 Poster: A snowHead
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Just returned from 10 days in Meribel, (1st to 11th March) the second time I have been there, and I have decided that I won't be going back. 3V yes, but not Meribel.
We stayed up at the Altiport, which would have been great for getting up the mountain before anyone else except the Altiport chair hardly ever opened on time, so people coming up from the lower part of the resort on the gondola usually beat us to making fresh tracks in the abundant powder.
The bus service was really, really, busy, and after twenty minutes descending that windy road, I was ready to throw up in my fondue.
The resort is just too overgrown, like they have crammed chalets into every little bit of hillside.
Hardly any sunny, pretty places to sit out and relax in the afternoon. The Rond Point was fun, but it is a bit of a zoo and I was driven a bit nuts by the 'cool' crew who find so many new and jaunty angles to wear their goggles on their heads (backwards and upside-down seems to be 'in' this season).
People go on about how pretty Meribel is, but personally I just don't see it. I like resorts where you turn a corner and catch your breath at a new and majestic view that you hadn't noticed before. Sure, the buildings are prettier than say, La Plagne, but when I am in the mountains, I want to be looking at mountains! Most of Meribel looks across the valley towards the fairly uninspiring Le Raffort sector.
While the lift system is fantastic and we hardly had to queue, we found it near impossible to find quiet areas that we could have to ourselves. We found these easily in the other valleys, above CV 1650 especially.
Getting back down the mountain in the afternoon is no fun - always busy - and the runs back into the resort are generally steep and cut up. The less experienced people in our group preferred to finish off early or catch the gondola down.
Hell, I sound like quite the moaner. I better just add that we had a fantastic 10 days, had more powder than the rest of our lives put together, and can't wait to get back to the mountains - just not Meribel
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Duvet, Having been to the 3 valleys on a few occaisions I have to say tha Meribel is my least Favourite. I would like to try St Martin de Belleville. It seems to tick all the boxes. OK there is only 1-2 runs home but they are belters 
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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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Frosty the Snowman,
Did that this half term - pleasant village that is Chef lieu for Val T and Les Menuires, (ie Mairie) and is an alpine village first and a ski station second. Friendly folk ( yes its true!), quick access to the skiing but only 2 runs down, and we were weather trapped onto 1 blue piste for our last day of the holiday. Family all say they would want to go back and I think we shall.
Good inexpensive restaurants, a real butcher, concerts weekly in the church and other unusal elements for a ski holiday. We had a lovely meal at Le Dahu, table d'hote down the hill from the resort in the converted cellar of a farm. Home made raspberry aperetif, Lamb cooked "in the hay" and an outdoor loo next to the rabbit cages. The home made Genepi was something else.
Look at Here for self catering and catered DIY holidays
PS agree about Meribel 
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Martin Nicholas, Hey thanks for that. We lunched in St Martin and spent a whole afternoon doing silly things on Jerusalem, and falling off the side of Boilley. A different world from Meribel.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Meribel's redeeming features are nightlife and location in the middle of the 3V. Other than that it is busy, expensive, full of tossers who don't speak any french (aka reps), row after row of identikit chalets.....
I guess it all depends on how much you value nightlife - it is streets ahead of anywhere else in the 3V in that respect. I wouldn't rush back, but I wouldn't avoid it either, at least not in low-season. I bet the high-season lift Qs are bad.
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In my 8 years of skiing over the Alps I would say Meribel is the busiest place that I have even experienced, especially at the end of the day.
I lost the wife there once because the amount of confusions by the skiers passing through. It is 10 times worse than going through Tesco on Saturday.
In recent years I found Austria, Swiss, Italian and even German resorts more enjoyable simply because there are far less skiers there, the pistes are less spoiled and everybody can afford to (even if not naturally act up to) behave in an orderly fashsion.
To be fair 3 Vallees isn't a bad place for skiing. It is just the number of skiers frantically competing for space that puts people off.
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saikee, I hope you found her again - I did notice a couple of ladies wondering around outside Pub Doran in a 'disorientated' state...
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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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| Quote: |
I lost the wife there once because the amount of confusions by the skiers passing through
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Perhaps I'll give it a 2nd chance.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Do it at mid term break, Meribel, blue run next to Plattieres Gondola lift, time to about 4:30pm, act naturally, use the word "Need to move fast to catch the last Pas Du Lac Gondola back to Courcheval so follow me closely" and then ski like hell
Best place to ditch your partner. Abandon this scheme if your partner is a better skier than you!
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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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saikee,  I can seer it now. " wait for me my dear"
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My wife learns fast.
She makes me wear a Personal Mobile Radio (PMR or modern walkie talkie with a 5 mile range, yes an American version as UK sets are only good for 3 miles!) after that incident.
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You know it makes sense.
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I can't see any redeeming features about Meribel - dreadful place! Don't think that much of the skiing either. 
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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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easiski, agree, but at least it means the hoorays are concentrated in only a couple of locations.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Try Meribel-Mottarret - much quieter & only up the road from Meribel 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Try Meribel-Mottarret - much quieter & only up the road from Meribel
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Do you like ice skating skiologist, ?! 
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Duvet I hear ya. I originally swallowed the image of Meribel was the ideal pad as it's the apex of one of France's biggest ski networks.
True, the 3V network has great snow and great infrastructure. But having stayed in Meribel twice I wouldn't stay there again if you paid me (well, actually, if you paid me, I might reconsider....)
But sadly the well-known villages in the 3V, like in any other large resort, suffer badly from overcrowding especially mid-season. Best thing is to stay in the smaller villages and "commute" into the network - for example, as Frosty points out St Martin is gorgeous and doesn't suffer from the same problems as Meribel, but still gives access to the whole of the 3V!
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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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Stayed in C1850 last week. Only queues seen were in Meribel/ Mottaret , Mount Vallon bubble and Cimee Caron cable car in Val Thoren. Otherwise very little time spent queuing and none at all in C1850.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
Don't think that much of the skiing either.
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You don't think much of the Three Valleys??? 
O-kaaaay.... Other than the odd lift Q in Meribel, what is wrong with it?! Good lift system, loads of terrain for all standards, what is not to like? You might have reservations about Meribel's clientele but I am not sure what you want from a ski-area if the 3V can't supply it!
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Depends whether Easiski's comments are limited to Meribel or 3 Vallees generally. I think the better skiing is Courchevel and Les Menuires.VT rather than Meribel. This is obviously a personal view and I know others that deride 3 Valleys generally, which I actually think is a great skiing area.
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In my opinion the 3V is a great ski area, if a bit busy - my original post was about Meribel and its local slopes. I think Easiski was commenting on the same.
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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 would agree that the best skiing generally seems to be in the Courchevel and Belleville valleys. Poor old Meribel and Mottaret are used too much simply as a way of getting from one to the other. Having stayed in all three valleys, the Belleville is my favourite by a long way, with the Courchevel valley coming second. When the snow conditions are really good there is much fun to be had in the Meribel valley - but that isn't often enough. By the way, I gather it rained in Mottaret today. Queues? Only in Meribel/Mottaret and the Cime Caron, as dan100 points out. IMHO, the area of the 3Vs that is most neglected is Les Menuires - horrible resort (and miserable doctors) but with some really good skiing.
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From a purely skiing point of view Mottaret has to be the best for getting all over the 3V. I think there are just as many good runs in the Meribel valley as the rest, trouble is that most people don't notice because they feel the need to get straight over the top in the morning and then only see those runs again on the way back, when they're crowded and beaten up. Best piste areas are Mont Vallon, Masse in Menuires and the long runs to La Tania and Le Praz.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Lorraine? - where you comin from ? - ice-skating? - ain't no ice in Mottarret (t's & r's yes!) - are you talking about ice-rinks cos there's one near me. 
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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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skiologist, the runs into Meribel-Mottarret are notorious for getting skiied out and icy unless there have been mega dumps of snow. It is almost a spectator sport in the evening watching the ice-skating!
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I second Lorraine's view. My early post was related to Meribel-Mottarret. The bottom section did not have snow when we went down. It couldn't have for the number of skiers passing through. If there was any snow the crowd would scrap it away immediately. It was really that bad and there was ocean of skiers at the bottom too waiting to re-group with missing friends. I have met less people in a typical French market day, say in Chamonix, Salanche or Cluses..
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You know it makes sense.
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Ok Lorraine , you're right . -but is there ANYWHERE in Meribel that is the ideal place to stay?
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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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If you want basic self catering, then Mottaret at the Pierres et Vacances appts. Ski in and out, and it has it's own 24hr baby gondola lift thingy, straight to the restaurants and bars below. Nowhere near as rowdy as Meribel centre, but none the worse for it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We have only stayed in one place in Meribel, Le Pub. B&B it was fine, we were on the top floor so noise was ok. Not sure what lower levels are like. We only needed a bolt hole to sleep (no sitting room etc). as we were visiting our son who was a punter bashing seasonnaire (  ).
We usually stayed in Courchevel 1850 and once in VT, thats how we know how bad Meribel-Mottarret is 'cause we skiied over almost everyday (and skiied through quite a few times en route, when number 2 daughter did a season in Courchevel)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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"number 2 daughter"
...what an unfortunate name
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