Best place to stay in 3V, for the first time?

A snowHead

Hi all!

I am currently in the early stages of planning a ski trip for towards the end of January 2025 and I'm looking to book a self-catered, ski in/out chalet (with great panoramic views) in the 3 Valleys with convenient access to Val Thorens, Les Menuires, and Meribel in that order of preference (from what I've gathered these are the best places in the valley for for a mixed group of advanced intermediates/first time beginners). I might be wrong as I've just been reading opinions of this forum and elsewhere so please correct me if I am! For reference, I've only ever been to the Grand Massif, Flaine on numerous occasions and we wanted to try out something different this time. Our group will consist of 6 advanced intermediates and 3-4 skiing for the very first time. All adults. We don't care much about the apres as we don't drink, so mainly focussed on the skiing and the snow quality!

So far I'm looking at this chalet:
https://en.alpenchaletsbookings.com/ski-area-3-vallees/saint-martin-de-belleville/chalet-saint-peres/?weId=573#skipassTables

which may be suitable for our needs, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to get up to Les Menuires/VT from Saint Martin de Belleville, as up there is where I read the ESF lessons will be for our group (advanced/beginner lessons).

I'm a newbie to the 3V, so all suggestions are welcome Smile

A snowHead

I think St M would be a good base, but then again, I’m a bit biased as we have a house there! I’m not sure why you think you need to go to Menuires or VT for lessons, as the ESF work out of St Martin, as does NewGen, plus a host of other private instructors who flip between Les Men and St M.

The chalet you are looking at is in an excellent location right next to the lift. I’ve not come across the agency you’ve found online marketing it, the main managing agency in the resort I think is https://selfcatered-saintmartin.com/chalets/?gclid=CjwKCAiAkp6tBhB5EiwANTCx1Izmv1dzuZCgDED8kfB4NpAiny_6-0C1NftC8btQgLMKKs740o02YxoCRtsQAvD_BwE

It’s a pretty location with some great intermediate skiing above the resort. In January, on the plus side, it’s a nicer place to be than higher up the valley when the weather closes in. VT is very beginner friendly, probably more so than Les Menuires. For beginners in St M, we are reliably informed that there is a plan to redesign and make easier the slightly tricky last pitch just before the piste back to the village goes under the main road, so that will make it even better.
There is good skiing to be had in all the locations you mention, though my personal view and experience (and I remember this very clearly from my early days on skis) is that there are disadvantages to Meribel as the lower slopes to the main lifts are relatively steep, busy and quite tricky to navigate as a beginner, even though the area by the Altiport is great. Though it’s not on your list, the best of the 3V reports for beginners would be Courchevel 1650- just my opinion, but I think others may agree.

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

Pick where you want to be, and go from there. As well linked as 3V is, it's massive.
Anywhere you book should have ESF.
If you have to have ESF lessons in VT, stay in VT.
The intermediates will be able to get between places, but beginners should probably be based where the lessons are.

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Those Chalets seem super cheap or am I missing something? I think we paid around 4K euros for a 5 room apartment, it's nice, but still, in Les Menuires for the week begining the 27th of April. We went last year, it's a great location and the place is nice. Its the LE HAMEAU DE LA SAPINIERE, just above the village.

Those chalets seem to be around 800E for the same week. I thought we got not too bad a deal, from the other places I saw, but those are a fraction and also seem to be pretty much ski in / out.

I'll bookmark it, Ta.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Must admit I'd go to one of the higher Courchevel areas. There are superb beginner slopes around there also a bit of skiing below the tree line if you get bad weather.
Views are a bit better than the Belleville valley in my view. There is plenty of skiing for all grades within the Courchevel area but it is pretty easy for better skiers to get across to Val Thorens/Les Menuires if they want from anywhere when the weather is decent. If the weather is bad when the tree lines skiing comes into it's own it is less easy to get over for inexperienced skiers to get to the tree lined slopes from the Belleville valley.
Main down side is that it is usually a fair bit more expensive.

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Maybe also worth saying that we went with a couple of beginners and they found the run down to Les M to the ski school pretty hard going as it's a little steep. Not crazy steep but a bit daunting after just a few days on skis. As someone said VT seemed a bit of a flatter run in. I'd say anywhere in the 3V is good as it's pretty well connected.

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

After all it is free

@tanvir786, fair enough on ESF, though bear in mind they are franchise operations - so one school may not be as good as another. But no reason to believe St M would be any different.

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It's mentioned above that Courchevel 1650 would be a good base for beginners too. I'd second that, having stayed there a few times. And easy to get a bus up to 1850 for the action and some more easy options. I don't know the 3V very well but would have doubts about Meribel from my experience of coming back down into Meribel at the end of the afternoon, with not-very-good snow and a whole lot of shaky beginners mixed with people being a bit fast and careless. On that occasion, early season, I was doing a last minute trip and staying in a chalet which was really quite a long way from the lifts. The chalet laid on a lift for us, in the morning, but finding my way back I discovered it was a LONG walk, made longer by the fact that I'd forgotten the way. Embarassed

I also found the very "Brit" atmosphere somewhat off putting, especially bar people who couldn't speak French. Must be infuriating for French people! Would prefer Mottaret to Meribel.

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Been 3V's many times over the years and never stayed in, or considered staying in, Meribel. But some people clearly must like it. I think it's quite highly regarded apres wise, which wouldn't apply/appeal to me. It's certainly not the best home slopes IMO - pretty much anywhere else is better for that IMO.

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Thanks for all the comments so far! It seems like Meribel is a no no, which is fine as my preference was being around Les Mouires & VT for the guaranteed snow early season anyway.

I’m more in doubt whether setting up base and staying at St Martin is a good idea or not, currently thinking to avoid Courchevel due to the prices of Chalets there considering our requirements.

@tanvir786, Best place to stay in the 3V in many ways is Mottaret but I'm not sure if many 'chalets' exist there... If they do they will be big apartments rather than standalone buildings (if that matters)

Somewhere like this perhaps

https://www.meribel-chalets-apartments.com/property/france/meribel-mottaret/self-catered-property/apartment-proveres-ii

You know it makes sense.

I would suggest Mottaret as it is the centre of the 3 Valleys, only 2 lifts needed to get to any of the other villages.
Great for complete beginners with several sizes of magic carpets and nursery slopes.
I would not suggest St Martin for complete beginners as there are no green runs. Yes the blues are on the easier side but not a great progression.
If you have 3 or 4 beginner adults they will probably have a much better time getting private lessons than joining an ESF group. (Something I could help with!)

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

That linked chalet looks lovely but very expensive judging by the prices for the April 2024 weeks - £500 per head for 10 people,with no food included. You'd need a good duty roster plan for cooking - perfectly doable if everybody pulls their weight - I rented a place in Les Gets once, with 6 double bedrooms. Each bedroom cooked one night and we went out for pizza the last night. There are plenty of reasonable places to rent in Courchevel 1650 though perhaps not so grand.

A snowHead

A snowHead

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

Courchevel 1850.

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Agree Courchevel 1850 if you can find something reasonably priced , there is a good reason why it is the most prestigious of all the stations in the 3V .

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Reasonable prices not easy to find in 1850 but the OP was looking at a very upmarket pad in St Martin! there was some suggestion that it was cheap, but I think that was a misreading. It's definitely not cheap!

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And good ski school options for the beginners in 1650. Even if they're fast learners they won't need to go beyond the Courchevel Valley.

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

Agree with others in that I honestly think the Courchevel side is better all around and for all levels. So another vote for La Tania (which will also be cheaper than other Courchevel side villages, although C1650 is a good shout as well). There are ski schools that meet up there and it has its own magic carpet for real beginners. The home run (the blue Folyères) is one of the finest in the whole resort, and there is a winding green alternative, Plan fountaine, and if all else fails, you can download in the bubble. (And they are finally putting snow cannons on the red Moretta for 2025 which gives a fourth alternative (once they reopen the last bit for the new hotel construction)). Late January no real worries about snow cover. And finally La Tania is home to Le Pub Ski Lodge, which speaks for itself; along with a bunch of inexpensive-for-the-3Vs restaurants and the very upmarket La Farcon. For various reasons we've been in Méribel for the past few trips (Feb 23 TR in sig), but I will always prefer La Tania as a base.

After all it is free

Another vote for La Tania, returning home on Folyères at the end of the days is lovely. I am also much more of a fan of the Courchevel side of 3V than the VT except perhaps at the extreme ends of the season.

Given the OP linked to a 5-bed chalet for c. €6k a week I think we can safely rule out 1850 where the same would be €6k a night

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That won't help the OP, but just wanted to chime in re: Meribel Smile

. I am one of the folks who do like staying there! A couple of reasons:
- the Meribel vallée IS pretty. Les Allues, Le Raffort, Village, even the main resort itself to some extent: you do feel you are in a mountain village (especially Le Raffort and Village in my opinion - lots of chalets there). St Martin is the same by the way (but it's definitely not the case of Les Menuires and VT).
- similar to Courchevel (less so the Belleville vallée), you have a lot of trees in and around Meribel. It's good for bad weather, but also great when people just want to do a hike instead of ski.
- a lot of people say the pistes can be tricky in the evening. It can... but if you know your way around, it does not have to be. In my experience, the folks who struggle are people who are passing "through" to go back to the other valleys, at peak time. Less so the "locals". Because you can go back later, but also because there are a bunch of less busy pistes you can use (to be fair though - it does take a bit of time to know your way around).
- I know it's their marketing argument, but it DOES make a difference to be in the middle of the 3V. For instance, it's faster to get to the top of the Courchevel ski area from Meribel (1 lift) than it is from Courchevel itself!

Anyway: I am a big fan of the 3V and would stay anywhere. But just wanted to share my perspective ! Very Happy

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Yes, I prefaced my rather negative comments about Meribel by saying I don't know the 3V well. Only ever stayed once in Meribel, though stayed a few years previously in Mottaret, which I thought had better access to the skiing. It's sprawling too - some parts are a schlep from the lifts. I would never feel like I was in a "mountain village" in Meribel - nor in Val d'Isere - it's all pastiche, but that's true of most resorts. I suppose some people like to kid themselves!! But personally I'd prefer to go for a pastiche where at least the voices around are French, rather than Brits!

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@tanvir786, the meeting point for ski school is about 30m from the chalet. The lift is about 20m from the chalet. A ski hire shop is literally next door. There’s plenty of info on the St Martin website. It’s a proper little ski resort, but just smaller than the bigger resorts in the valley. Check out the website if you haven’t already- https://st-martin-belleville.com/en/.
In terms of how long to get to Les Menuires, that rather depends on how good a skier you are. The most direct route is 2 lifts (St M 1 and St M express)-about 20 mins, then a gentle but long blue all the way which gets a bit flat/slow after the first third. It would take an intermediate skier about 15 mins (but it’s not the best or most fun route).
VT is a bit further. I’ve done it in 45 mins including lifts, but allow a least an hour for intermediates and for checking the piste map.

I agree with you - the higher you go, the more "pastiche" it typically is, since no one wanted to live above 1500m before skiing existed anyway Smile

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But honestly, if you get a chance, you should visit Meribel Village (it's different from the main resort), le Raffort or Les Allues. These are real mountain villages with very few purpose built buildings. They existed before folks started to ski. And they are connected to the lifts and pistes. It's not a VT style ski in/out experience, but pretty good. And a lot more authentic. Just a funny example: last time we stayed in le Raffort, we bumped into deers when skiing back to the chalet Smile

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You know it makes sense.

@tanvir786, I think St M is a terible base for your group. Very long, very flat blue path all the way home from higher up the valley that low level skiers will be poling and cussing about forever.

C1850/VT/Meribel all excellent beginners/progression areas. No issue with snow in Meribel at end of January, arguably the absolute best time to be there.

La Tania easy to progress, Mottaret ok, Les Menuires very location dependent. C1650 a slog to get out of at that level and a shlep home every day unless you take the bus.

Self catering chalets available in Meribel/C1650/La Tania/Les Menuires (and Le Praz) for sure, others not so much.

La Tania chalets are a short walk or ski-in/out
Meribel - majority are a ski-bus but some are a short walk, particularly in Morel area
Les Menuires - Reberty/Bruyeres area should work as ski-in/out but most others are on the ski-bus
C1650- most are a short/medium walk, some are ski-in/out
Le Praz - most are a short/medium walk but a tough ski home at low ability level so on the bus or download

You haven't said if you want to explore, but if you do I'd say:

1- Meribel (in the right location)
2- La Tania
3- Reberty (Les Menuires)
4- C1650

P.S.
Mottaret - good location but not sure about s/c chalet availability, horrible over-crowded ski home every day
Meribel Village - perfect if you didn't have total beginners, but likely a bus ride every day for them
C1550 would be Top 3 if you can find a chalet. All the benefits of C1850 at a lower price, beginners might have to download at the end of day but it's very easy

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

I completely disagree with the above comment about the long blue home to St M. It is mostly a gentle slope, very pleasant with no poling required, save for the short section where Pramint, a red run joins. All the “low level” skiers who come and stay with us have no issue with it and in fact regard it as a run to find their ski legs on. Plus there’s the alternative of Jerusalem, which is a great last run of the day, followed by the bottom end of the final bit of Biollay back to base (via a chocolate or something stronger wink

) at La Loy.
I’d agree that Mottaret, though it has its fans, can be challenging for beginners- I was one once and hated skiing into Mottaret and still would rather avoid it.

A snowHead

In January, with beginners in the group, the Courchevel sector is the best base I think. La Tania or Courchevel 1650 (Moriond) for more reasonably priced accommodation than 1850.

The advanced and intermediate skiers in your group would still be able to explore the further flung parts of 3V from those bases. The lift system is good and though late January can be busy, it’s not as rammed as peak season weeks.

A snowHead

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

also: re comments above.
Les Menuires - La Croisette is the most central section, and super easy for beginners. with great access to VT, and 3V generally.
(my kids had the shortest of short 1min walk to ski school - inc my 4 yr old)
though valid that it varies hugely where you are in Les Menuires. another kid in their class had to get a bus every morning. so choose your Les Menuires location carefully.

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The OP said he wanted convenient access to VT and Les Menuires. I said:

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@tanvir786, I should have added that I don't know why you're prioritising VT/LM for the end of January. You will almost certainly find better on-piste snow conditions in the Courchevel valley at that time of year and it will be at least 5c warmer and less windblown, with the option of tree skiing for low vis days. Same for Meribel but the snow's a little more variable.

It's a good time to be in Les Menuires but their beginner/progression areas aren't a patch on C1850 and Meribel and there's no tree skiing. VT is terrific for spring skiing, not so much fun when it's cold.

My Top 3 for an end of January very mixed group would be C1550/1850, La Tania & Meribel.

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Hmmm, I think from what i gathered reading all these (v helpful) comments, I may consider C1650/La Tania or re-arrange our trip to the beginning of March and stay in VT. Meribel, although centrally located, I wouldn't be very keen if it is the case where there is a lack of ski in ski out chalet options. Thats a non-negotiable for us, as I personally dislike having to take the bus up to the lifts or back home at the end of the day. But disclaimer in that I haven't yet looked for apartments/chalets which offer this in Meribel/Mottaret - I think someone linked something earlier here so will have a look!

Thanks for all the comments everyone - great insight into the 3V, I didn't really comprehend how big it actually was haha. Briefly looking at similar chalets to what I linked earlier in this post but lower down in the Courchevel area, it does seem considerably pricier. I also wanted to ask, having always stayed in Flaine, we've typically had breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains, would this be something we'd be missing staying around C1650/La Tania?

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

After all it is free

Not sure I'd choose to stay in VT in January. It's very high and can be prone to storms such that all the lifts up there are shut on account of high winds whilst the rest of the 3V is still open. A place to save for April, IMO.

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Best place to stay in 3V, for the first time?

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