Val D'Isère in general

Val D'Isere is an utterly stunning location, both summer and winter. The resort most certainly lives up to its reputation (and its accompanying price!). The range of piest is fantastic - it caters extensively for both beginners and the highly competent skier alike. The scenery is fabulous, with stunning views of great expanses of mountains stretching out before you upon every turn. The ski lifts are efficient, and have received a lot of investment in recent years. The après-ski is also thriving, although it is more of a middle-upper class market, with extensive bars and restaurants. If you want a true taste of French cuisine, this is certainly an impressive ...  Read the complete review

I booked my stay in Val D'isere with a friend as we were both working full time on a gap year before going to University. Because of this we were on a students budget. After looking at various skiing packages during the summer months it was clear the best time we could go was in the pre Christmas months in December. This almost halved the price compared to the other packages offered in January and the following months. Booking over Xmas and New Year is a whole different story! Do not expect to pay less than £1000 for a week with expences on top. The reason the pre christmas months are alot cheaper than those offered afterwards are due to the unreliable snow ...  Read the complete review

I've just spent 18 weeks in Val d'Isere and I'm still getting my breath back - and I returned two weeks ago! Its the most incredible place I've ever skied, or been not only for the fact that it is probably the best skiing area in France but also for the lively night life, the general charm of Val d'Isere and the contrast of people you meet out there (le Blizzard hotel is around £2000 a week to stay there, but pikies live in La Daille!). It really is superb, though expensive. I've heard that it is only second to Courchevel 1850 in the most expensive resorts to stay in Europe but trust me, the money is worth it. Val d'Isere is ...  Read the complete review

A bleak blast of alpine air winds its way through the gap left in the sky by two pink sentinel peaks. It cracks the sweaty, but now frozen, faces of our ski party as we wend our way back to val d'Isere. The sun starts to set on another day in paradise. Below us rise the stepped shapes of buildings cast in Legoland that abut rudely with the craggy walls of the valley. Dark foreboding masses of steps that house hundreds of like-minded individuals, who, at this time of day all have one thing on their minds. The night. This is the view and sentiments of most who ski down into Val disere along the long green run that leads into La Daille the northern most village ...  Read the complete review

In terms of reputation Val d'Isere is right up there with the best, and having visited 2nd week of March 2001 I have to say it is throughly deserved. The Espace Killy ski area is huge, there are countless red and blue runs to keep intermediate happy, and plenty of black and off piste for the experts. There were only a couple of places where the pistes got even remotely busy - mainly the runs into La Daille. For complete beginners there are free tows and lifts at village level, however the majority of the green runs are high up the mountain and there are none which come back down into the village - this means beginners need to take the cable car or chair ...  Read the complete review