Ski Resort Guide: Alpe d'Huez

I just recently came back from Alpe d'Huez, staying in the Le Dauphin chalet. Great position, lifts nearby, ski back to chalet. Plenty of room, en-suite double, fantastic facilities from sat TV in each room to great sound system in kitchen/dinner/lounge area. Well appointed games room with all sorts of games including table football and Nintendo WII. The Chalet is simply quality - roomy and well run. I would recommend it to all my friends and family. The resort itself provides everything a skier could want. From difficult blacks like Le Tunnel to simple blues and one of the greatest long pistes Le Serrene. All in all, just great!

Stayed in Le Dauphin, which takes all the pain away of walking around the town as it's right on top of everything. Awesome place inside too, with all the mod cons, tastefully decorated, ample space and even a sauna. Will definitely be back. The resort has a varied set of runs for all levels, but is right up the street for a intermediate skier such as myself.

Just back from skiing ADH, again. Perfect snow, no crowds. Did most of the runs in the resort but avoided the tunnel. Sarenne was perfectly pisted and chateau noir was interesting, making the first tracks as it opened. Sarenne is always quoted as 16k long but my GPS never showed more than 10.5k, try as I might to carve the extra. Does anyone else suspect the length is exaggerated?

Second year in Alpe D Huez (Feb 2010) and we had a great time.

The runs down to Oz are beautiful and taking the lift to Auris is breathtaking.

Stayed in self catering in Bergers and could ski home every night. Weather was mixed, but what do you expect in Feb? Only disapointment was the MGM ESI Ski School. Had booked months in advance for intermediate lessons for myself (41) and my 18 year old son and 13 year old daughter. This school had no classes for intermediates of our age and so we were forced into classes that were too advanced or too basic. We tried to be adaptable and even moved from the morning classes to the shorter afternoon sessions and were put in class with under 8s? In the end we gave up and wasted €450 Euros - MGM made very little effort and I would suggest that anyone who wants lessons look elsewhere.

Week Feb 8th 2010 This is my second time in Alpe d Huez and also my second in Chalet L Escapade. Lets start with Chalet L Escapade. Now as I said I have been here before so knew what to expect. Small, cramped and incredibly noisy in the dining room. Ski-World has managed to shoe horn over sixty guests into this chalet hotel. They would do better to reduce this number by at least twenty. So why did I return? I got a deal at £450 which is the maximum I would pay for this Chalet. The full price of near £750 for the week is grossly overpriced and not at all value for money. I have stayed in Les Gets and Morzine for that type of money in luxury chalets far far better than Chalet L Escapade. However I slept very well and had nice hot showers The staff however were exceptional. Polite, helpful and a real credit to themselves. I can’t imagine this is the easiest chalet to run but they did their very very best. Food was good and if you didn’t like what was on the menu they would do their best to provide an alternative. I was ok as I eat anything! The chalet is ski in and ski out. Out to either the Eclose and then Bergers or a quick trip across the bridge to Telecentre. It has a hot tub, steam room, sauna, a small gym and a very reasonably priced bar. Ski hire was from Ze Shop which is a short walk down the hill from the chalet. If you carry on a little further there is a restaurant on the left called Alaska that does very good reasonably priced food from an extensive menu. I would recommend you go there on the chalet staffs night off. The resort itself is a bit disjointed and has no real dedicated centre but once you manage to find them there are plenty of shops and bars to frequent and it’s pretty cheap for France. The sports centre is excellent. Take along your lift pass for free entry and you can play table tennis for €1, swim, play tennis, squash or use the climbing wall. The Skiing Plenty of snow and sunny days but very cold. I like to stretch my legs a bit in the morning so always looked for some easy blues down the bottom of the mountain before venturing further afield and Alpe is perfect for this. I went with my thirteen year old son who has been skiing about four years and his preference is throwing himself off as many little jumps as he can. This is adequately catered for in the snow park area. I had fun there too! For progressing onto reds and blacks, although there is only one black you can't go far wrong than head over to Auris En Oisans connected by Alpe's very own scare chair. The ride over from Bergers is something not to be missed. Although the runs over that side are short on some days my son and I were the only ones on them. Add to that the possibility for some easy off piste it would be hard not to recommend Auris as a destination for a few hours. The lifts were only busy mornings and afternoons just as ski school was starting. My biggest criticism - and for me its somewhat spoiled the skiing- was the lack of piste preparation on some runs particularly from the mid station Marmottes and Signal. You go up expecting to ski a blue or red and are faced with mogul field with bumps up to your thighs. If you are taking young kids up for a long blue run be prepared for long rests and plenty of falls. As for the famed Sarrene, all I can say is expect the worse piste preparation ever and you won’t be disappointed. Mountain restaurant prices really surprised me. In some places you could get a meal deal such as Burger, chips and a coke for € 8. Not too bad in my opinion. So would I go back for third time? Difficult to say but I probably would if I had the same deal as this holiday.

I visited Alpe d'Huez for a few days during the first week of January. The weather was mixed but the snow conditions were brilliant after a recent big dump. The skiing in Alpe d'Huez is excellent in my opinion with a good mix of tricky blacks, good reds and lots of excellent blues. There is also extensive off-piste and it's well worth getting a guide or instructor to take you out. What made the trip even better was the accommodation, which was one of the best chalets I have ever stayed in in over 20 years of ski holidays. We booked through alpedhuezchalets.com who have 2 chalets, Le Dauphin and Le Baron. We stayed in Le Dauphin which I found to be top notch. On the ground floor, along with a boot room equipped with boot dryers/warmers, is a playroom/bar. This room has a football table, sofa, beanbags and a flat screen tv with the essential Wii connected to it. It also has a quality sound system to play your own ipod through. On the first floor is one bedroom (with ensuite), a communal loo, and a huge landing/hall area. Off to either side of this is a wonderful lounge with sofas, comfy armchairs and a woodburner on one side and on the other a beautiful kitchen/ diner. Gordon Ramsey would kill to cook in the kitchen! The dining table would seat 18 comfortably. All this floor is teed up with a bose sound system that you can connect your own ipod to. A wonderful hand crafted staircase takes you to the 2nd floor where there are a further 6 bedrooms. The top floor has two rooms with low ceilings, one being a bedroom and one being a playroom with a playstation, flatscreen tv and scatter cushions. All bedrooms are ensuite, some with wet rooms, some with jacuzzi baths but all decorated in a similar but slightly different style. All of them have flatscreen tvs and dvd players. All in all this chalet is screaming to be used. It's one of those places you will get back to after skiing and providing you've got all your provisions in (beer, wine...... oh and some food) you will not want to go out again until the morning. I did manage to get a peek at the Baron too which, although not as new and quite as luxuriously decorated, is also a great place to stay and in a better position than Le Dauphin for a quick getaway in the morning. It's about 30m above a chairlift. Booking is easy through mountain-logistics.net. Speak to a lady called Sarah Rouyer who knows ADH back to front.

I spent the second week of January 2010 in ADH and had a couple of days great skiing and a couple of weather impacted ones but a great time nonetheless. I have been to ADH a few times but this time was wowed by the accomodation. We booked thru Alpedhuez chalets in their new place 'Le Dauphin' which is in the older area and the place is a serious piece of kit .Being brand,spanking new helps but the place has got it all and our party of 11 were all well impressed.Plus being next to the Eclose run it means u don't have to use the ' bucket'. Top of the range place but works well with larger groups and a fantastically equipped kitchen ,which was (almost) too new to use.Well worth a look.

We spent the week of 4-11 April at the Hotel Les Bergers, booked through Neilson. The hotel was fine with excellent piste access (50 metres from the Marmotte 1 cable car). The restaurant was a bit like a school canteen but my two teenage sons were happy with the buffet style dining and the food was pretty good.

The snow conditions weren't great with slush on the lower runs in the afternoon and icy conditions early morning. The lower runs (which tended to be blue and green runs) were pretty much unskiable after lunch.

I wouldn't go back to Alpe d'Huez as, in my opinion, the 3 Valleys resorts and Val d'Isere are much better from a skiing point of view. The problem is that most of the upper runs (the reds and blacks) are primarily serviced by cable cars and gondolas with the resulting queing, clipping/unclipping skis and being packed in like sardines ensuing.

Alpe d'Huez doesn't have the big 6- and 8-man chair lifts that you get elsewhere. We did take a ride on what we termed the 'Scare Chair' over to Auris en Oisans, which was fun, but the skiing on that side was even worse (unless you like skiing in brown porridge!)

One last thing; pre-book your lift pass! I saved about £50 per pass doing this, rather than buying it in the resort (or on the transfer bus from the airport).

Visited Alp d'Huez from the 28th Feb - 7th Mar 2009 as part of a group of three families (5 kids from 3 to 6 years old). We stayed in Crystal's Chalet Murielle and generally had a fantastic time. The chalet is reasonably located close to the Grande Sur chairlift on the west side of the village and it is possible to ski back to the door if conditions are good (which they were when we were there). Chalet has a nice pool (great for the kids), sauna and hot-tub and is generally clean and spacious enough for a week. The staff were the stars of the show though. Rebecca, Andy and Charlie are absolute stars and could not do enough to help with the kids and delivered consistently good food night after night. The skiing is pretty varied and has a nice range of runs to choose from. Couple of slight grievances were the quality of piste bashing on many runs (if it's marked red or black there's a pretty good chance it hasn't seen a piste basher for most of the season!!) and the grading of the pistes. We found several blues that were easier than greens and several more that put one or two of the reds to shame. It wasn't particularly busy, but the best area to avoid the crowds was the Auris sector which is well worth a visit. Snowboarded over there after a mid-week dump of powder and there were still fresh tracks to be made 10 feet from the pistes up to two days later!!! Wouldn't see that in St Anton or Chamonix where it's tracked out in about 30 minutes!! Stars of the show were the green runs though. It's probably the best beginners area I've ever seen with a huge number and variety all within one main bowl above the village. The only criticism of these would probably be that everyone has to ski back through these at the end of the day to get back down from higher areas so they can be pretty busy at this time of the day. Three of the kids were in ski school (2 x 5 and 1 x 6 year old) organised by Crystal (the other younger two in the Crystal crèche) and they all enjoyed their week. They were all comfortably making turns and skiing the easier greens with mam and dad at the end of the week. A nice experience for everyone. Would definitely use Crystal for childcare again. Having kids with us and staying in a chalet, I can't say we tried a lot of the nightlife, so I can't comment much on that, except to say that when we did, we found that food and beer is extremely expensive in the restaurants/bars in town. Would definitely recommend as a good family resort with enough to keep everyone happy.

Skied in Alp d'Huez 17 - 24 Jan 2009. The Skiing; OK but not great. Much better out of the main valley. Paid a lot for the ski pass and was very, very disappointed with the quantity and quality of piste preparation - not good. Put it like this; the Trois Vallees, Espace killy, and Deux Alp would not tolerate such a low standard of piste-bashing, and when all is considered I can't see any reason for me to go bashing their pistes again.

Alpe d'Huez is a nice destination, I can echo a lot of comments already made here. The Village is purpose built and newer, it’s not a Zermatt or St Moritz but its not without its own Charm, and I would not call it ugly. They have a great sun record here fortunately as in the main area there is not a tree to be found. Runs are badly classified some greens are more like blues some blacks are easy reds etc. As mentioned, when open the Pic Blanc runs like the Tunnel is an awesome thrill ride (even though it’s been 'softened' a bit of late) and the view from the top is simply stunning! People here I found real friendly, food is almost all regional French and very good - if you like that sort of thing. Getting here is also nice some good charter services and 1.5hrs from Geneva. Snow making is very good, and snow generally not a problem - better if u know where to go to avoid the slush and icy patches depending on time of day. Queues are no problem and lift coverage is good and modern enough but won’t set any benchmarks. Good for mixed ability groups - I found it worse for those progressing from their first skiing experience. The progression after the gentle button lift serviced runs are very steep greens which can get choppy mid morn/afternoon. If you want somewhere different on a cheap deal or whatever this place will not disappoint.

Just returned from Alpe d'Huez, after a week of christmas skiing. I really enjoyed it, the runs are varied, the resort has a few runs over 2000m vertical. A few of the runs were closed i.e. The Tunnel, and a few had thin snow cover i.e. Sarenne, but generally conditions were good, with sunshine skiing. The lift system is a mixture of new and fast + very old and slow. The 'lobster pot' lift is particularly annoying in the morning, stop/start for 10 mins before you even get to the lift system base. The resort has a slightly low rent feel to it, mostly dated 2/3* hotels, old apartments and only one 4* hotel. There is definately no fur coat brigade in resort. I've been to all the big ski resorts in France and Alpe d'Huez left me with a good feeling. The biggest gripe was on the last day high winds stopped the whole lift system, then when the winds dropped they only opened a few button lifts. The 'lobster pot' lift stayed closed so we had to hike up to the centre with skis- not good. Because they opened a few lifts there was no compensation. VERY VERY ANNOYING. It looked like they had given the lift staff the day off. Why weren't they waiting at the lift stations ready to start all the lifts up. We paid our lift pass money and got poor service ( If you fancy a change from Tignes, Val, Les Arc, La Plagne, 3 Valleys give Alpe d'Huez a go. I'd like to go back to complete the runs I missed this time.

My family and I stayed for a week here at the beginning of March. It was our second year running in Alpe D'Huez, as we thought that it was a good all-round resort with something for everyone particularly if you're a beginner skier.

We stayed at the VVF residence in the "Les Bergers" section – it is right next to the slopes so perfect if you are looking for ski-in, ski-out. The VVF is self catering and overall it’s perfectly adequate – it's clean and has everything that you need – if a bit small and basic. With the shopping centre just 100 yards away it makes a good base particularly if, like me, you don't want to pay the prices up on the mountain as you can ski back to your room for lunch.

There was plenty of snow when we arrived but it was a little wet and by mid-afternoon it was very slushy particularly on the runs back to the resort. After a couple of days however things turned cold with fresh snow the slopes. The green runs around the resort are great but we found the ones above Bergers to be more crowded and prone to getting cut up early. The greens above Alpe D'Huez seemed better. The runs down to Oz, Villard Reculas and Vaujany are quieter and well worth a look, but one area that must be tried is down to and around Auris en Oisans – very nice with an interesting lift over to it (you have to try it just for the lift).

There were a couple of negative points about the slopes; the piste grooming in the week we were there was economic to say the least. Lots of runs were cut up by lunchtime and resembled a mogul field in places. Choose your runs with care particularly if you have beginners or young children with you. The top part of the "Dahut" which goes from the top of Marmottes I is not a blue run. It's steep and full of bumps. My child was in tears trying to come down and ending up doing so on their bum! It took us 40mins to go down 300 yards. The run next to it, the "Poutat' which is a red, has a nasty little mogul field in it which was covered in ice when I went down. The condition of both these runs I think was due to the poor piste grooming. Those two points aside, Alpe D'Huez is still a great place to ski, just beware of the tricky runs.

I didn’t having any complaints with the ESF ski school and all my family improved with them, but one point that I would make to any parents putting children in the school; be patient for the first day or so, particularly with the beginners, as it takes them this time to sort out the groups into the correct ability properly before they really get going – once they do it was very good.

One activity that should be done whilst at the resort is tobogganing, which can either be done during the day under the DMC lift (you need a helmet) or at night on the hill in the village. The run under the DMC is fast and a bit hairy in places but it’s a great laugh and well worth doing if you fancy a change of pace for an afternoon. The leisure centre is free to use if you have an area lift pass and has a swimming pool, tennis, table tennis and rock climbing.

All in all a good resort that I would recommend to anyone especially beginners and families but with enough challenging runs for the more adventurous.

Just returned from a week of great skiing in Alpe d'Huez. The snow was brilliant and we really enjoyed the range of runs. Le Sarenne and the Tunnel are worth skiing but we preferred the runs down to Oz and Vaujany as they were quiet and pretty. The pistes were not crowded and there were hardly any queues for lifts, but they were quite slow, which was annoying when trying to get back to meet children for lunch as it means you can't venture off too far.

The ESF can however take children over lunchtime for around 20 euros each. Our eldest two children were with ESF in all-day ski school and made lots of progress. The younger one had morning ski school and went to Crystal's Whizz Kids, which was excellent. The children also enjoyed the heated outdoor pool and ice rink, which are both free to use with a lift pass.

We stayed at La Vallee Blanche, which is owned and run by Crystal. The food was OK and the staff, who were young English gap year types, were friendly though could have been more organised. The hotel is in need of a refurb but is convenient as it has the Whizz Kids and Creche there and is close to a bucket lift which takes you to ski school. Overall though the skiing was great and we would go back at some time in the future but maybe stay in Le Bergers as there is a ski school base there.

My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Beausoleil with Equity ski for a week from 7th-14th March this year. The hotel was run by Skiplan and was a typical 3* French standard hotel, not very luxurious but fairly basic. It is staffed by 95% English so no language problems. The food at night was very well cooked but with no choice of menu other than a vegetarian choice. This may have been because their were only 13 adults in the hotel along with about 120 school children from 3 English schools. Quiet it was not! For us being grandparents this was not a problem, in fact the quizzes and Karaoke nights were quite enjoyable. There was Sky tv in the bar so I didn't miss any football matches I was interested in.

There was plenty of snow when we arrived and we had 2-3 days when it snowed so no problems there. There was one afternoon when the conditions were so windy that we were unable to ski near to the resort. My wife is a less confident skier than myself and this resort with its many green runs at the bottom of the resort near the hotel were ideal for her. I managed a lot of skiing around the various runs, the only downer being that the wind and low clouds on several days meant that the cable cars to the very top were closed so the more difficult black runs remained elusive to me. Being in our 60's, Apres ski was not a worry for us, so I cannot comment on this aspect.

Ski school teaching was up to the usual high standard for France. We enjoyed ourselves and would recommend this resort especially to beginners. Being so high it is pretty snow sure, the only problem being the weather at times.

Went to Alpe d'Huez on 8th March, stayed at L'Hermitage.

Resort was busy but otherwise good and the skiing was excellent, plenty of runs for all standards. Skied with ski club for 4 days, on final day ventured down and across the now snowless field to La Foret de Maron restaurant which is worth a visit.

Hotel and resort good for families. Food at Hermitage was excellent for adults and kids meals. Looking to go back next year.

Just had a great weeks skiing in Alpe d'Huez.

Get away from the main bowl down into Vaujanay and Villard Reculas, much less crowded and the fastest uplift from 1250-2800 in a giant 2 stage cable car (its fast). My Favourite run was La Fare (Black but really a red) do this in the afternoon just as the sun has gets onto it. The La Sarenne, although the longest run in the world is nothing special but you have to do it at least once. The Tunnel - I went down it once and that was enough, most like me were just getting down it not many were actually skiing it.

Now the negatives alot of the uplift is sloooow compared to rival resorts such as Tignes, Les Arcs etc. On the last day we had a huge dump the night before and it was the best powder I have ever skied, but by lunch time every run was so cut up, it was no longer enjoyable and not a Piste Basher to be seen not even on the home run greens, which by this time were skiing more like reds. Beer prices average 6- 7 Euro a pint and 1.25 euro to the pound, ouch.

All in all on my list to go back to, but prefer above mentioned resorts due to piste maintenance and faster more modern uplift.

We stayed at the crystal club hotel les cimes for the week 26th jan to 2nd feb 2008.

The resort was great, avoid the tunnel unless you are a very good skier. its a steep face with BIG mogels. saw one mishap by a skiier who then slid the whole length down over the mogels and got stopped by the catch fence 200yds later.

Eating on the mountain is varied depending on how much you want to pay.

If you get a good hotel this would be a perfect holiday resort.

Just returned from a great week in Alpe d'Huez (12-19 Jan 08).

We were lucky to have a significant dump of snow just as we arrived, meaning plenty of powder (almost too much - as some higher runs / lifts closed due to conditions). First trip to this resort, and one which we would happily return to.

We stayed at the Hotel Vallee Blanche. The staff and location were fantastic, however the physical building & particularly our room were a bit of a disappointment, a bit of TLC would solve these problems however.

That said, the skiing was superb - the rental shop (Alpiski, Des Bergers) was great and we had some fantastic times.

More of a family resort than other ones we have visited - which is one of the reasons we went. The AlpAuris chair ("Scarechair!" takes you over to some less crowded runs Singal de L'homme and down to Auris En Oisans, but watch them in the mornings - a bit icy, and out of the sun!) Also worth checking are the runs down to Villard Reculas.

Eating on the mountain was not the cheapest, but hey ho, who cares when you are surrounded by blue sky and powder ;-)

Over all a resort to put on the "would go back" list.

Having just got back from Alpe d'Huez, we would highly recommend this resort to family's and mixed ability groups. We found the local resort runs excellent for progressing beginners, though they did tend to get overcrowded by mid-morning and late afternoon. The resort blues seemed somewhat undergraded probably due to the long the long easy bottom section, don't be fooled the tops bits are steep for timid beginners.

That said if you can ski the blue down from the DMC you can do most reds in the area, so if you go definitely push yourself onto the reds and explore the area down to Vajauny from the DMC, its well worth the visit. Its nearly an hours skiing without a lift and definitely one of the better runs in the area as it takes you out into the remoteness of Alpe d'Huez where the runs are almost empty. The black runs tend to be high ended reds, though the black Tunnel run is not for the faint hearted, be sure you can ski out of the way of those who turn themselves into human snowballs! The moguls here can be over six feet high.... been there, seen them, they really are. But if you are confident, this is a run not to be missed for sheer exhilaration and experience of skiing through a mountain and experiencing the immediate view!!

The resort itself is not as unsightly as many guidebooks claim, though it does lack alpine charm. The endless ski lifts in every direction through the village seem somewhat un-thought-out and eyesores. Eating-out can be pricey, almost every restaurant in the main resort serves the same food, distinct lack of variation and the Beer is 6 euros each, but it is cheaper in the English /Irish bars.

The ESF ski schools have had a bad press here in the past, but a young member of our group went to ski school everyday and loved every minute of it. Instruction was first class.

Overall, even with its negative points the skiing definitely makes this resort one to visit. Get off the main resort runs and go to the remote villages, they tend to be the better skiing. The high ski areas are remote and the villages are pretty and tree lined some of the deepest powder snow can be found in these areas.

Hope this helps everyone.

Spent Xmas week in the Les Cimes hotel through Crystal Holidays. The transfer from Grenoble was just over 2 hours with the final 21 bends up the mountain. Fortunately, no one was ill, as the coach driver took his time. I also recommend not too look down the mountain side as you go up….eeek! When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted with a cup of tea, fantastic start to the holiday.

The skiing was fabulous as the resort had had a large dump of snow the previous week and the sun was out everyday and queuing for lifts and gondolas was minimal. There are plenty of varied runs for the week for all types of skier. These include; the dreaded ‘tunnel’ (steep with huge moguls), the 16 km black ‘Sarenne’ (really a red), with many varied reds & blues. Furthermore, the ‘non skier’ may even be tempted to have a go at the wide greens. There are also many inter connecting lifts to different mountains/ villages.

The holiday definitely provided value for money with a few free hidden extras like a free ski tour and a Christmas stocking. The reps sorted out my ski pass and it was waiting for me in the morning on the first day. Also, there was a chair lift 100m away from the hotel to get me on to the mountain and I could ski back to the hotel door. The staff at the hotel were young, friendly and helpful and nothing was too much trouble for them. Unfortunately, the food provided was inconsistent in quality (personally, I think a self service scenario would have been simpler than the 3 course provided). The room was of sufficient size and a knock on the door from time to time for room service was gratefully received.

Sadly, the après ski appeared to be non existent; a couple of bars with some music at the bottom of the slopes would have been good. However, if you wanted a late night out ‘on the lash’ then the resort is very accommodating, unfortunately the beer is very expensive; 6 euros a pint….ouch!!

Generally, the restaurants are of good quality, however, when its chef’s night off book early. We booked 15 of our fellow guests into the ‘Freeride bar’ for a Tex mex and it was a successful night out. However, avoid the slide to the toilets and take the stairs, a friend and I had a shock as our backsides hit the hard floor at the bottom… not good for the coccyx.

There is plenty to do if you are a ‘non skier’; with an outdoor heated swimming pool, ice rink, ice driving, skidoo hire, ice sculptor museum and many shops. Be careful of the pathways and steps however, as they are not cleared of ice properly as we saw people slip up.

I would recommend both the resort & Crystal holidays and would go back at some point in the future.

Stayed at Hotel Les Cimes Thompson Club Hotel - great food/friendly/good accomodation. Resort end Feb 07 /great snow conditions/ some high lifts closed risk avalanche and poor visibility/friedly resort/not as ugly as suggested in some reviews ie buildings/great scenery. felt sick on coach ride take travel sickness medication. Great for all levels of skier. Some pistes not as well pisted as other resorts. Would go back.

Alpe d' huez is such a nice friendly resort. Its one of the nicest i have been to. The boarding is amazing when theres a bit of snow as there is you can just cross the mountain face and do all the off piste bits. Its brill as well for just learing having fun in the baby park; it gets a bit messed up and busy but when the snows so soft and slushy (due to the huge amount of sunshine) its brill for soft landings. The big park is for the more experienced and its generally better kept. The have even built a little half pipe perfect for learning. The snow can be a bit sketchy at times in the season but for boarders head up in the afternoons and enjoy a bit of choppy slush! As for it not being very french you need to get down to the more hidden resurants; Edelweiss is the best for consitantly good food, but rememeber it gets full quickly on Wednesdays so pre book with your rep. The best places for bars are Freeride, Etalon (the rummery). Sphere bar is a small bar but it always has stuff going on djs and Sadoo (we love you sadoo!) and generally its full of slightly crazy reps and guests at night, theres also sport on TV if you're into that. Then you have to head on to Smithys but go at about 12. Dont go to Igloo it is a terrible place, go to caves if you make it that far. I really recommend Alpe d'Huez if you're lucky with snow its fantastic and if not its so sunny its just a really nice place to be!

Just had a week skiing, the last week of March. Not the best resort I've been to. Quite good varied skiing though, but I felt they had not made enough use of the terrain and there could have been a lot more/better/longer runs served by less lifts (lifts and gondala's everywhere on the main slope). No queues though. Nice little runs down in the Vajauny and other small satellite areas that are very pleasant, although in low snow Auris village is all closed off. Piste management could have been a little better - they did not piste bash several runs for two days and they were in a real state. Some piste classification a nonsense too. Mostly ancient slow lifts; electronic lift passes due for next year I'm told. Hooray, about time. You have to wear trunks at the swimming pool, shorts not allowed - could not ascertain why?

I am picky about my skiing, it's very valuable to me, but I now have a handicapped son and have to think about resorts carefully. I had a suspicion that Alpe D'Huez would be a good all round resort, I've been before a couple of times in the distant past, but this last week has simply blown me away. The head of the ski school in the Les Bergers Secteur was simply the best I have ever encountered anywhere in over 30 years of skiing. He took my fragile little boy and gave him a simply fantastic week. By the end he was able to use a drag lift (simply beyond the realms of my comprehension until now). To do it he put Sam on the lift, took the pole behind and once he was sure everything was okay, he actually SKATED up past Sam and took the pole in front so he was there to help him off the other end. If I hadn't seen it I would have doubted it was possible. As a treat he took my lad around the slopes at high speed on a 'buggy' chair - essentially a bucket seat on skis, and the peels of laughter could be heard in Grenoble! Sam really looked forward to his lessons and happily ambled off everyday. All this while we spent some time up on the Pic Blanc. We're going back. In fact I might move there.

Returned to ADH this year after an amazing week last March. Conitions were a little different to last year, but we still had a great time! To the credit of the resort, most of the runs were open, being very well managed, even after it got too hot to use the snow cannons. Luckily we were saved by two snowfalls in the week.

The runs are varied, although it's worth noting the classification system is variable, with some very easy reds and some steep greens! It's a very open resort, with little tree cover in the main areas, but anyone who complains it's boring simply hasn't made the effort to get out to the furthest reaches, where the skiing is much quieter than the main resort runs, with picturesque pistes and interesting views.

The apres is good as ever.

Finally, a word of congrats once again to the Masterclass Ski school. I had six hours of tuition for the same price as sixteen hours with other schools, but I loved every minute of it as there were only two of us and the instructor!

Terrific place, loads of snow, great skiing for all abilities. Get cheap flights into Grenoble and take the bus via Grenoble itself, very cheap and efficient. Would recommend.

I have recently been on a trip to Alpe d'Heuz on a school trip and I really enjoyed it. The resort was beautiful and the hotel was good.

Just back from a great week in Alpe D‘Huez.

Considering it was half term week there was little overcrowding and the lift system is very efficient, although they physically inspect passes at all gates (no automatic machine readers). The maximum queuing time we experienced was 20 minutes to get on Marmottes Gondola to Glacier - however if we had waited until after 11:00 it died right down.

Skiing was great - late afternoon on lower slopes it became a bit slushy. Signal and Auris en Oisans very good and quiet - i.e. get away from the nursery slopes at Alpe D’Huez. Marmottes up to the Glacier is definitely worth a trip.

The resort is great for kids. We are intermediates with children catching up very fast! This resort was perfect for us and we will be going to the same resort next year. It really is doorstep skiing. Stayed at Les Bergers (3/4 person) - very happy with rooms, larger than we expected, with a lovely deep bath ( much needed at the end of the day!).

Eating out is reasonable (£55 + tip for family meal and we were all hungry!). Really useful and reasonably priced supermarket in Les Bergers area - I imagine it will be the same in most sectors.

If you are driving and considering whether or not you need snow chains - it is a definite 'yes' for this resort, the road from Bourg D’Oisans is very steep and I am told the Gendarmes will not let you up without them!!

Just back from a week In Alpe D'Huez (10-17 feb 2007). So lucky that we got excellent snow - the best of the season so far according to the reps in the resort. Weather was rather extreme - got everything over the week including heavy snow, rain, high winds and brilliant sunshine. Extensive ski area, if a little bleak (virtually no trees). Lift queues were reasonable considering UK Half Term and some French regions on holiday but some pistes were dangerously overcrowded. Catered chalet in Altiport area (via Neilson) was excellent. A Good week!

Alpe d'Huez is generally a good resort. Completely lacking in any Alpine charm, but if English bars are what you go abroad to visit then this place is right up your street.

A couple of things to note will make things much easier and quicker. Firstly, Alpe D'huez is still running on an 1800's ski pass system where you have to show a piece of paper at each lift. In order to get this pass you need a photo so save yourself an hour of waiting in a queue at the photo booth on day 1 and take your own photos in advance. One final thing. We were offered either a Simple pass or an extended pass where you get ice skating, night skiing, toboganning and I think the chance to ski at some other resorts. If the snow conditions are good, it is not worth the extra €15 as you will be too tired to night ski or skate and you won't want to give 2 hours of quality skiing up to sit on a bus to another resort.

The skiing is excellent, especially after a good dump of snow. Lots to choose from both on and off piste. Vaujany has pretty tree lined pistes and the Pic Blanc offers superb skiing even in doubtful snow conditions. The Tunnel run is knarly to say the least and if the Sarenne is closed chances are you will have to walk even after heavy snow fall as it has a couple of south facing slopes.

I'm not sure if I would recommend this resort. I went to the 3 valleys last year which was much more varied and more to my taste. However, Alpe dHuez is a good place to visit at least once in your life time!

Just got back from alpe d'huez (3rd to 10th feb) in a party of 25, had a great weeks skiing, stayed at the crystal club hotel L' Hermitage. Hotel very clean & comfortable, the food was excellent , the staff were most helpful & obliging, nothing was to much trouble. Good resort for a mixed ability group. Location of hotel was close to bucket lift, bars & shops, good ice rink & heated outside swimming pool.

Jan 20 - 27, 2007

First time at the resort.

The village/town is quite pleasant with a fair few interesting bars/resteraunts. First couple of days lacked snow coverage but I felt that the lift company didn't make the best of what snow there was and many runs were in poor condition.

Think by and large the piste grading was over exaggerated, i.e. many runs were over graded. A lot of the black runs were more like reds. The tunnel is difficult but mainly due to a) it's poor condition and b) the boarders scrapping the top snow off and polishing its base to ice!

Snow on the glacier was beautiful, intermediate skiiers don't be put of by the 'black' grading of the runs, apart from top 20m or so they are lovely runs more red/blue than anything else.

One gem that I think many would miss out on due to it's location is the Auris area of the map. Some nice little reds and blues - very pleasant skiing.

A day trip to Les 2 Alps is worth taking, it's included in your lift pass and there's a bus that runs from the sports centre twice weekly (wed and Thurs) which is comfortable, efficient and cheap (6.5 Euros). You need to book the bus ticket 48 hrs in advance, i.e. by Monday 7pm for the Weds bus.

All in all a 'nice' resort that most experienced skiiers will 'ski out' in a couple of days.

Went for new year. Had a quality time. Skiing was great with plenty of challenging runs. Be sure to take a visit over to Auris where the runs are very quiet but contains great skiing. Nightlife is wicked. Seriously recommend Smithys, O Sharkeys and the Underground for a great night out.

Not a wide choice of resturants but great food in the restaurants available. So good i'm even thinking about going back out there to work.

Just returned from Alpe D'Huez (13th - 20th Jan), had a great time there, we are both novice skiers so we were happy with the choice of green runs around the resort. Temperatures were slightly high for that time of year, so did result in freeze/ thaw conditions, with icy patches on the slopes, and on the last day in particular, huge 'slush puppy' style ponds appearing around the les bergers lift area!!

All lifts seem well connected and well thought out, the new romains 6 seater chairlift in les bergers is great (declutches, and also has a 'magic carpet' conveyer for easy loading).

Get up to Pic Blanc summit for some crackin' views, also go up the DMC gondola to 2700m station to visit the ice cave... 4 euros per adult... amazing ice and snow sculptures inside... excellent!!!

Stayed at Hotel Royal Ours Blanc, really excellent hotel which fully deserves its 4 stars!!!

Be prepared for the 21 hairpin bends, after an hour and a half on the road from Grenoble, the coach really groans up the road, and it can be a bit disorientating to say the least!!! (look out for the signs counting down on each bend 21 - 1 and hear em' on the coach groan "oh no!! only 16 more to go!!!!)

Dont worry about going back down as the coach is a lot quicker and it does not have the same dizzzzzzzzy effect as the sloooooow climb!!!

Overall... Alpe d'huez is GREAT!!! will return someday for definite...

Only minus is that pubs etc stay open til 2/4am so expect a bit of 'piss head' noise in the wee small hours!!!!

We both ski but snowboarders looked to be having a great time also!!

Piste bashers out every night groomin the slopes, a great site to behold if you can see the mountain from your room at night!!

Bucket lift is a bit weird, and to us resembled a row of open-air telephone boxes on a cable!!! Is handy and saves you a walk though!!!

Enjoy Alpe d'Huez... its fab!!!

I skied in Alpe d'Huez from 9-13 January 2007. Accommodation - Chalet Alaska was fairly standard, although we were in the annexe and the main chalet rooms may be better. Piste grooming was excellent and the pisteurs did well to maintain pistes with thinning snow over the few days we were there. Quite a few runs were closed due to thin snow and generally spring conditions prevailed. It was frighteningly warm for January! A few too many drag lifts which should be chair lifts, e.g. Le Jeux. A terrifyingly difficult drag life which is marked difficult on the piste map was virtually impossible to remain on due to sheet ice, mud, 'jumps' and other random obstacles meant even good skiers only had a fighting chance of making it to the top, and as one of our party fell, we all had to abandon the lift and clamber back up to the piste, quite a difficult climb in ski boots on ice. All in all, this resort is quite nice for a week if all the runs are open as rather limited if not. Nice bars, plenty to do off the slopes. A special recommendation for the traditional and cosy little restaurant 'Au P'tit Creux' with it's friendly staff and gormet food for around £35 per head incl wine. A real treat!

Visited alpe D'Huez 22-29 December 2006. Stayed in the hotel Beausoliel. Public rooms fine. Staff friendly and good at their jobs. Food outstanding. Bedrooms very basic and bathrooms poor. Skiing challenging due to mainly artificial snow which churned and iced up and large crowds. Nevertheless skiied every day and had a good time -real variety of runs.

I worked as a rep for Neilson during the 04/05 season and lived/worked in Alp d'dhuez.

I fell in love with the resort, quirks and all! Overall you can expect to pay prices for food and drink that are comparable to the UK - unfortunatley some of the bars are a little expensive, but places like smithys and o'sharkeys are well worth a visit and a swift half.

The pistes are groomed to a fair standard and when the snow is right there are some great times to be had on the slopes. The mistake many people make is by sticking to the main area, Auris and Vaujany are well worth a go with some great skiing to be had.

The sarenne is a good run to try and I would urge people not to be put off by its reputation - it is more of a red. The tunnel however is not for the faint hearted - this is quite a difficult run, both very narrow and steep in places.

I would urge people to go with the ski guides for a day - they will show you the best of the ski area and take you to areas you may not otherwise venture.

The accomodation varies greatly on where you stay. The pierre vacances properties (l'ours blanc, les melezes and quatiers de bergers etc) are very 'cosy' if filled to maximum ocupancy - most brochures will advise you of this, but do bear it in mind. The chalets at the altiport are fantastic, but a little out the way. Remember that there is a bus service that runs to and from the altiport every 20 minutes (ish), but can be a little unreliable and stop running at 10pm. You can walk up the hill, but it is quite a way, especially after a few drinks!

The resort is split in to 2 main areas, the high street and surrounding and the bergers centre. The walk between the two takes about 10 minutes at the most, and both areas have thier charms. Its is quite a steep resort, but there is a 'lobster pot' lift that runs from the bottom end of town right up to the piste. Again, you need your pass for this, and it can be useful if you are staying at the bottom end and dont want to walk! The bus service is free if you take the visalp pass and useful as you can hop on and off as you wish. If staying in some areas you will need to catch the bus or get the lobster pot to get to the slopes, the walk can be a bit much if you have your boots on!

Alpe D'Huez is not for everyone, but if you like something a little different, that definately has something for everyone - then this is the resort for you. I love it so much I went back last year for a holiday and also hope to return this year!!

Oh yeah - one more thing - get you cameras out for the famous (tour d'france) 21 bends up to the resort!

went there in the summer for glacier skiing,was ok but limited runs for the time you take to get there,and also the drag lift taking you the final steps to the glacier was really busy with long cues,and situated on a slope where lots of people were sliding into each other on the ice.

Had a fantastic time in Alpe D'huez at Easter this year. Am an expert skier and did not find much to test me although the Tunnel run was pretty steep. Great choice of bars for after-skiing drinks! Thoroughly reccommend the Freeride bar - IT HAS A SLIDE TO THE TOILETS!

Resort Report – Alpe d’Huez:

Background: Expert Skier/ intermediate snowboarder, over 25 weeks vacational skiing plus some seasonairre work

Resort: Alpe d’Huez

Date of Visit: 25/03/06 to 01/04/06

Tour operator: First Choice. Service from rep, Good all round service. Accommodation, Hotel Petit Prince. Booked through 1st Choice but run by Langley Hotels. Superb food although the accommodation was a little shabby.

Operation of lifts: No hand-free lift passes here which makes it a pain to get around the area, having to show the pass at every lift. I don’t know whether or not it was because of it being the end of the season and therefore quiet, but some of the lifts didn’t run all week and quite a few of them seemed to be running mainly at half-speed!

Operation of Runs: The grooming wasn’t too bad although there were a fair batch of death cookies left on the piste! Quite a few runs were closed throughout the week, but I think this was due to the poor snow cover in the first part of the week and avalanche risk later in the week! The challenging black runs around the resort were excellent and the Tunnel piste is certainly more than a little daunting!

Mountain Restaurants: Didn’t really try many but most seemed to offer plats du jour at around 10-12 euros. We frequented the small restaurant at the base of the signal chairlift which did superb vin chaud (despite being served in a plastic cup!!) and boasted horse burgers amongst the fare on offer!

Ski Schools: No experience.

Snowboarding: Didn’t board the resort myself but it would be a great resort to board. Children’s Facilities: N/a

Local Transport: No experience

Shopping: We found the town a bit of sprawl with shops dotted between the various quarters. The best shopping seemed to be at Les Bergers.

Non-skiing facilities: The lift pass entitles you to free use of the swimming pools and ice rink. Snow shoeing, parapenting and cross country skiing also on offer.

Eating out: There was no shortage of options including a tex-mex and an irish pub!

Apres ski: Plentiful in terms of pubs and clubs.

Accommodation: Most levels catered for, from small self-catering ‘boites’ to fully catered chalets and hotels.

Prices: Small beer around 3 to 4 euros. Most supermarket prices comparable with the UK.

Summary: A super resort with some real challenging skiing.

Airports: We flew to Genoble and it was about a 1hr 45 mins transfer.

April 2/06, Just arrived back from Alpe d'Huez, we had an excellent week boarding, plenty of fresh snow, only one bad day when it was slushy, but the snow returned as well as the sunshine. The powder runs on the back of the serenne were fantastic fresh tracks everywhere. Alpe d'Huez is an excellent resort for everyone, we stayed with Crystal at the Vallee Blanche, staff were friendly & helpful the food was fantastic & if you have small children it must be put on your list. The only down side for our group was the very low key apres ski, which if you like the Austrian style 'live bands & good music' you will be left wanting, this really is a low key resort not at all how it's advertised in the brochure, spent most of our time in Crowded House which was really very quiet. Still this aside the resort has a lot to offer everyone & it's boarding/ski area is excellent.

Holidayed in Alpe d'Huez from 18th of March until the 25 th. It was my first winter holiday experience and I loved it. Did a lot of research into where to go, as I was a complete novice but my partner is a very advanced boarder. This resort was ideal for the both of us.I had boarding lessons with ESF,and they were great.Brilliant instructor and lots of nice greens and blues to get going on. My partner said the black runs were good (Sarenne bit flat at the end,luckily he had his board waxed the night before!) and he had loads of choice.We stayed at the Club hotel Les Cimes with Thompson and cannot fault anything.Staff were all excellent and the food was just fantastic.Nice atmosphere in the town but not all that lively when we went.but plenty of choice of bars and restaurants (if you're not feeling as exhausted as I was most nights).Crowded House not all it's cracked up to be,I preferred Smithy's and the Piano Bar.The snow was great when we got there and then we had a couple of more snowfalls while we were there,so plenty of the white stuff.The lift passes are a bit of a pain as you have to keep showing them and it can get fiddly,but it'sa not a huge problem.

Piste map doesn't really do justice to the amount of skiing available in the outlying areas: Auris and Vaujany runs are more extensive than the map would suggest ( and many are north facing so snow conditions tend to be good). Good food at les Airelles at Montfrais.

Had an absolutely fantastic time at the Belle Aurore last week - the staff were superb, the food fantastic, and the weather was unbelievably sunny! Excellent conditions on the pistes, and wonderful apres-ski. Try the Rhumerie (the bar is actually called something else, but it's just off the Avenue des Jeux on the right, just before the swimming pool if you're walking down from the Place Jean Moulin) for bottles of flavoured rum at €15 each - we drank 9 between the 6 of us and were nicely smashed! Smithy's was also great for a night out, and the pizza at Pizza Peppone (Place Jean Moulin) was great - try the Catalane!

Just back from a glorious week in Alpe d'Huez. We supposedly had the best snow of the season and skied solidly for 6 days. Keen intermediates, we managed to tackle quite a few of the black runs following some expert advice and coaching from the British Masterclass Ski School. The famous 16km 'Sarenne' run wasn't very difficult and in fact the bottom section was more or less flat. The views from Pic Blanc however were fantastic. The gradings of the slopes seemed to be inconsistent with some of the reds very difficult. Particularly enjoyed the chair lift (Alpauris) to Auris and the red runs there. Stayed in the Ours Blanc apartments which were very cosy for 4! Plenty of bars and restaurants.

Just back from epic 4 days snowboarding deep powder in Alpe d'Huez :So much snow the pistebashers weren't able to go up………! Top lifts were closed up till Sunday due to serious avalanche risk and it was still great without them! Friday and Saturday: off piste powder conditions on the pistes in low visibility. Sunday and Monday:absolute heaven,deep,deep powder off piste in pure sunshine…………… Seriously good resort,lots of well interconnected lifts,no bus trips,cheap eats and accom……..only drawback is the old picture type liftpass and not enough detachable type chairs………………………. Well worth a visit, great boarding and amazing scenery . Colm.

I stayed at belle aurore and i was pleased with it my instructer was called yohann he was the best teacher ive known !!!

Second time in Alpe d'Huez. More due to luck than planning. Quite like the town and the various activities available but found that the skiing lacked variety because the snow conditions were generally poor. Kids loved the jumps in the junior snow-park. Stayed at Residence Ours Blanc in a 5 person matchbox; initially hated it but grew to accept it; still think they are the worst apartments I've stayed in. Overall its not bad, but won't be going back for a 3rd time.

Just back from a week in Alpe d'Huez with 12-y-o son and another family with two kids 13 and 11. For intermediates like us ski area is great even tho most of top runs above 2700 metrres were closed for lack of snow. Needs snow as most of the runs are now hard and icy although runs in adjoining areas like Vaujany, Oz and Montfrais are generally better than Alpe itself. But can anybody tell me how a resourt which has invested millions on lifts and gondolas up the mountain still have the pathetic bucket lift between the village and the ski school assembly points beside the DMC lift. It's like somethoing out of the 1950's. Town itself is a typical French ski resort dump, awful buildings, overpriced drinl - lucky to pay less than 6 euro a pint. Kids happy with ski school and all progressed to bronze star grade making them better skiers than their parents. Hard to see a reason to go back, in France La Plagne better, and France is always going to come bottom of my ski heap after Austria and Italy.

Remenber to check your shoes after a walk in them under the alpine clear sky nights. Alpe D Doggy Dooz lives up to its name. Them Frenchies seriously need educated in the art of health and hygiene. My very last run back to the hotel through the village was a case of dodge the Dooz. One fatal slip and its tatties over the side. on a lighter note, excellent lift system, loads of runs and beer prices werent that bad, or maybe I had had a few to many to notice. Made some top new frinds, totally made the holiday a classic in my books. Village charm was non existant but the view over the temerature inversion was absolutly breathtaking. I could manage 2 runs down the Sarene, the longest black in europe. Did take a wrong turn cause it was more of a red run. Anyway it was by far the most tranquil run I have ever done. Reckon people are put off by rumors that its difficult. Get up there and tame the beast. I went for 4ish miles before I came across anyone. Alpe D Doggy Dooz. Will i return ???????

Just returned, had a wonderful time, stayed at the Vallee Blanche with Crystal, food great and rooms large. Skiing excellent especially away from main resort, would recommend for intermediate. Had master class with Mel, who in two hours improved my skiing more than a weeks ski school

Hi, i went to Alp D'Huez on a school trip and I thought it was amazin. We had a ski instructor for each group and they were wikid teachers (esf) The resort we stayed in was beautiful. When I got home i just wanted to go back again it was the best holiday of my life!!!! you will enjoy it if you go.

Went to Alpe D'Huez for xmas past '05. When we arrived at the our blanc appartments I thought they looked great, that was until I entered the appartment and I couldn't believe how small and basic they were. I had booked an appartment for 5 even though there was only 4 of us going and it was still small. Thank goodness the views were good from the balcony. The resort however gave us plenty to do, the food in the resort was very good, my favorite place was molly muldoons, really cosy. the sporting bar had some great music but the drink was very expensive, 8 euro a pint. overall the resort was good but I didnt like the purpose built look it had.Heading to livigno in March - 2nd time there, hope to have a good one.

Went from 31st Dec 05 - 7th Dec 06. This was the best ski holiday that I have had out of 6 others. The town is great, free swimming pools and ice rink in the town. We stayed in the Les Bergers area which was great as we would ski back to the appartment and the supermarket was 2 mins away. There was plenty of snow and pistes were in great conditions as well as fab skiing off piste. We had 3 private lessons with the ESF ski school and it was great, they are a highly recommended ski school. The mini shopping centre is great. There were so many ski runs that you could do for all levels,we did the longest black in the world! it wasnt actually that hard! overall it was a fab holiday and i would recommend it to everyone, any age and ability. also great for people who drive as it is so easy to get to the resort and the roads were extremely clear, we didnt even need snow chains and there were loads of car parking spaces, underground or in free car parks. As for the people who have mentioned dog poo, I didnt see any when i was there! I would definetly go back, think we are booking to go back next year already! I would rate this resort, 10/10!!!!!!!

happy hour @ 4 till 5 at Crowded House Bar, and they also do an evening special hour (2 for price of 1) otherwise expect to pay 6 Euro a pint. Found it a good resort for all levels, having been to Val, Courchevel etc, few queues, and actually friendly lift operators. Would we go again...yes....

Head for Sphere Bar if you want to meet Brits. Head for Zoo Bar or Le Sporting if you prefer to mix with French locals. Avoid cheesy tourist traps like Igloo and Smithys.

Alpe d'Huez is a fine resort, especialy E.S.F. for my three Yr. old grandaughter. Village charm is poor, like most French resorts, and village is very spread out. We stayed at l'ours blanc appts in Jan. 2004, and had a great holiday. Views are fantastic. We are returning Jan 2005, again with grandaughter. She will Ski, sledge, make snowmen, swim in the outdoor pool, and snowball grandad & nanny. A great holiday for all.Last year the little one only skiied in ski school, but this year we intend to take her on the lower slopes, as it is very safe, with E.S.F in the afternoons. There are also many non skiing activities in the area to keep her happy.

Went for christmas, best thing I've ever done. Very freindly atmoshpere. Took my 4 year old for the first time and he has now got the bug, although the ski school instructors spoke little english they communicated well with him. Some great runs for all levels and plenty of restaurants on the slopes. Would recommend it to anyone.

Just like 'Nicola' we also spent new year at the resort, funnily enough, staying at L'Ours Blanc appt's. However, thats where our joint experience ends! We all were a tad dissapointed with the resort. the town is split into areas that are not particularly easy to move between, either skiing wise or apre skiing. Prices also seemed set higher than this resort merits. Skiing was fine for beginners/early intermediates but harder runs were either icy or rocky.(perhaps they opened these up too early). As for the apartments, Rude staff (when we got there), cramped & tired rooms and doggy doos left outside some of our rooms for 3 days! despite complaints (think it was the security guards dog). All in all, it was ok but not in the same league as 3 valleys, val, et al. Nor even deux alpes or serre chevalier.

Just came back from Alpe D'Huez after spending New Year there. Snow conditions were excellent. An excellent resort for all abilitities. Stayed in Apartment L'Ours Blanc which were also very good. Look forward to going next year.

Went with a big group the first week of February 2004. I was quite dissapointed! Yes the area is big but: The top section was closed a lot because of high winds and big queues for the lift when it was open; Auris looks excellent for beginners but you can't get there without doing a red; Vaujany area is excellent for early intermediates but again they cannot practically get there from main area. The new Marmottes 3 lift will probably make the top more accessible this season - the Sarenne was very enjoyable the one time I got to do it. Overall probably best for middling intermediates.

I returned to Alpe d'Huez for the fourth time this year. It is an excellent resort, with a wide variety of runs, restaurants & chalets. I was particularly impressed with the lessons & small classes provided by the Masterclass Ski School run by Stuart Adamson. I believe they now have a website at www.masterclass.f9.co.uk. They really improved my skiing.

Self-catered with a large, mixed-ability group in Alpe d'Huez for 7 days in last week of March 2004. The ski area, suitable for all grades of skier, particularly intermediates, is extensive but lacks character. The bulk of the pistes sit in a wide, featureless, tree-free bowl overlooking a dull, purpose-built resort, leaving one feeling somewhat underwhelmed. The half-dozen black runs off the glacier are impressive, particularly The Tunnel. The Sarenne piste, marketed as 'one of Europe's longest black runs', is more like a red and is enjoyable but slightly disappointing. The lift system is modern and rapid but its layout is tiringly disjointed for a purpose-built station, with unnecessarily frequent, relatively long, uphill treks between numerous lift stations and / or pistes. Snow coverage was near-90% in late-March, with pistes open on artificial snow down to the pretty village of Vaujany at just 1250m (4100ft). At night time Alpe d'Huez comes alive, with several half-decent bars and clubs open til 4am. Head for Sphere Bar if you want to meet Brits. Head for Zoo Bar or Le Sporting if you prefer to mix with French locals. Avoid cheesy tourist traps like Igloo and Smithys. In summary, the ski area at Alpe d'Huez is good, well worth a visit, but slightly over-rated; it is better than Les 2 Alpes, yet inferior to Les Arcs. The apres-ski in Alpe d'Huez is also good, albeit like a slightly downmarket Val d'Isere. Overall, Alpe d'Huez is a one-off must-do resort, but it is not somewhere one might consider returning to year-after-year.

21st Jan- 28th Jan 11th March- 15th March Fantastic ski resort and as a beginner fab teachers with the ESF are brillant. One english teacher very good. made quick progress. Snowed most of the week, so no suntan for me! Did not notice any Doggy Do's, but as i am off there tomorrow will look out for them

Week ending 7th March 2004 First time skiing in France. Alpe d'huez was better than any expectations I had. Both my children (3 & 8) were taken care of, both by the ESF ski school, and at the excellent accomodation. I found the slopes excellent, queing not a problem, facilities on piste great. The town was more "charming" than I had been lead to believe and had excellent non ski facility's. We are planning to return next year already. Down side "Dog C**p". Mr Mayor, or whoever, sort it out. It's not difficult and will make an excellant all round resort better!

7th Feb 2004 A week of sunshine made for an excellent weeks skiing. My 2 children (ages 6 @ 7) had an excellent time in the ESF skischool, although we had reservations at first as they were vastly outnumbered by french children. Both instructors made an effort to make sure they were included and spoke regularly to them in english. My husband and I enjoyed the reds and blacks on offer although lift queues were a problem (due to french school holidays)and most of the popular pistes were very crowded. As reported previously doggy do's was a BIG problem although we did see street cleaners out on a regular basis. Altogether a great resort for mixed groups and beginners in particular.

Awesome sunshine as L'Isle au Soleil would imply and plenty of stupid goggle tans, clear nights tend to give a rock hard piste upto 1pm and crusty off piste conditions, when the thaw sets in in the afternoon conditions can get heavy quite quickly. This isn't an ideal resort for snowboarding as the more difficult runs, red and upwards, tend to be heavily moguled and paired with ice make a lethal combination for snowboarding, keep those edges sharp, so another bust rib for me!

This is with doubt the best 'all round' resort I have visted for groups with mixed abilities. Whilst other resorts may provide a greater variety of challenging terrain for advanced intermediates & expert skiers, I have not expeienced any that cater for the complete range as abilties in the manner that Alpe d'Huez can. The beginners bowl above the village is fantastic for 1st timers and those developing their confidence, whilst above the mid station that are plenty of exciting reds and blacks including the 16km Sarrene (wonderful) and The Tunnel (scary). The apres ski is great as well if you have the energy. I visited with a mixed ability group in Janaury 2003. Everyone had a great time, so much so that we are all returning in 2004.

I took a party of school children to Alpe D'Huez during December and although the snow was good, we found that very little of the runs were open which was dissappointing. When some did start to open by the end of the week they were merely pistes next to those already open. Having said that the quality of instruction (ESF)was excellent for the students and the skiing on the glacier was good if a little short.(The Sarrenne black was not open). There was plenty to do at night with ice-skating, swimming, Kareoke all within easy walking distance. The prices in bars etc particularly the ones catering for the british were very expensive. Overall 6 out of 10. I much preferred Chatel and the Portes Du Soleil area.

I took the kids at Easter - I hadn't skied for about 10 years - children beginners! The town lacked a bit of atmosphere - we were there the end of the season but it wasn't a problem because the skiing, snow and scenery were all fantastic - we are debating returning Feb half term but are concerned about queues...French ski instructor excellent!

Just worth mentioning that this place is horrendously expensive at €6 a (not even very full)pint!! The food is also attrocious apart from the most expensive restaurants and the service in two of the restaurants we visited was appalling, and very anti-English. That aside, the ski instructors were excellent, as was the skiing. Overall, 4 out of 10.

Having just spent the season in Alpe d'Huez I can vouch for the place for both the skiing and the apres-ski. There's a huge variety of bars to suit absolutely everyone. These range from the local French haunts, to typical English bars. I had some of my livliest nights in Magoos, the Pacific Bar, Freeride Cafe (the one with the slide!) and the Underground Bar (even with the beer on the floor!). For a completely different night though, and a lot more chilled, I'd recommend heading for D.T.'s Tapas Bar or Cactus Wine bar. Honestly there's so much going on it's unbelievable. As for restaurants, if in doubt point yourself towards the Cremaillere where there's such a wide choice and it's reasonably priced. Back to the skiing - for a really good ski/board without having to take too many lifts, head down towards Vaujany. Go down Les Rousses (red) and head either for the quiet + pretty black run (la Fare) or the long blue (la Vaujaniate) both of which take you towards Vaujany village. You'll get to ski for ages without any stops (if your legs can take it!). Another great run is the Alpette (red)on the way down to Oz village. As for what people have said about the lifts - all resorts are the same in half-term, but at any other time you'll have the reign of the slopes in Alpe d'Huez! As you might have already guessed - highly recommended!!!

Skied here in March 2003. I agree with other comments about the lack of piste bashing, the runs varied greatly in diffculity depending on the time of day and the length of time since last bashing. Lots of queuing, busy busy busy, and the lift system is poor to say the least. Also we had our 2 year old daughter with us who we took out in the afternoon walking around the village and sledging but spent most of our time dodging dog dirt. Alpe D'Huez must be the dog dirt capital of the world. We will not be going back.

We went as a family with a school ski trip on march 14th- 21st. The skiing was fantastic, the weather brilliant and a great time was had by all. The wide range of abilities were well catered for and the ESF instructors great. Recommend the vin chaud especially!

The grading of the resort pistes has always been somewhat understated. We were there the first week in March and unlike most other French resorts of similar size, there was a distinct lack of piste bashing activity during the night. The difficulty of some of the individual runs would change from one day to the next with the formation of moguls on the higher un bashed runs. It would appear that bashing tended to consentrate on the lower resort and nursery runs.

Went the first week of March, there was a good dump of snow on the first night thank goodness as the ice in the morning and slush in the afternoon was pretty crap to ski on. The place was too busy for my liking, a 15 minute wait for a 4 minute run on the lower slopes seemed hardly worthwhile and it took forever to get up to the top of the glacier, the cable car is horrendous, there was a bloke squeezing people into this and it took about 25 minutes queuing. However, once you were at the top it was glorious, the Sarenne is one of the best runs I have ever had. All in all it would be a great place if they put some more lifts in but it was just too busy.

We visited at half term and cannot recommend 'MasterClass' highly enough. Two of our group (experience; 1 week skiing, no lessons) took beginners classes and were competantly tackling blues and had a go at a couple of reds by the end of the week. Whilst the rest of us (intermediates) had two lessons designed to improve our technique and teach us how to tackle moguls properly. Both instructors were excellent at building confidence and giving positive criticism. We would go back to Alpe D'Huez for this alone. As for the lifts, the system has obviously not been updated for sometime, consequently the queues were horrendous at times (longest time was 45 min for DMC, average 10-15 min for main lifts). The only escape was to get onto the Glacier where the 'Chateau Noir' black is absolutely beautiful and pretty quiet, or to stay up on the higher reds and blacks in the main resort. Coming off the mountain is a free for all as everything funnels into a few runs and can be positively heart stopping at times when the antics of some boarders and skiers have to be seen to be believed.

Alpe D'Huez is fantastic! Especially all the lovely men...oh and the toffee vodka in Smithys. Ok, so perhaps the men wouldn't have been so lovely if it wasn't for the toffee vodka!

I can't recommend the Masterclass people highly enough - they were superb. Our instructor, Barbara Maublanc, got a bunch of us from beginners to competent blue/easy red run skiers in a week. The snow conditions are fantastic and the pistes varied; perhaps a slight lack of stuff for the lower intermediate skier, a bit of a shortage of interesting blue runs (Signal blues are very simple but very steep and get cut up by the afternoon) but there's plenty to keep you occupied. Vaujany area is also excellent and worth making the trip over to. Most of us were skiing from 9am to 5pm so too knackered to report much on the after-ski!

Just back form great week in Alpe d' Huez - snow fantasic, not overcrowed and great night life esp in sphere bar - keep it up Greg!

With out a doubt the best ski resort I have ever been to. The skiing is so varied and offers challenges for all grades of skier. I have been skiing since I was three, and cannot better this place for its skiing and all-round beauty. Plus the apres ski in the main resort is fantastic. This place is a must for any skier!!!

There is no ski school called fun evasion in this resort. The International Ski School have 10 as a maximum and the third ski school is British Masterclass who do not just run courses but operate an instructional facility for boarders and skiers at group and private options.

Hi, I've just returned from week in Alpe D'Huez which was absolutely fantastic - mainly thanks to the Ski Club Rep - Tim and the members. I was staying in the resort on my own and one of the fellow guests in the Hotel suggested that I meet up with the Ski Club for the day which I did. Having had a brilliant first day I 'joined up' and subsequently had an excellent week with some really nice people. I just wanted to say thank you!

Great new bar this year, 'sphere' - in front of The Crowded House' - decor fab. music and sports plus internet access.