Les Menuires
Les Menuires has never been pretty, but it now has smart new suburbs and fast lifts. And it’s always been a good value, family-friendly resort in a great location within Les 3 Vallées – the world’s largest lift-linked ski area.
People skiing into Les Menuires from other resorts in the 3 Valleys are sometimes unimpressed when they first glimpse the large concrete buildings at the heart of the resort. So many of them head back to low-rise Meribel, or turn left for the higher crispier snow at Val Thorens, or right towards quaint and cozy St Martin de Belleville.
More fool them. Les Menuires may not be as easy on the eye or as fashionable as its neighbours but that’s why hotels, apartments, chalets and ski school lessons all tend to be slightly cheaper here. And the local skiing is just as good.
There are slopes on both sides of the resort so you can follow the sun, starting with north-east facing La Masse, a 2800m high mountain that a high-speed gondola ascends in under 10 minutes. Advanced skiers and freeriders will enjoy the steep red and black runs and plentiful off-piste (including an avalanche-protected Liberty Ride area) but there is also a top-to-bottom blue run for less confident skiers, and even non-skiers can enjoy the wonderful views from the restaurant at the top.
Over on the other side of the resort, there are dozens of blue and red pistes snaking down from the 10km long ridge that separates Les Menuires and St Martin from Meribel. These face west or south-west, so receive a lot of sunshine, but their sheer height (up to 2850m), plus a battery of snow-guns, keep them skiable. There are also excellent nursery slopes and gentle green and blue pistes for beginners.
Keen skiers, however, will want to explore all of the 3 Valleys, and Les Menuires is superbly located in the middle of the Belleville valley, which has the most slopes and the highest lifts. The Meribel valley is also easily reached; in fact its highest skiing is more quickly accessed from the centre of Les Menuires than from the centre of Meribel. And Courchevel is only two lifts further away.
As for the resort itself, the tower blocks and vast apartment complexes in the centre might not be pretty, but they can be good value and convenient, whilst newer developments in suburbs like Reberty have been built in a more pleasing chalet-style. And what the resort lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in attitude, with family-friendly firework displays and affordable eating-out options, plus a few discreet late-night bars and clubs for those who want to party as well as ski.
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Les Menuires Pros & Cons
+ An affordable base in the world’s largest lift-linked ski area
+ Good fast connections to the other 3 Valleys’ resorts
+ La Masse’s steep snowsure North-facing runs
+ Convenient slope-side accommodation
– Still too many unattractive buildings
– South West-facing slopes on the 3 Valleys side get too much sun
– No tree skiing in poor visibility.
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