Les Arcs - Les Granges

A snowHead

Les Granges is a small hamlet just under Arc 1600 at the middle station of the funicular from Bourg St Maurice. There are 2 red and 1 blue piste that run there from 1600.

We are considering a chalet holiday there next year, does anyone have any views ? Anyone stayed there or had expeirence with www.skiadventures.co.uk - only read good things so far.

I'm aware that it's cut off from the world after 8pm, that's not a major problem as this is predominantly a family affair. Have previously stayed in Arc 1600 so pretty much know how it will work re getting to/from slopes etc.

Any info on this little place or on the chalets and/or company greatly appreciated ... thanks.

A snowHead

the piste down to les granges can be ropy, I would be surprised if it's opened at all this year - when we were in Les Arcs in Jan 06, we had a fair old dump of snow on the wednesday (I think) and by the saturday, the only time we skiied to the midstation the run was getting very thin in places with lots of stones.

No experience of the village itself though

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Funnily enough I stayed with SkiAdventures last week!

Accomodation is lovely as is the food and overall service etc. The guy who owns the company is a bit shy though and seemed to avoid contact with us (probably us). Chalet hosts were great though.

Slope back wasn't open last week which I think is unusual. There is nothing in Les Granges at all. We had beers in 1600 after skiing, then down to the chalet on the funicular. Ready for dinner at 8 after which we were knackered.

If you want more info just ask.

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Blindside, thanks. When we in Arc 1600 in Jan 2003 the runs to Les Granges were open and in fine condition. Guess it's the luck of the draw, but the funicular ride down isn't the end of the world is it ?

A few questions if I may, if you'd rather respond by PM then that's fine.

Which chalet were you in ? Was it full, did you book whole chalet.
Beds OK ? Enough lounge space to relax ?
How did you get on with the chalet staff's day off re: evening meal?
Did u have kids with you, did they have lessons ?
Is there plenty of space around the chalet etc for kids to play / sledge, build snowmen etc.
The $64m question: Would you go again ?
Where else did you condsider ?
Do you think it's possible to go for a beer in 1600 at night then sledge back down !?

thanks.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Which chalet were you in ? Was it full, did you book whole chalet. - Les Deux Tetes 1 I think - It was the 5 bedroom one. It is one of the new ones that have only been open for a month or so. We booked the whole chalet even though there were only 6 adults and our 20 month old daughter in our party. The other chalets were full too, but with mixtures of people I believe.

Beds OK ? Enough lounge space to relax ? - Beds were comfy - we removed the plastic protective liner from them as they made me sweat Smile

Plus the mattress doesn't need protecting from me!, and as it was only a few weeks old I didn't need protecting from it. The lounge area was fine for us but the chalet was only 60% full in effect.. plus there is only seating for 8 on sofas and chairs (unless you use wooden chairs) so not sure how you would get on if it were full. The bedrooms in the other new chalet were better than the ones in ours (we were put in the wrong at chalet first and got to see them). The ones in our chalet had restricted head height in two of them (really under the eves with lots of banging of heads). Temperature was a bit too warm in our room, even with the window wide open at night and the thermostat turned off. One of the rooms has an on suite with a toilet in it that cannot be sat on with the toilet door closed......

How did you get on with the chalet staff's day off re: evening meal? - We went down to Bourg for a very nice meal, not the one that was recommended, we just had a wander about. Taxi back up cost 30 Euros for a minibus.

Did u have kids with you, did they have lessons ? One 20 month old, we took a cousin along to babysit for us. Ski Adventures do offer a nanny service, which looked good but we didn't need it. A couple of us had lessons from the ESF in 1600 and people were impressed. SkiAdventures offer a free daily ski guiding service which sounded great, we just never bothered with it, but thye offer trips to Thuile as well as La Plagne.

Is there plenty of space around the chalet etc for kids to play / sledge, build snowmen etc. - There is nothing around at all so the kids will be able to mess around on the slopes which are very near. You would not need to worry about cars etc, it is a very safe and picturesque place.
The $64m question: Would you go again ?- If I were going back to Les Arcs then I would (not sure they would have me back after my comments above though Smile

) I thought it was excellent value for money, expecially if you only pay the normal rate rather than booking the whole chalet and under occupying it.

Where else did you condsider ? We were looking specifically for a 5 bed chalet to under occupy. I am very happy with my choice, and I couldn't find anywhere else. The guy who owns the company appears to be painfully shy and just with a bit more effort he could have appeared to be a bit more friendly. That is the only comment really.

Do you think it's possible to go for a beer in 1600 at night then sledge back down !? Anything is possible, but only with snow. I would say yes!

I am sure you would enjoy it there. The ambience etc of the chalets is lovely, they have been nicely done out. Food etc was very good, wine was nice. The chalet staff were great and nothing was too much trouble.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Blindside, Sold.

Very comprehensive info, more than I could have hoped for. Sounds ideal for us. Now it's just a matter of working out how many of us will be going and deciding whether to book just one or both of the Tetes chalets.

Thanks a lot.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

No problem. I have had lots of help and info from this site, it is very nice to be able to return the favour Smile

I am sure you will enjoy it, just make sure that as you are booking it you get first choice when it comes to bedrooms! Overall it is a great place and I am sure you will enjoy it, we did.

There just appears to be a gap in the market for people who are in a fairly small group, want somewhere nice etc. I am just not sure about going into a large chalet with a load of strangers, not with a young family etc.

The overall package from these guys is very commendable, our whole party would (and I obviously am) recommending it.

After all it is free

masmith, We are staying in La Grange d'Alice in Les Granges in a few weeks, run by skiadventures. Just wondering how you enjoyed your stay ? I know it was a few years back wink

How did you get on with the chalet staff's day off re: evening meal? Did you have a few in 1600 and manage to get back down to the chalet OK ?

I see the pistes are currently not open and in particlaur the beginners lift Millerette. Were the pistes open when you went and how about the lift ?

Any comments/help appreciated

Cheers

Alfie, Sorry I can't help, we didn't end up going there in the end. We ended up going to Wengen instead that year, I couldn;t get the right number of people together to book the entire chalet so we did a hotel holiday instead. So you best bet is to rely on the information from Blindside, which seemed comprehensive enough to convince me ... I keep thinking back about this place and it may come into the fold for another year yet, who knows .... good luck.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

masmith, if you go to the snow reports section and then onto the les arcs thread and ask questions there you should get all the info you need from the regulars that post.

I skied down there a few days ago. Was not open but I think it is now, but still thin in some places. The company you mention is ok. If it is a good price, take it, the funi is easy to get up on each day. And you should be able to ski home if you wish most of the time.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Thanks for your replies. Booked it a while back but just had a few concerns, I'm sure it will all be OK.

snow reports

Could anyone who's stayed with ski adventures give me an idea about the quality and quantity of food which is served as there's 4 constantly ravenous men in our group.

Thanks in advance.

I stayed with ski adventures in 2011 and the food was fantastic. Plenty of it and top quality. Wines were also better than most chalets I have stayed in.
It was a struggle to ski back to the chalet but we did do it a few days. I think if you plan on the runs being closed then anything else is a bonus !

You know it makes sense.

Gotta love the bump of a thread that started 7 years ago Very Happy

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Here's another bump! Been looking at ski adventures website for next year - anyone had any recent experience of them or know anything about them?

A snowHead

A snowHead

Stayed at the chalet earlier this year (Jan 2019).
Agree the owner does seem a little quiet, only saw him twice for no more than 2mins over the week. Saying that when we did see him he was very pleasant and welcoming.
The chalet itself is lovely! One of the nicest ive stayed in. Plenty of space but at the same time very cosy.
The hosts were a little disappointing, didn't really give an introduction and were more "cooks" than hosts. I use cooks rather than chefs as the food was a little disappointing. Portion sizes varied from person to person and the quality was a little lower than I was expecting. The biggest disappointment was the frozen salmon that seemed as if it had been taken out of the box and cooked for about 3 days. Very dry and black around the edges. Also the cutlery and glasses were all mis match sizes and they ran out quite quickly and had to wash them between courses.
Breakfast was reasonably good. And the cheese after dinner was always very good!
The hot tub was pretty good although we weren't really told how it works and it did take a while to heat up after it had been cleaned.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

id imagine it's nice to get the funiculaire down without feeling like you're on the "Gondola of Shame".
Sounds worth doing that for the nice chalet.
I'm off to Les Arcs tomorrow - I'm very excited

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@slopestyless, The conditions should be very good tomorrow. We had a dump of snow last night (I just dug the car out for the return home tomorrow) which meant a lot of the resort was closed and the rest fairly busy. Blasting has been going on all day so I imagine the lifts to the 1600/2000 ridge will be open as well as those above 2000 soon. Having sadi that I beleive more snow is forecast tonight.

We have had 8 days now of almost continuous powder skiing.

Only one of the 3 runs down to La Grange has been open sofar this season (the boring blue) but they should start getting the piste markers up for the others very soon.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Help!!

Les Arcs - Les Granges

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