.snowretreat.co.uk/ If your 3 or 4 days doesn't straddle a weekend you may still be better off with that approach as they can be very good value even if you don't stay the full week.
Some of the chalet operators will do short breaks and flexible stays. One that I know of (and have stayed with in Meribel Les Allues) is Ski Hame: https://www.skihame.co.uk/holidays/short_break_flexible_let.htm
La Tania is a great base for exploring the three valleys, inexpensive, and relatively easy to get to.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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https://www.interhome.co.uk
myself and a group of us are doing exactly what you intend staying friday to tuesday, booked on interhome with no issue. - wanted to go Val T but prices were too high - we use the flat as pretty much just an area to shower and sleep, very little time spent in there so no point paying loads for fancy accommodation, so instead we've gone for Les Menuires as previously suggested. fantastic value, good lift connections. not supposed to be great for apres, but for a short trip, you only really need a late bar, and a few restaurants which it apparently has!
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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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And to get cheaper accommodation, obviously, you'll need to avoid school holidays including the 4 week French February/March break.
End of January is a good compromise between cost of accommodation and likelihood of good snow.
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| Quote: |
Is there anywhere decent people can recommend?
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@mrvinegar, Dont rule out suggestions for those who arent decent, they may have ideas too. |
Ha! What I meant to say was, "Is there anywhere "decent" that people can recommend"
Some great info here..thank you again
Not knowing the area well, what towns have the best restaurants / nightlife ?
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You know it makes sense.
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@mrvinegar, I know, just messing - try Brides les Bain, i'd rather be there and up early onto the bubble than staying in LM, nicer restaurants and stuff going on, LM ime is a soul-less place with little or no apres and awful architecture. Central it may be but pretty it is not.
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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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| mrvinegar wrote: |
| Not knowing the area well, what towns have the best restaurants / nightlife ? |
Most nightlife - Meribel. Band on every night. Courchevel 1650, La Tania and Val Thorens have options.
Best restaurants - there are great restaurants all across the 3V's. Just depends on budget. Some swanky places in VT, La Ferme in Reberty (part of LM) is good value as is the afore-mentioned L'Ours Blanc. Meribel has Chez Kiki, La Tania the Michelin starred Farcon, Le Praz has Azimut, some great places in St Martin too.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Never understand why people give LM such a hard time. If you stay in the higher area, Reberty, there are several nice places and it's nothing like the lower areas with the cheap apartments.
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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 have booked short stays in apartments through Interhome in the past, the standard final cleaning cost seemed a bit high the last time I did a search.
Have stayed in Brides-les-Bains, Moutiers and La Lechere and driven up to various bits of the 3V too.
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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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Reberty is great for getting on to the slopes but I agree that Les Menuires is pretty horrendous for apres. We arrived at 8pm on a Saturday and found it a real struggle to get food - La ferme was full and the pizza place across the road was closing. The less said about the tex mex in the centre the better!!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| mrvinegar wrote: |
| Raceplate wrote: |
Will obviously depend on when you go and what quality of accommodation you are looking for. As a general rule, Brides les Bains and Les Menuires are the cheapest places to stay.
There is also a 2 star B&B in the centre of Meribel which does Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday at €120/night: http://www.hoteldoron.com/rooms-rates/ Great location but beware of the music from the bar until 1am. |
Thanks! Plenty of places in Brides les Bains and Les Menuires on Booking actually, are those towns connected via lifts? |
Have a look at the piste map to see what lifts go where: https://www.latania.co.uk/skiing/pistemaps.htm
(I couldn't find a piste map on the 3 Valleys website that was usable on my mobile.)
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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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I was going to suggest Hotel Telemark in La Tania, operated by Family Friendly Skiing but can't find the link so not sure if they operate it anymore
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Telemark's gone. Too many issues with meeting disabled access legislation apparently.
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Has anyone got any experience or reviews on Ski Amis? over Snow Retreat as a chalet operator? Looking at both options and also Mountain Heaven, Ski Beat etc.
Appreciate value is relative, and Snow Retreat looks great value, but Ski Amis has some lovely looking places (and sauna/hot tub - am I being a nob thinking they could be lush with a glass of wine after a long day)
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Property prices have gone sky high in Val Thorens over the last year in particular. Rental prices are following.
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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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| Raceplate wrote: |
| Never understand why people give LM such a hard time. If you stay in the higher area, Reberty, there are several nice places and it's nothing like the lower areas with the cheap apartments. |
Quite. Stayed there before Xmas a few years ago and was most impressed, much nicer than I had been expecting. I quite like Brides, but would go for LM given a choice, just to save on the hassle of travelling each day.
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| Raceplate wrote: |
| Telemark's gone. Too many issues with meeting disabled access legislation apparently. |
Shame, stopped there for a weekend once, friendly staff and a lively bar. Accommodation was a little basic but for what I paid I would call it very good value.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Lucywuk, stayed in a Ski Amis chalet in La Tania last March. Very pleased with service, location, value.
We made a late booking in one of their more basic chalets. Although I thought bedrooms were a bit cramped, they were clean, warm and adequate. Staff were excellent and food very good.
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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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| PeakyB wrote: |
@Lucywuk, stayed in a Ski Amis chalet in La Tania last March. Very pleased with service, location, value.
We made a late booking in one of their more basic chalets. Although I thought bedrooms were a bit cramped, they were clean, warm and adequate. Staff were excellent and food very good.
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Thanks. We are looking at Christina I think. Standard chalet, and One of the posher ones. Were you in Christina?
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I've stayed with both Ski Amis (in Reberty) and Snow Retreat (in La Tania). I've stayed with Snow Retreat more times than I can count. The week with Ski Amis was fine - PeakyB's description matches mine. I booked very last minute so great value, and I would use them again but I still prefer Snow Retreat. Although they don't have hot tubs I don't miss them. Their chalets are I think more spacious than the Ski Amis one I stayed in. Their staff are consistently brilliant. I don't understand how they do what they do for the price they charge.
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