La Plagne

La Plagne: reviews

• skiclub.co.uk visitor (14 April 2010)

  We have just returned from a week in Les Arcs where we went over to La Plagne for the day. Compared to Les Arcs it was mayhem, with so many skiers and boarders crammed into the available space it was very unpleasant. The snow was also bad with all the lower runs essentially consisting of bomb proof ice. Lift queues were also huge and never seemed to die down.

  
  Essentially, when the resort was conceived with the original centres of Plagne Centre, Bellecote and Aime La Plagne it probably worked well. Unfortunately the area has been totally overdeveloped and in order to get anywhere you have to ski back to the original hubs. This results in huge queues and dangerous crowding on the pistes. Classic case of too much development without actually realising that the mountain you are building on is not conversely increasing in size.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (08 March 2010)

  Have just come back from a week in La Plagne 1800, staying at Les Gemeaux (Skiworld) on a cheap deal. The chalet is basic, but comfortable enough and has everything you need, The food is great and the staff are great very attentive.

  
  Yes, the area is very very expensive but you will find cheaper lunchtime stops at the lower villages. A tray of French fries in Plagne Centre set us back 4 euros! A round of G&Ts for 5 of us was 32 euros!

  
  Ski school - we used Reflex and pre-booked online - this is the best ski school I have ever used - we took out private lessons for the kids and the instructors were friendly, spoke good English and were actually interested in teaching the children. They remembered all their names from one day to the next (and mine!) and best of all they gave the parent of each child a progress report after each lesson. Highly, highly recommended.

  
  Passes - we got the discovery pass which allows you one day's access to Les Arcs, but to be honest there is enough in La Plagne to keep most skiers happy for a week.

  
  Lifts - the only congestion we experienced was at the Bergerie first thing in the morning but after 10.30 it was usually clear

  
  The Snow Park is good over in Bellecote and has an awesome ski jump onto a giant blue inflatable air bag. Fantastic for eager kids over 10.

  
  All in all a good trip and a fab area.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (06 March 2010)

  We stayed in Belle Plagne self catering at half term in ‘09 and again in ’10 staying at the Balcons de Belle Plagne apartments. And it was all as good in ’10 as it was in ’09. Ideal with a youngish family (a now 8yr old boy in his 3rd ski year).

  
  We liked: all the blues that just go everywhere; you hardly ever ski the same run twice in the same day and, because of the many valleys, you always feel you are 'going somewhere' and not just skiing up and down runs in a bowl (which I do not like). The La Plagne ski area is huge and it’s easy to allocate 5 or 6 'areas' (not even including Les Arcs) and do a different “area” each day (weather willing). There is no way that I could see us needing to go across to Les Arcs (at least not until our son starts to blitz the runs and then maybe worth a day trip over – we’ll see).

  
  Most of the key chair lifts are high speed detachable ones and pretty much all the lifts connect well and the queues were usually short to non-existent even at half term (the one or two exceptions we found being the connections through Bellecote which could be 15-20 minutes at the wrong time). Great variety of runs from the high alps to the middle motorways to the tree lined lower runs.

  
  Ski-in/out convenience was spot on, the village was traffic free and they have done a decent job of giving a new place some character. This year we did a few reds (and an “easy” black on the glacier) as well as masses of blues. And there is lots of accessible non-threatening looking off piste (as well as a lot of threatening looking stuff that we will stay away from for the time being). It's supposedly not a boarders resort (good news). Plagne Centre did not appeal (looking more like a 'high rise' town than a ski resort) – but it was OK to ski through on the way somewhere else. The transfer times to-from Geneva were fine.

  
  Eating out was good but pricey of course. Lunchtime we shared a tartiflette as one each is an artery (and wallet) overdose. Dining out we tried the usuals in Belle Plagne with the only complaint being the somewhat limited 'mountain special' emphasis in the menus which made one keen to get a simple piece of grilled salmon or the like (not easy). You have to book in advance for dinner at most places. Le Matafan (still a bit over-rated but fine), La Face Nord (good), La Cloche (good), K2 (still clumsy service but fine), the little Cassetta pizza place (good – cheap and cheerful), L’Alpage (excellent galettes), Chalet de Maitre Kanter (less atmosphere but OK). Certainly happy to go back to them all.

  
  Belle Plagne has so many ticks in all the right boxes that the only thing making us think of somewhere different for next year is for “a change”. I am certain that we will be back pretty soon. Montchavin-Les Coches looks like an inviting option in the La Plagne area as it has good lift access to the La Plagne complex, has its own decent runs (to get back) and looks a bit more “villagey” – and things should be that much cheaper down there of course – must check it out sometime.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (25 February 2010)

  We stayed in the Les Constellations apartments in Belle Plagne. The snow conditions were perfect and we had a fantastic time.

  
  I was not very happy with the ESF. I booked with them online before we left home. When we arrived I assumed that like on all our other skiing holidays each of us would be assessed on day one and put into an appropriate group. My seven year old daughter was put into the wrong group which was not only to high for her but none of the other children or the instructor could speak English. She came back crying after her first lesson and all the instructor could do was shrug her shoulders but made no effort to change her to a lower group. I personally complained to the ESF and had her moved. The truth of the matter was that the group she should have been in was already up to capacity.

  
  The adult groups were no better. Due to small numbers the ESF had squashed all the groups up to fit people in and class 4 became class 3 etc. Again, all the people in the group my wife and I were in were all a much higher standard and none spoke English nor the instructor.

  
  The bottom line is we will not be booking group lessons with the ESF again. The cost for two adults and a child to have group lessons for a week was £500. Next time we are in France we will opt for a couple of private lessons for my wife and I. We will no doubt have top put our daughter into group lessons but I will insist she is assessed before the lessons commence.

  
  La plagne is a beautiful ski area with loads of runs to suit everybody. The main drawback at the moment is the cost of everything is ridiculous and this reflected in the almost none existent British skiers. Three pizzas and a drink each was £35. 3 drinks in town (small beer, hot wine and an apple juice £12).

  
  I asked other French people if this was expensive for them and they said it was. Most of the restaurants were empty and unless you wanted to pay £20 a head plus drinks for a 3 course meal you were better eating in which we did every other night. It was the same at lunchtime very expensive so we made our own ham and cheese batons. The supermarkets in La plagne are not so expensive so self catering is definately an option for those on a budget. We will probably go back to Italy next year as the prices are much more reasonable. We found the lifty system in La plagne to be well linked up and had no problems getting to and from the various ski areas. We only had the local ski pass and found that more than adequate. We did not experience any queues at the lifts however we were told by our instructor that in the school holidays the lift queues can take 20 miniuts. Worth remembering.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Robin Barker (22 February 2010)

  Am really surprised at all the positive comments here. Apart from the great toilets and of course our superb SCGB rep (thanks Paul) we found LP last week really disappointing in comparison to the 10 or so other resorts we/ve taken the family to over the last 12 years, invariably at half term or Christmas.

  The place simply seems to have grown beyond the infrastructure's capacity and needs an injection of decent management! Within the resort we found the lift queues to be the worst we'd found anywhere, there were poor links between different valleys, resulting in frustrating walks to get home, some lifts shut early causing problems at others. There were relatively few boarders, but those that were there included many totally out of control - we had 2 incidents in the week, the first causing torn salopettes, the second some bruises, but both were nearly so much worse!

  Not the resort's fault, but the French road network was also unable to cope. 5 hours of queues all the way from Lyon to get there, and 3 hours queuing to pay the autoroute toll at Reims on the way back mean that we will not be going back there ... We still enjoyed it (we always do) but the list of frustrations is simply too long!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Steve Lambert (20 February 2010)

  A great resort. Not sure I agree with other reviewer's comments about the lack of queues at peak times on the key link lifts but there are generally ways to avoid them.

  We had an experienced party with the full Paradiski Pass and never actually went over to Les Arcs during the full week ! The area is simply huge. If you enjoy off piste then I have never been to anywhere as big and as easily accessible. In bad light the Champagne area came out tops each time although the snow might not last into March being south facing. Overall a great place for a week, a bit too distant from Geneva for the weekend.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (13 February 2010)

  Just returned from La Plagne and had an awesome trip. Stayed in a chalet in Plagne 1800 but all the Villages are well linked with pistes and lifts with super easy navigation by piste name, lift name or area signposts. Only lift queues experienced before 10.30 in the Villages. Vanoise Express to Les Arcs only takes 5 mins, doubling the ski area.

  Fresh snow last week meant superb snow conditions, only one poor visibility day but temps below -10C despite sunshine. Some blues in La Plagne are like easy reds in Les Arcs and other resorts, "off piste" under lifts very moguled but loads of other opportunities away from the main areas. Lots of ski schools cluttering up the main slopes in Plagne Centre, Bellecote and Belle Plagne with French holidays starting to impact access. Only 1.5 hour transfer from Chambery so fly there if you can! Food and drink prices are high but mountain restaurant soup at 6 Euros still a good buy!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (29 March 2009)

  Stayed with mixed group including young kids and non skiers. For pure skiing convenience La Plagne is hard to beat, we were literally out the back door onto a blue run, then 5 minutes down to the lifts at Plagne Bellecote. From there the choices are almost limitless with miles and miles of cruisey blues and flattering reds in every direction. A lot of snow fell in the first couple of days so plenty of off piste opportunities for those so inclined. We had the discovery pass and the trip from La Plagne to Aguille Rouge in Les Arcs, over the Vanois Express, is not to be missed, just don’t dally over lunch or take too many wrong turns or like us you’ll end up racing closing lifts. Also, pick a day with a decent forecast as the views from the top of Aguille Rouge are awesome. We were staying in the Residence Balcon complex in a chalet run by Smittenbysnow. Great location, decent sized rooms with reasonable storage space for once, big thanks to Emma and Kester who have to be the nicest chalet kids in France and they can cook! As the chalet was so nice and cosy we only went out a couple of times in Belle Plagne, not exactly rocking but a few nice bars with live music available. The non skiers seemed happy with what was on offer and various members enjoyed the bob sleigh run, a twilight skidoo trip, and lazy lunches by the pistes in the sun. I feel too much is made of the “architecture” of the area. OK it’s not the prettiest place to ski but that’s more than made up for by the sheer convenience of the skiing and the vast amount of terrain on offer. Like I say, for a mixed group this location is hard to beat.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Dave Noble (02 March 2009)

  Went to La Plagne 1800 with Skibeat on 21st February 2009 for a 1 week. Would recommend skibeat to anyone. Had a great time in chalet Becoin with a good bunch of people. transfer from Chambery was straightforward enough at 2.5hrs, skiing was great, a lot of great skiing from Plagne Centre upwards for beginners and intermediates. Looks like some of the runs into the villages have been reclassified to make them look like ski in/ski out but are currently very tough blues. Great ski school in Reflex, took some private lessons which were pretty competitive.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (10 February 2009)

  Just got back from week in Belle Plagne staying at Chalet Montagnettes, very nice chalet, we self catered which worked really well, stopping en route from Geneva airport to load up in a French supermarket. Transfer is easy and about 2.5 hours from Geneva via Annecy. Resort is a skiers resort and there is not an awful lot to do if you aren't skiing. At 2100m i'ts right in the thick of things and most accommodation is ski to door or very close. Lift system is great, there were no Queues and the skiing really is excellent, mostly suited to intermediate blue cruising with one or two challenging blacks. We didn’t really feel the need to go over to Les Arcs, having stayed there before and skied mostly in La Plagne. Overall an amazing ski area with a very functional resort. Other than Belle Plagne the other resorts in La Plagne are pretty nasty, althugh Montchavin, Montalbert and Champagny, whilst all quite low, are much nicer villages.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (30 January 2009)

  Stayed at Deux Domaines, Belle Plagne with Ski Esprit on 18 Jan 2009. Excellent and well located accommodation ran by a great team of hosts. Genuine ski to door accommodation with a short run down to lift system at Bellecote Plagne. Great family ski area with kids lessons operated broadly in same area as adults will be skiing on. Mainly blues (although some tricky sections) and middle of the road reds covered by an effective lift system, all of which allowed everyone to meet up easily for lunch and afternoon skiing together. Although purpose built, the village centre is quite appealing and offers an ample mix of eateries and watering holes. Current exchange rates did make eating out etc. very expensive, however with Ski Esprit's offering you only require a light lunch/drink. Chambery Airport struggled to handle the arrival of several flights in short space of time and don't expect baggage reclaim to be quick. Thanks to rainfall our luggage sat outside for best part of an hour (aircraft only 30 yards away from building) whilst handlers sorted themselves out, so be prepared! Depending on speed through airport, comfort stop en route (30 mins for us) and general traffic Chambery is not necessarily the transfer time saving that you may think it is. Not much to do for non skiers but with a family of mixed ages/ability there for the skiing we're pretty sure we will be returning to this accom/resort and probably in '09 as it ticked most of the boxes for us. Happy skiing!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (27 January 2009)

  Went 10-17 Jan and stayed at Les Rhododenrons in Plagne 1800 courtesy of Equity Ski with my 14 yr old daughter. We loved staying here, we found it a comfortable, friendly base with plentiful, substantial, well prepared food on offer for dinner, a good buffet breakfast and excellent helpful staff throughout. The bar area was very pleasant and we met nice company. Plagne 1800 is pretty in itself, and very quiet, and it affords the best view of the biggest architectural sin in the whole world, who on earth allowed Aime La Plagne to be put there? To be honest the offending monolith put a smile on my face every morning on the lift up and certainly adds variety to the views and seeing it certainly is an experience of French skiing.

  We loved the scope of La Plagne as a ski resort. It has masses of skiing for anyone in the wide bracket that is an intermediate, but for keen learners like us, who want to cover loads of miles, it is unbeatable, with blues and reds for all abilities from wonderful tree-lines down to the lower villages to wide motorways, to steeper cruises. The friends we met helped us make the most of this superb ski area. Add in the parks and border crosses and you have a dream area -apart from one little annoying thing- you sometimes cannot get away without having to pole across or even walk across Plagne Centre. I would also question its suitability to much younger kids, particularly 1800, as the home runs at the end of the day are tough: red or steepish blue.

  I've been better places for really young children. But for older kids, teens and adults it is very good. We were impressed by the efforts put into grooming and keeping the resort fully functioning in far from brill snow conditions. When we went it hadn't snowed since a small dump on the 5th and although most pistes were starting to get icy in places, they were kept in excellent condition, and we had the luxury of sunny skies for a whole week.

  Also, the private lessons we organised with the ESF were top drawer, and pushed us as hard as we wanted and also helped us discover areas of the resort we may have missed. All in all a fantastic ski trip to a fantastic resort for my daughter's and my levels, helped further by good company and a good base.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (26 January 2009)

  La Plagne 1800 - Jan 17 - 24, 2009. Arrived in resort with new snow falling and great conditions on and off piste until Friday 23 when the constant falling snow turned to sleet at 1800 and only the very hardy (and wet) survived.
  
  Great skiing area for all levels, not too easy if you choose the wrong runs or venture off-piste, but the majority of runs are intermediate and great for cruising around. Good links to travel around the resort, I would recommend trying different lifts and runs to find out the best routes to get where you want to go because there are often alternatives that can be ignored if one sticks to the same tracks that you know.
  
  We were self catering in Maeva Apartments, very clean, well equipped and only a short walk to the piste. Eating out is limited in 1800 and I would stay in another resort if eating out is your thing. 1800 is very quiet with only really one bar, The Mine, with live music -Ok, but if you want lively apres ski with some choice, this is not really the village for you. With the large amount of snow that fell this week, the skiing should be good for sometime.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Max Winterton (17 August 2008)

  I went to La Plagne this year for the second time in three years. The skiing is amazing and I would have to recommend Silver Ski as a travel and chalet hire company.

  Coming up the mountain on the coach from Grenoble the views were stunning. I would recommend getting an early-morning flight because we arrived at roughly mid day meaning you can get a half day skiing in and don’t have that period of getting back into it that you would experience on the first morning otherwise.

  The slopes are vast and there is even a snow park under the Roche de Mio chairlift. Over in the Champagny sector (the easiest way over is from the Roche de mio Col de Forcle area) there are wide gentle slopes that are prefect for just after lunch.

  If you are staying in Plagne 1800 then there is a big jump that is a little bit of piste at the top of the button lift that is opposite where the ski school meet. This is a perfect jump to practise if you are a newcomer to the world of jumping. The only disadvantage of Plagne 1800 is that there is only two slopes that are completely in the resort but our accommodation, Chalet Amethyst, had a little run off to the chalet itself.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Jackie Bell (30 April 2008)

  I stayed at Club Med in Aime La Plagne from the 3rd to 11th February. The snow conditions were fantastic; it snowed the first day but after that it was glorious sunshine and powder snow. I made use of the inclusive ski lessons even though I have been skiing for 30 years, and found it great – there is always more to learn. We covered the majority of the areas and the only one I was disappointed in was the glacier as it took a long time to get there for only a few runs. It would have taken longer if we hadn’t been able to use the ESF lane at the lifts. That said, La Plagne has obviously invested a lot of money in its lift system as most of the chair lifts were a minimum of 4-seaters, most were 6-seaters.

  We did a fantastic off piste run off the back of L'Arpette which ended up at the bottom of the Bobsleigh run. It was a shame that the Les Arcs link wasn’t open but with just a week’s holiday i’m not sure if we would have had enough time to go there anyway. We didn’t really sample the nightlife as we mainly stayed in the Club Med bar. We would recommend Club Med, as you are sat right on the piste and they have some great facilities.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Peter Hadfield (20 April 2008)

  Went from 16-23 February 2008 (half term week) and stayed at the Maeva Lauze appartments in La Plagne 1800.The apartments are about a 150 metres walk downhill to a gentle piste that takes you to the chairlift out of the village. You then need to take another chairlift to get you into the main ski area.

  What 1800 lacks in ski convenience however it makes up for in looks. It is the most pleasant of the villages and actually feels like a village. It is not the spot for wild après-ski in the evenings but has an excellent bar called La Mine with good beer and live music which also shows live football. Two restaurants of note are La Lupo Blanco which serves excellent local specialities as well as fine steaks in delicious sauces and a pizza restaurant and take-away which provides a tasty cheaper alternative. On the mountain our favourite was the self service restaurant at the top of the Les Inversens piste; good quality food with mind blowing views from the terrace.

  . The skiing in La Plagne is great for any level, it’s a vast area, enough for anyone for a week unless you are the sort that likes to ski a new piste every day. I had read prior to going that there was not enough challenges for the more advanced, but I couldn’t disagree more; the off piste was excellent, as steep as you want it. My favourite area was off the top of the Verdons Nord chair doing circuits to the bottom of the chairlift without having to go back to Plagne Centre. The off piste was well tracked out but still fun. There had been no snow for two weeks but conditions still good. On piste there were mogul fields on the black runs off the Le Biolley sector with trenches that would not have been out of place at the battle of the Somme! More pleasant but still testing are the black runs above Les Couches and Montchavin which are tree lined and groomed.

  The blues and reds in this area are excellent as well, with less traffic than in the main bowls as the snow keeps well due to good grooming and sheltered north facing runs. The Bellecote glacier is well worth visiting for the views alone and the gondola ride (don’t look down). Endless skiing for intermediates, with the Le tunnel blue run, (steep-ish patches with long run outs that are great for letting yourself go) and the Le sources red, both from Roche De Mio being of note. The signposting is good on the piste throughout La Plagne.

  For beginners my choice of village would be Belle Plagne or Plagne Villages, as the other villages are much too busy with through traffic. Which leads me to the only problem with La Plagne, the crowds, which make one feel La Plagne is at times a victim of its own success. Because of the sheer amount of runs available this is not too much of a problem when travelling around (except at the interchanges), but problems arose at the lifts. It was very depressing looking down at the spiralling mass of humanity and knowing when you joined them you would have a twenty-thirty minute wait at the lifts. The way the lift system is laid out it is very difficult not to return to one of the villages. Old drag lifts and chairs are dotted around and need replacing especially Vega and Cabri out of Plagne Centre.

  Everyone who loves skiing/boarding should visit La Plagne, the locals are friendly and the ski area is superb, but maybe give mid Febuary a miss to avoid the masses.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (18 February 2008)

  Just returned from Aime-La-Plagne with my family, children aged 10 - 16 and friends with children aged 7 - 16. This was my children's 7th week on skis. They thought the skiing was excellent, if a bit "intermediate" but with enough black runs to give a challenge each day. The adults in our party loved the wide swooping blue & red runs on which you can easily get round the resort. Aime-L-P is a bit soul-less, but the MGM where we stayed was spot on, with the swimming pool & spa a great way to sooth those aching muscles & knees. The piste map is pretty awful, but once we found the way back to Aime-L-P via the Champagny side of the mountain - avoiding the afternoon bottlenecks in Plagne Bellecote & Plagne Centre - the seemingly out of the way location of Aime-L-P was no longer an issue. We will definitely return to La Plagne, especially once the link to Les Arcs is repaired.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Stuart Eyres (10 February 2008)

  Plagne montalbert (2nd trip of the season)

  I chose this area because we had a large group with some 16 year olds and the offer of an luxurious apartment with mountain heaven (dvds,xbox, full cooking set apart from an oven)was a for a very good price.

  Very quiet resort for nightlife but with a lot of bottles of wine and drinking games in a bar with a fake cave which the chef joined in as well!! We met a few rare characters including the best fish and chip shop owner in south wales.

  Food was excellent ranging from 10 to 20 euros per plate.

  Beer was 5 euros a pint and wine 12 euros a bottle.

  We skied the whole of the La Plagne, lots of brilliant off piste and a good range of reds and blacks to keep the intensive skiers happy! Bellecote seems to have lots of queues for lifts for some reason but can be avoided. Food was excellent on the mountain. You can ski all the way home which gives you peace of mind (last lift 5pm from centre). It takes 3 lifts to get to plagne centre which is ok.

  We went to Bellecote one night - it was a bit mad but enjoyable. It is worth pre booking a night out to plagne centre. Watch out for pick pockets.

  I had to take one of the group for an x-ray to Bourg st maurice! We left at 5am and we were back for 9.30 am and only costing 85 euros. Please get an european insurance card.

  Overall it is a very quiet resort but we made lots of fun. Some of the group had a tight budget which would of been a problem in higher resorts. It proved to be the right resort for us even though a few wanted a bit more nightllife. Next time I'll take a smaller group (5 or 6) who have got a good budget and have passed my ski holiday test!

  My main memories will be the "one frog jumped into the pond ka plonk" word game and my friend underestimating a jump off a black producing a massive cloud of snow!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (21 January 2008)

  Stayed in Plagne 1800 w/c 12th Jan. Amazing snow - very very lucky with conditions except they don't groom every night and it got really bumpy if you stayed away from the pistes that the ESF didn't use.

  Quiet resort with one good pub La Mine. Crystal Chalet Nicole enabled you to ski from the door in amazing conditions we were lucky to experience, fairly expensive on the mountain for food/drink due to poor pound, 12 euros for pasta, 4 euros for coke/coffee.

  The La Plagne piste map is awful, when you first start touring expect to get lost, see a chair where there isn't one or be 100m below it, the link to Les Arcs is closed which means for good intermediate to advanced skiers you'll have done it all in 5 days, so take a ski away day if you're offered. The piste colouring is also hilarious we skied reds that were like nursery slopes and watched beginners weeping on steep/narrow blues, not a bad resort for a cheap week, very family orientated and Plagne Centre is not the prettiest place in the world, but for improving intermediates you can't go wrong with miles of motorway blues.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (17 November 2007)

  We stayed in Hotel Turquoise in La Plagne in April 2007.

  Great resort for all levels! As a family we found everything to our liking, loads of uncrowded runs to choose from. Maybe the ultimate expert will find it a a little more unsatisfiying that us.

  Very pretty resort with some lovely restaurants to stop off at. Ski school was great, very good instruction. In terms of queues - they only occur when the ski schools are heading off around 9.30am.

  English spoken in most places and found the locals very friendly.

  Overall brilliant, both the hotel and resort exceeded expectations. We will be back!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (11 May 2007)

  Stayed in Belle Plagne 24th to 31th March in the Les Nereides Apartments, which were absolutely first class. Large, recently refurbished, clean with all the equipment necessary and loads of hot water. Beware however of the 5 - 10 min walk through the underground car park from the drop off point, ok with teenage kids but could be a burden with the very young especially after the 4 hour coach transfer.

  Skiing was absolutely fabulous, predominately blues but some more akin to easy reds. A huge armada of piste bashers ensured that the piste were immaculate each morning. Lift system absolutely superb no queuing at all and more than enough terrain for a week with just the La Plagne lift pass. The runs down into Champagny were sublime, quiet and best of all hardly a boarder to be seen.

  Disappointed however with the village itself, lacked atmosphere. Ate out most nights, restaurants OK but necessary to book to ensure a seat.

  Otherwise thoroughly recommend it.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (18 April 2007)

  Visited on week of 6th April 2007. Stayed at Belle Plagne (highest village in complex) in apartments Montagnettes Des Cimes. These were ski in/ski out and opposite ski school meeting place so very convenient and staff very friendly. Also have a bakery delivery service every morning so don't have to get up early to fetch breakfast. Apartments (for 8-10) were very spacious with use of jacuzzi and steam room and sauna twice a week included (exclusive to each family on booking). ESF ski school instructors were excellent and snow good for the second year running in April.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (16 April 2007)

  We went to La Plagne (1800) over Christmas week, staying in Chalet Zibeline on top track with Crystal holidays. As we were driven to the chalet by local dreadlocked youth James, we feared for our lives as we careered round the hairpins. However, we found solstice in our sexy, young, beautiful chalet host called Lucy. Anyway, we didnt think Lucy could be multi talented, but she was!!! The food was stunning, and the cleaning was frankly sublime. Three of our group ate their food all week off the toilet seat it was that good! I really reccomend Crystal holidays, but try to find out where James is driving, and avoid it like the plague. Sarah xxxxxxxxxxxxx

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (02 April 2007)

  Went to La Plagne march 17th to 24th 2007.Stayed at Crystal's Chalet Papas, in Plagne 1800. Chalet host's Laura & Paul were the wonderful. We arrived at about 22-15, after an hour & a half delay & were given a 3 couse meal which was excellent and the food for the rest of the week was of an equally excellent standard. The chalet was very clean & cosy, would highly recommend. Thank you to Laura & Paul for helping to make our holiday so great. The chalet was a little way from the lifts, a 10min walk to a chair lift to Aime la Plagne, or a 3 min walk to the bus stop, the buses run every 30 mins till midnight. La Plagne is an excellent resort miles & miles of runs, and we had excellent snow. Plagne 1800 has a very good bar called The Mine. In Plagne centre the La Grolle was very good for food, as was the tapas bar in Belle Plagne. The Matafan was great for food at lunch time. We would recommend La Plagne, not too many blacks but still plenty of skiing and something for everyone. The best part? We never went a drag lift all week! So many chairlifts no need to use drags.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (14 March 2007)

  Went here on 3rd to 10th March 2007. Stayed in La Licorne in Belle Plange. Very basic room with bunk bed and two single beds with pull out bed under one of them. There was a bit of an uphill walk to hotel through underground car park, which was a little difficult with all your gear. Still, you were able to ski from hotel though down to Belle Plange lifts and Bellecote which was great. Spar very near so bonus.

  Eating out was Ok, but our favourites were Matafan and K2.

  My girlfriend did ski school with Oxegyn at Le Plange centre. She was picked up every morning by mini bus which was always on time. She had only skied once before and by the second day the ski school had the group on blue runs. This was a bit much for some of the beginners. My girlfriend did find the blue runs to be difficult, but the ski school were very accommodating and gave her 2 days 1hour lesson one on one. All good. Note only one green run in La Plange centre, so not really a good resort for beginners. For myself skiing was fantastic. I am advanced, so the glacier is a must for the views alone. Lots of good challenging runs and off piste also good.

  Airport transfer is long 3hrs plus and Grenoble airport small.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (13 February 2007)

  Beware of the long draglifts from plagne village and plagne soleil.

  They are not properly maintained and have no 'give'.

  I got on St Esprit, as one of a handful of people and caught the full impulse of the pull 3 times on the same ride.

  It almost ripped my head off and I had a sore neck for a couple of days.

  I doubt that lift would pass an inspection and I did complain, but nobody seemed very motivated.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (07 February 2007)

  Have just come back from a week in La Plagne 1800. I have to be honest we only went there because of a really good late deal that was on offer and the resort had not previously been somewhere we would have considered going before. I am really glad we did. Plagne 1800 is the lowest of the 10 main villages but is one of the nicest. Amongst other things it has a good bar, La Mine, with live music everynight (if you like that sort of thing) and a really lovely traditional savoyard resturant just at the bottom of the chairlift out of 1800 along with ski shops, supermarket etc. For the more adventurous of you there is also the olympic bobsleigh track just down the road - very exciting. Whilst it may lack the charm and atmostphere of other resorts the skiing is great and with the extention of Les Arcs is extensive. All in all La Plagne has a lot to offer and has something to satisfy most.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (05 February 2007)

  we stayed @ Plagne Soleil which was a very basic apartment with enough hot water for 1 bath per night (that's 1 bath total, no good when there are 6 of you!) but what made up for it was the ski-in. The sun shone all week & we got to ski every day. The miles just kept on clocking up & up & up. Came home with lovely tanned faces.

  Plagne Soleil is a very small village built up surrounded by 9 other villages, some bigger some the same sort of size but the good thing is that they put on free transport be it buses, telebuses or cable cars & at least one form is available to get you home at the end of your evening.

  There are some nice restuarants to choose from but if its pub after pub then nightclubs this isn't the resort for you.

  All in all La Plagne is a very good resort for all ski abilities especially for high mileage cruisers that just want to ski all day until their legs ache over a well earned beer!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (28 January 2007)

  Stayed in catered Chalet accommodation (Chalet Alpages) in Plagne Soleil with Airtours. The chalet was really cosy in a good location with excellent food and fantastic hosts who really made us feel welcome. While the bedrooms were small and basic the living accommodation was more than ample.

  We were on holiday with some beginner boarders who found the green run a bit too easy and blue runs (especially Ramy & Vega) a bit too challenging. The rest of us (intermediates and advanced) found the range of runs included in the local area pass plenty to keep us occupied for the week. The pistes were pretty empty so we enjoyed plenty of cruising on wide runs. The lifts over in Bellecote did rack up a few queues however. Great snow last week meant that the advanced members in our group could spend two whole days hossing it off piste!

  There’s not so much to do in Plagne Soleil apart from Monica’s Bar that was good for après ski (it’s conveniently situated on a blue run on the way home) and has bands and DJs in the evening as well as a good restaurant.

  Most of the pubs and bars are in Plagne Centre by the main lifts. We liked Scotty’s Pub which is run by Brits and a popular hangout for resort staff. It’s also situated by the slalom competition slope giving an exciting view from your table! The BL’M bar (in the Commercial Centre) is populated by a younger crowd looking for a good night out with DJs playing a mixture of indie, hip hop and rock.

  Staying in Soleil means thinking about how to get back home from Plagne Centre. Luckily (with the last bus leaving for Soleil at 11.30pm) most bars will arrange free return transport after 12pm. Saves a steep walk home!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (10 January 2007)

  Just returned from a week's half-board over New Year in Les Balcons Hotel, Belle Plagne. Skiing area and conditions excellent but one or two words of warning about accommodation. On the plus side, the staff, without exception, were charming and anxious to please and the food was of an extremely high standard.

  The moans were about the provision of facilities. First, there is no bar for a focus and meeting point apres ski - there are 3 stools around a cramped little bar in the corner of the dining room.

  There is no dedicated lounge for meeting friends, reading or playing cards round a fire etc. During the whole of our stay the lounge area was given over to large group dining - nowhere to gather comfortably over a drink before or after dinner.

  Although the sauna is on the hotel premises the fitness room and swimming pool are not, neither are the facilities free - an extra 5Eu per visit is charged and visits necessitate dressing up before and after to cross a road in the snow.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Sheila West (08 January 2007)

  Just returned from a week in La Plagne 1800. (30 Dec 06 - 6 Jan 07) It was a family holiday with 15 of us varying from a non skier, a creche for the 2.5 yr old and begineers up to good intermediates. We stayed in Chalet Papas which was a fab chalet - ensuites for all the rooms. The chalet hosts Paul and Laura were brilliant and their cooking was just fabulous. The disadvantage was that we were a good 10 minute walk from the village centre down lots of uncleared steps - very dangerous and difficult especially with small children. Only when we complained did Crystal offer a minibus pickup to get the kids down to the ski school, creche etc . There is only one bar and one restaurant in 1800, so not much there. Because the snow was poor, the ski down from Centre to 1800 was at times really icy, not good for beginners, and the buses are only every 30mins and at peak times full of ski schools. Apart from that the resort is wide and varied, and getting over to Les Arcs is a bonus though the day we went there were rocks and grass and slush to negotiate en route to the Vanoise express. The nicest area to ski is Champney which stays in the sun most of the day, though the lifts are limited so be prepared to queue (best time to do it would be first thing in the morning before the crowds).

  Generally we had a good week with a lot of hard work walking and logistical nightmares. In our opinion Les Arcs is better!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (07 January 2007)

  We have just returned from our second great holiday in Belle Plagne (30 Dec 2006 to 6 Jan 2007) with 3 teenagers. Traveled overnight on Eurostar and TGV, changing at Lille at about 2230 and arriving in Aime La Plagne at 7am. From there it is under 30 minutes by taxi (60 euros) to the resort. Unfortunately couchettes are not available until mid January, but seats on the TGV were reasonably comfortable so managed to get some sleep. Had a bit of luck in that our appartment (at Les Montagnettes) was ready as the previous guests had left on the Thursday. Apartment was very comfortable, and about same standard as the one we stayed in last time at Les Balcons. We had group lessons in the mornings and afternoon lessons for just the 5 of us with our instructor from last time. I would recommend lessons all day if you are still learning like us, as the instructors have so much knowledge about the geography and conditions - you don't have to worry about getting lost or straying into difficulties. You also get to jump any queues for the lifts if you are with an instructor. Although we have only stayed in Belle Plagne, it seems better than the other villages in La Plagne in terms of looks, atmosphere and reliability of snow. Although La Plagne is not famed for its night life, our 15 year old and her friend found enough evening entertainment in the form of cinema (a short cable car ride to Bellecote), bowling, and meeting up with new found friends. There was a lovely atmosphere on New Year's Eve when all the instructors held a torchlit ski down the mountain, followed by free mulled wine and hot chocolate in the village centre. We are going back at Easter and staying in Les Nereides which looked excellent in terms of both quality and location.

  We ate out at Pappagone (cheap and cheerful), Matafin (expensive but OK) and La Cloche (really nice and welcoming with excellent food for all tastes).

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (06 January 2007)

  We stayed at Turquoise in Jan 06, with Crystal Ski. The children enjoyed the whizz kids club, the staff were all very nice, and the hotel was in a fantastic location. The resort was great and would go back to another hotel

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Charles Waterlow (11 April 2006)

  A slighly delayed report on Montalbert, the lowest of the resorts in La Plagne. We stayed in mid March the week after the 'big dump' and enjoyed absolutely peerless skiing conditions....five days of clear blue skies and tons of snow. The main report on La Plagne suggests that the lower resorts should be avoided. I beg to differ. Montalbert is a (relatively) quiet, family- oriented village, although there are sufficient small restaurants and bars. A marked contrast to the dreadful 60's archtechture higher up. It has a relaxed and peaceful feeling, and being low was not a problem when we were there, and besides, there appears to be plenty of snow cannons on the charmingly wooded runs back into the village. Only two chairlifts bring you up La Plagne centre, with the whole of Paradiski at your disposal. A small disadvantage, which is compensated by the charming ambiance.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• N J Walker (08 April 2006)

  Just back from second consecutive holiday with young children in Belle Plagne staying in Hotel Mercure. Excellent position and superb buffet dinner. Children loved all the blues in and around Belle Plagne, particularly those off Arpette chair. 'Teddy Bear' cafe on Arpette run a must for children or lovers of bears. Fantastic snow for so late in the season. For family skiing, ease of access to slopes and variety of runs itis hard to beat.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Ian Moss (27 March 2006)

  Stayed for the first time in a Chalet (Chalet Les Circes) in Plagne 1800 last week which was great. Fantastic food/hosts. Reasonably alpine/scenic village - although modern, and overlooked by the built up concrete of Aime amd the Centre. Access to the pistes was either via a 2 min walk to an every 15 min (or so) bus service to Plagne Centre, or 5 min walk to the nearest piste which went to the centre of 1800, where there was a chair lift to Aime La Plagne. We booked the hire from 2000 in the centre (Good, if busy), and the passes over the net via the official site (Reasonable service, although it did take them awhile to find the booking). We booked the paradiski whole area pass for the week. Really only needed the Discovery (one day in Les Arcs) though, due to the huge scale of the La Plagne area. Le Chaudren in the Plagne-Centre proved to be a good meeting point, and a reasonable lunch spot. Avoid the place near that with neige in the name - probably the most unhygenic loo's in France. Bar 2000 was also good up in Aime La Plagne. Le Refuge (Centre) was excellant for the traditional cheese fondue / roccet. Many other reasonable restaurants higher up on the piste. The weather was varied, with a couple of days of heavy snow fall and poor to very bad visibility, and a couple of pretty sunny days. Meant some nice fresh snow, but also a bit of slushy/wet snow on lower runs. We had a couple of days of skiing from one side of the piste map to the other, and a trip to Les Arcs. A good week. Feel completely spoilt by the choice and distance of runs and the chalet.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Simon Cartwright (16 March 2006)

  Le Plagne - Centre - is nice enough apart from the access from one side of the lift system to the other (Polling required, hideous for 'Boarders') DO NOT STAY at Plagne 1800 !! Travelled with Snow World to a 'Chalet just a little walk up a track' !!!! TAKE A SHERPA !! (They used Poetic Licenece to the full) - Good Sking up the Mountain !!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• julie cummings (10 March 2006)

  stayed in belle plagne feb 05 and loved it. Desperate to go back but accomodation appears poor. Trying to find a holiday company that goes to le carlina in belle plagne it was gorgeous. skiing was perfect, runs well maintained and ski intstrauctors brilliant. Very friendly and helpful. would recommend this resort to anyone!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Malcolm Park (06 February 2006)

  Belle Plagne (30 December 2006) had a week of superb snow and weather with quiet pistes. New Arpette 7 seater chairlift now open from Plagne Bellecote. Matafin restaurant in Belle Plagne has good food both lunchtime and evenings. Going back late March!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Steve Nott (31 January 2006)

  Flew into St Etienne Thursday am and was in Belle Plagne by lunchtime. Stayed at the Mecure hotel. They kindly allowed us into the room early to change, but tried to charge us 204 euro for two pairs of skis for 2 and 1/2 days. Hired from belle plagne sports for 115 euro. Resort has more than enough for a week, especially if there is enough snow to be able to ski to the lower stations such as Montalbert and Champagny.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• David Meredith (01 January 2006)

  Just got back from a cold xmas week in Bell Plagne - a great place for lunch is the Pappagone - next to the Roche De Mio bubble mid station - great half pitza & salad. If cold get there early for a table in side. Another great lunch stop is the Jolli Bois at Plagne side of the Vanoise Express link - great lasagne but skip the crepes.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Chris Hodge (20 January 2005)

  We were two families with five girls between 10-13 years old stayig in Plagne Soleil over the New Year. Whilst some of the blue runs were quite demanding the general conditions were perfect. The chalet apartment was excellent, despite its steep climb, with great views to Plagne Aime and Plagne Village. Although slightly quiet, Monica,s Bar was the favourite for apres ski, but the restaurant was quite expensive for New Years Eve. If its skiing you want, there,s plenty to keep you busy for a week without venturing on the Paradiski lift to Les Arcs.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Amanda (17 January 2005)

  We stayed in one of the Chalet des Alpages just above Plagne Centre and near Plagne Villages over Christmas. I was sweating before we went, because there was no snow, but luckily for us it dumped the weekend beforehand and there was enough to make it an enjoyable holiday - although some of the pistes were very worn with rocks sticking out after a few days, until it snowed again. I wouldn't recommend the resort for beginners, but as a family of competent intermediates, it was brilliant. The children had two days ski school with Oxygène, and loved it (full marks to Oxygène for being flexible and not insisting on a week's classes for the kids). Our 8-year-old was taught to schuss on her first day, and after that we couldn't keep up with her - she was just a dot in the distance! The location of the chalet was excellent - virtually ski-in ski-out if you were prepared to ski along a short snow-covered road on and off blue pistes. We didn't encounter any lift queues, although I think the lack of snow had kept the resort quiet. And don't believe what they say about lack of Alpine charm. True, it's not the prettiest, but what more could we want than being in a wooden chalet with the snow falling on Christmas Day? We had a brilliant lunch in Au Bon Vieux Temps on Christmas Eve - a cute mountain chalet with excellent, friendly service and a roaring log fire. Kids equipment hire booked online with Sport 2000 in Plagne Centre (Skiset) - very efficient, all ready when we arrived. We didn't bother with the Paradiski lift pass - there was plenty for a week's family ski-ing on the La Plagne pass. One thing to watch out for is the eccentric piste grading - timid intermediates could get badly caught out by blues which really should be red, especially if the snow is poor.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Dave Waine (11 January 2005)

  Good snow over Xmas & New Year but - stay in Plagne Bellecote not Centre. Bellecote is more central, better looked after runs to return and better facilities. Some Blue runs were down to rocks and gravel on the bends but had no warning markers!!! Les Arcs had better marked runs and signs. The pistes were also in better condition.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Matt Morton (11 January 2005)

  I am an experienced skiier but was with my sister's family of five who had never skied before. I found the resort to have excellent standard accomodation in the village of Plagne Soleil with easy ski in/out of hotel. We were there first week in Jan & had plenty of snow when we arrived but there were no dumps all week and due to a lack of snow-making machines, alot of the runs in the resort were very threadbare and sometimes dangerous by the end of the week. 2nd & 3rd week skiers will love it here for the wide (but very busy), motorway style pistes which are great for learning your parallels but as a more experienced skier I left feeling a little untested. Oh, and dont go here if you want any nightlife, there isn't any!!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Michelle Woods (06 January 2005)

  We stayed in Belle Plagne over Christmas.I have never skied in France before but it was lovely. The view from our cosy apartment was worth the trip. The food was excellent in the local restaurants and the staff couldn't have been nicer.It is the perfect family resort.The ski schools are a bit follow me, but the learn to ski package offered by many tour operators makes it quite affordable. we hope to go back there next Christmas, my children refuse to go anywhere else!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Peter S (06 December 2004)

  Visited La Plagne during the 1st week of April and despite being late in the season the ski conditions were excellent. As a beginner I found it very suitiable with plenty of rolling blue runs, I even managed a red by the end of the week. Most, if not all of the accomodation was also easily in reach of the slopes meaning no hassle of the ski buses. If football is your thing there is a English run hotel with Sky TV so you don't miss out on live action whilst your away. Fantastic holiday in a thoroughly enjoyable resort.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Chris Downey (27 April 2004)

  Went to Plagne Centre 1st week of march 04. Fantastic snow conditions and bright sunshine for most of the week. I thought there was a huge variety of terrain to be found in this area and certainly would return. the main complaint of the week was that the arpette chair lift needs to be updated to cut waiting times as this was generally at leat a 15 minute wait and would recommend getting up early if making the trip to les arcs to avoid this inevitable bottleneck. The new link to les arcs is very impressive, but on the down side it takes at least an hour and a half to return to plagne centre from the link and this time is mainly spent on chairlifts so cjoose a sunny day to make the trip! Overall a fantastic resort with loads of skiing and i'll definately return.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Brendan McGrath (26 February 2004)

  Went to Belle Plagne with two other families and have to say that despite my fears about the French 1960's ski resort school of architecture and expectations of traditional lousy French ski resort service, had a great time in week beginning Feb 1st 2004. It helped that snow was in great condition - it stopped the day we arrived and was sunny then for the week. Kids who were in the ESF said instruction was very good but does ESF really have to "fail" kids who don't quite reach their required level? My 10-year-old passed fine but another kid in our group was devastated to be failed and get no badge and cert. Vanoise Express to Les Arcs was open but nobody we met who had kids with them used it. There loads of skiing for one week in La Plagne and only those building up the mileage will really go to Les Arcs. Leaving Vanoise off the ski pass makes the pass a lot cheaper too. Food in Turquoise Hotel (run by Crystal) so-so but the restaurant beside the ice rink in Bellecote is very good and easily reached by the gondola (open to 12.45am. Being able to ski to and from the hotel door is a definite bonus and the extent of the skiing also makes La Plagne a good option if you have kids in the party. One gripe. Flying into Chambery makes connection time a lot shorter than going through Lyons. But on our way home, Chambery is an absolute and simply can't cope with the number of flights in and out on Sunday.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Garry Milward (09 December 2003)

  After 7 years of trying to chatup the wife to leave the the heat and relaxation of the of the summer holidays it was finally time to work on my 5year old son to work on his mum to try skiing. That we did in Belle-Plagne. We have a 1.5yr old little girl and my son of 5 and what a time we all had. We enjoyed our January`03 trip so much we went again in April`03. The skiing both times was great the kids loved it with my son passing his 1 Star at 5 - RESULT!!!!! Everyone is now Well-hooked and we`re off again this season!! Great place to go but make sure if you have kids that you stay close to the village centre not at the top of the vilage.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Anne Robinson (22 May 2003)

  Stayed in a 4 studio P+V apartments in Belle Plagne which was basic but comfortable with plenty of cupboards and not as tiny as the brochures would have you believe - definately fine for 2 adults and 2 kids but 4 adults might find it 'cosy'. 2 mins -if that, real time not brochure time from ski kindergarten, 3-4 minutes from ski/boot hire shop (comfiest boots I've ever hired!) and even at the end of April 2003 less than 100m from a point where you could put your skis on and access the lift system via one of two easy blues ( our never seen snow 5 yr old managed them with some help on Day 2 and by himself on Day 3). There was plenty to keep us occupied for 8 days even with the links to Montchavin closed and the Piste bashers worked hard to keep resort runs skiable despite the suns best efforts. Our son particularly enjoyed the runs from the Arpette chair including the St Jaques 'fun red' - which by now had lost most of it's lumps and bumps making it a very easy blue, Belotte into Belle Plagne and Inversens from the top of Roche de Mio. ESF were fine for him - he was the only English child but they communicated with him well and there were about 12 kids with two instructors. For us the only downside was that it ws a little bit insular as the apartments didn't have ( or we never found anyway) any sort of communal bar area which would have been good and we were quite removed from the little nightlife that exists in Belle Plagne. All in all though a great place for absolute convenience and first time family skiing We will probably be back!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Ian Smith (28 April 2003)

  2 visits to Belle Plagne this year (thanks to an evacuation from Kuwait for Gulf War 2 giving a chance for a bonus week's skiing ). The first in Feb 2-9 2003 when we were blessed with a metre of new snow early in the week and then March 22-29 with great spring conditions. I've now visited Belle Plagne a total of 5 times with various operators which tells you something about my satisfaction with the area. It is far and away the most attractive of the La Plagne villages and probably has best access to the higher slopes. The 2 newish 6-man chairs from Bellecote up to Roche de Mio are excellent and much faster than the old gondola and there were never any queues anywhere during my 2 visits. Also from Bellecote, the Arpette chair will be a vital part of the route over to the Montchavin side and the planned link to Les Arcs (scheduled for December 2003). All you've read elsewhere about La Plagne's mostly ghastly architecture and lack of nightlife in the higher villages is true - but for ski-in, ski-out convenience and a huge area of motorway blues, 'purples' and reds it takes some beating.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Richard Bryce (05 March 2003)

  Beware the 2 man chair lift at the top of the glacier - it comes in fast and at a steep ankle. It whacked my calf just above the top of the boot - sent it into spasm, ballooned to twice normal size and spoiled a week's skiing.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Richard Bryce (05 March 2003)

  Stayed in Terra Nova hotel in Plagne Centre, half term 2003. Great location and good food, though a bit impersonal and reception staff struggle to understand English, but has convenience of a creche for skiers with young kids plus a Skiset equipment hire and secure storage next to the ski-in/ski-out entrance/exit. Resort night life a dead loss, though Kings Cafe busy and screens the football. Ski area extensive with loads of long cruisers, many tree lined, lots of off-piste and some testing blacks but the bottom of the main Centre area got rather crowded. Go over the backs for quieter slopes and fewer queues. I imagine there'd be few queues outside of school hols. Mountain restaurant food generally over priced and of a poor standard, but great food, excellent service and value at the one next to the Ecole lift on the way in to Montalbert. Overall not an area I feel compelled to return to, but certainly worth one visit for the extensive terrain. Skied 8 days, both Saturday's virtually empty slopes. Half hour from Aime la Plagne rail station for the Eurostar/Snow Train. The link to Les Arcs, where we spent an enjoyable day will be a real boon when it opens next year.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Barry Patrick (12 January 2003)

  Stayed in Belle Pagne over New Year 02/03 - at Les Balcons apartments. Superb position - real ski in -out convinience. Despite mild temps and poor weather the area above 1800m offered good snow coverage. Max lift await c15 mins out of Bellecote - thank god for new 6 seater chair! Favourite runs for the kids were "Carella" from Roche de mia and "Geisha" from the top of Grand Rochette toward Champagny. No queues on the New Gondola from Palgne centre to grand Rochette. Mountain huts hopelessly crowded with weather unsuitable for outdoors - we tended to ski back to apartment for a quick bite at lunchtime. Friends who used ESF were unimpressed - too much "follow me" type of non instruction!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Michael Barbato (09 May 2002)

  Great Holiday best skiing ever! Definitely go there again and again! Chalet people well-nice, so were the chalets!! very goodruns VERY ENJOYABLE!!!!! BRILLIANT

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.

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