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Les 2 Alpes Reviews
59 reviews of Les 2 Alpes in France.
Voted 17th out of 29 reviewed ski resorts in France
- Superb(19)
- Good(29)
- O.K.(9)
- Poor(0)
- Awful(0)
↓ You SNO best ↓
Great atmosphere
Reviewed 20 Oct 2020
Lively bar with a good selection of drinks and regular live music. Really enjoyed our times here.
Great pub, live music and amazing times
Reviewed 20 Oct 2020
Wow, what a pub. Music was great, friendly atmosphere and THE place for apres. Great central location so was never too fa to stagger home after another hard days skiing/socialising.....
Stags in 2 Alps
Reviewed 7 Jun 2016
I had my stag do here, Les 2 Alpes is a wicked resort, the best I’ve been to (Val Thorens, Tignes, Alpe d’Huez).
We liked that it’s a proper town. We had loads of good places to go out, there’s no big club but we definitely had enough places to go and it was rammed in some places.
We had bluebird conditions on the mountains for four and a half days, it was perfect. It was literally on the last run down on the last day that it started to get slushy. The week later would have probably had the lower runs shut. We’ll definitely do March again though. We had proper beginners with us and the way that the resort’s laid out wasn’t ideal because the green down isn’t a nice green.
Loved it here
Reviewed 2 Jun 2016
The Friday was a bit foggy but apart from that the weather was beaming. I absolutely loved L2A and a couple of guys I was with said it’s just as good as Chamonix and other resorts. It was my second week skiing so I was almost a complete beginner… I was on reds by the end of the week so I would recommend the area to other people of my level. Something I wish I’d done is the paragliding which looked pretty cool.
Will be better when joined with Alpe d'Huez
Reviewed 2 Jun 2016
We had really good weather at the beginning of the week with some fresh snow overnight, then it got warmer towards the end of the week (visited early March). The only thing we didn’t like about the ski area was that it’s quite flat in places on the connections – thankfully none of us were snowboarders as there was quite a lot of polling! It’s more of a beginner and intermediate ski resort, a couple of people in the party are very good skiers and probably found the area lacking a bit. It did feel like we’d ran out of places to ski. When the gondola to Alpe d’Huez is put up it’ll be great, I’ve been to Alpe d’Huez before and it feels bigger – possibly because the L2A ski area is long and thin so you feel like you’re on the same lift all the time.
Loved the restaurants and bars, though I did miss having more bars on the side of the pistes.
As a resort I think it fits most ages, as there are different areas that suit different age groups.
Les 2 Alpes late march '16
Reviewed 25 May 2016
We stayed here later in the season (3 or 4 weeks into March) so it was lovely and warm but the snow was a little bit iffy towards the bottom. It’s a massive resort with lots of skiing available up high at the glacier (great views), so we still had a good time – it was just the runs back down to the town and there’s nothing you can do at that time of year.
I would recommend Les 2 Alpes to snowboarders, but I would suggest waiting for 2 years until it’s linked up with Alpe d’Huez. Les 2 Alpes is great, with some nice long runs, but we had done 92% of the runs in a week – and we’re not hard core snowboarders. 2 days in Alpe d’Huez is included in your pass, but at the moment it takes an hour and a half to get to.
The 2 Alpes snow park is a pretty good size, with different lines for different abilities rather than just one run down. There was also an ice cave cut into the mountain with little sculptures all lit up. It cost about 5 Euros but you’re in there for a good half an hour.
The town is awesome with plenty of bars and restaurants about. They had Snow Fest on while we were there, which is a Romanian festival. There were Romanian flags all over the place and it was good fun, if a bit odd having so many people speaking Romanian in a French resort!
There are one or two bars on the slopes but not loads. Pano at the top of one of the gondolas is quite good, with a good party scene and a similar kind of atmosphere to Folie Douce. There’s another good restaurant / bar in the same area that does pizzas for a fairly reasonable price – 10 Euros – which are big enough to share for a light lunch. Les 2 Alpes isn’t the cheapest place I’ve ever been but it’s not extortionate as ski resorts go.
Good for beginners
Reviewed 20 May 2016
Ben was learning to ski so it was good for him as the blues are up at the top, so he wasn’t stuck at the bottom of the ski area. He had a few private lessons and really enjoyed skiing by the end of the week. It was fun for me to go off and find something more challenging too. There would have been other things to do besides skiing, like swimming, but we skied a lot.
Brilliant week with the family
Reviewed 18 May 2016
It makes such a difference now that they’ve built the new blue run, the resort has been opened up to so many people. We had a mix of complete beginners and gung ho skiers, and it was great.
One day the weather was bad, so we walked down to the lower village and took the cable car up. It was quite a trek and a bit like being on a walking holiday for a day.
Our friend runs Smithy’s bar so we were very well looked after there which was nice.
Evolution 2 ski school were really good, some instructors were Italian, others local but they had really good knowledge. They were always taking us to the right places for the weather and being really sensitive to the group – saying ‘let’s go here as it’s quieter’ if they noticed someone was nervous, or taking us somewhere that wasn’t too windy (as the winds were very high that week).
Superb family trip
Reviewed 13 May 2016
The resort was really high which was good for the end of March. There was a narrow green run back to the hotel which was great. Ski instructor was great – in all a superb trip with the kids!
March 2016 review of L2A
Reviewed 12 May 2016
Loved Les 2 Alpes. We lucked out big time with the weather, it had snowed really heavily for the 4 days before we came, dumped on the first day and then we had sunshine. People were saying that it was the best week of the season. The ski area has a good mix with something for everyone. The gradings are quite hard – a blue run in 2 Alpes is pretty much a red run anywhere else in the Alps. A red run is kind of a black… They’re very open and upfront about it, with everyone letting you know around the resort. On the first night the guide chatted to us and said to be fully aware that you might find yourself on a blue that’s harder than you’d expect. The mountain is kind of upside down, so the blue and green runs are up at the top then the red and black runs are at the bottom. So if conditions aren’t great it can be quite annoying if you normally stay at the bottom to get home easily, and beginners who get tired at the top then have to ski down. There is a long green to take you back to the bottom but it gets pretty cut up.
L2A has a pretty wide range of bars, a couple of night clubs and also a bowling alley and ice rink. Quite a few of the bars have live music bits and pieces. The two clubs are right next to each other and one of the main bars is there too, so everyone ends up in the same place in the evenings, which is quite nice as you bump into people from your hotel etc.
Apres ski isn’t the world’s best but it’s alright, there is one main bar on the slopes and a couple of other places that open at 5ish.
I can’t speak for other age groups but our group were aged 24-25 and I would say it’s definitely fairly popular with a younger crowd.
Excellent glacier skiing, but prefer more traditional resorts
Reviewed 6 May 2016
Les 2 Alpes is big and purpose built, it seemed a bit false and I definitely prefer more traditional resorts. The runs down to the resort were poor, but the skiing on the glacier was superb. Weather was excellent.
New Year in L2A
Reviewed 13 Apr 2016
Had a lovely week apart from the fact that the snow was lacking! The beauty of the 2 Alpes is that you have a glacier where there’s skiing all year round, so we could get some skiing in anyway (though it did get quite busy up at the top). We spent the rest of the time in bars and restaurants – there are a fair few as it’s a big place!
L2A Feb 2015
Reviewed 16 Jun 2015
Personally, not having any easy runs back to the resort was a shame… there is a green but it’s horrendously narrow and slushy (even my ski instructor said she wouldn’t take it). We could take the eggs back down, but I think they’re putting a new blue in for next season which will make a difference, we might go back in a couple of years to see what it’s like. I liked it up at the top and the views from there are amazing. One of our group did La Grave which he said is a must if you’re a super skier or snowboarder, you have to do it with a guide but apparently it’s well worth doing.
2 Alpes March 15
Reviewed 11 May 2015
Our first time in Les Deux Alpes and we had a really good time. There wasn’t snow at the base but because of the glacier we had great conditions higher up. The area’s both really good for beginners with some lovely nursery slopes, and great for more experienced skiers with some good black runs.
Family trip to Les 2 Alpes
Reviewed 8 May 2015
We liked Les 2 Alpes, it was a little busy but we pretty much had blue skies all week and the area of town we stayed in (we booked Hotel Serre Palas which I’d 100% recommend) was very quiet in the evenings.
Two things I'd recommend:
1) eating at Le Doume, which was really good for pizzas.
2) we all had lessons with First Tracks, an Italian ski school who were brilliant. The classes were no more than 5 per group and though we had to pay a little more, it wasn’t tonnes. We also got our ski passes with them and ended up paying less than we would have with our rep on the coach.
Les 2 Alpes Jan 15
Reviewed 30 Apr 2015
I had a great week, though the snow came halfway through the week and didn’t stop, so I missed out on a bit of skiing… Then on the last day the blue skies came so everyone rushed to the top of the mountain to enjoy the 2ft of new powder, only to find that although the lifts were open, the runs were closed (they re-opened them at mid-day, just as it began to snow again!). They definitely need better signage because there was nothing telling us the pistes were still closed. The runs all go together a bit too much for my liking, but they’re putting in a new blue to make life coming home a lot easier.
My partner did lessons with ESF but they turned out to be more of a guided tour, there wasn’t really any technique taught which was disappointing. I saw a bit of what the kids had and they seemed to be doing proper technique before going up onto the mountain, it would have been better if the adult groups were the same.
Good snow, good family skiing
Reviewed 29 Apr 2015
We hadn’t been to Les Deux Alpes before but we were lucky to be here as the snow was good and there was enough of it, while we were getting reports that other resorts didn’t have any snow over Christmas. It’s a very good resort for families, even though the glacier’s fairly high, it still has a good mix of slopes including some nice blues.
Fantastic group trip to Les Deux Alpes
Reviewed 21 Apr 2015
We were a big group and the majority of us hadn’t been to Les Deux Alpes before. The weather was fantastic, it was really sunny and while the lower slopes were affected towards the end of the week, the snow near the top was still really good. The area has a lot of nice wide pistes with lots of variety. I describe my skiing as middle of the road and it was really good for me, experts might end up doing all they wanted in the first few days so I’d say the area was more for beginners and intermediates. Some of the group did a day trip to Tignes and a couple did paragliding which they really enjoyed. The ski-doing and night skiing also sounded really good but we didn’t get round to them. We found a really good bar called Le Windsor which was opposite our hotel (La Brunerie).
Odd ski area but really liked it, shame we weren't lucky with weather
Reviewed 15 Apr 2015
I really liked 2 Alpes as a resort although we weren’t so lucky with the weather – we had lots of white outs and then on the one really sunny day everyone had been hoping for, it was so windy the lifts weren’t open.
It’s hard to get off the mountain as you either have to do a pretty scary black or a really horrible green that’s narrow and very busy. They describe the ski area as like a wedding cake, it has a really steep edge so the first bit is difficult and then once you get up to the top it’s amazing. That’s the only downside to the skiing here, there didn’t seem to be many red runs but a lot of the blues are more like reds so you don’t run out of pistes.
Other than skiing, my dad and his mate went swimming in the local pool and on non-ski days we went to a few restaurants as well as spending most evenings at the Polar Bear Pub.
Family trip to Les Deux Alpes
Reviewed 8 Apr 2015
I visited Les Deux Alpes in March this year on a family ski trip and loved it! There was something for everyone, especially for my mum who doesn’t ski.
The skiing was varied although a bit limited in comparison to the areas that we usually ski (Chamonix, Paradiski). The snow park there is really good fun! There is a park for all abilities, ranging from the beginner and family to the advanced. The snow was good for spring skiing and the pistes were practically empty, with no queues for the lifts either. The Glacier takes a while to get up to but once you’re up there, the views are phenomenal. There are a few steep blacks running- back down in to the resort which were very icy in the morning and slushy in the afternoon. The lifts are quite slow and not very well linked, which means a bit of ‘poling’ to the next lift at the end of a run.
There’s a huge choice of restaurants and bars on the mountain to choose from and they were all easily accessed, even from the resort, which worked great for our non-skier to come and join us for lunch. We ate in ’Le 3200’ and ‘Le Diable au Coeur’. The ‘Le Diable au Coeur’ was fantastic with great food and amazing views! The ‘Le 3200’ was quite expensive, which I suppose is because it is one of the only restaurants at the top of the glacier and although it had great views, the food was average and more your usual grab and go hot dogs and pizzas.
On our chalet night off, we ate at ‘Porte da Cote’. The restaurant is really cosy and has a great atmosphere. We had fondue (which was the best we have had), tartiflette and the sharing steak. It was all amazing, as was the wine and the service! I would definitely recommend eating here!
At the end of the week, we went ski-dooing which was loads of fun! You pay per ski-do, which is 120 Euros, so if two of you do it together it works out reasonably priced at 60 Euros each. It is a full - hour’s trip and they take you right up the mountain via the green run that runs along the side. At the top, there is a small obstacle course and then there’s time for pictures before the ride down. You get great views of the resort lit up at night on the way down too.
Après ski in Les Deux Alpes is some of the best in the Alps. We loved ‘Pano Bar’ which is on the mountain and really kicks from 3pm onwards and goes until about 5pm. The party carries on in the resort with loads of cool bars and restaurants playing music and offering Après ski happy hours!
Overall I think that this resort is the perfect all-rounder. It’s great for families, couples and groups! As well as this, the skiing lends it -self to all abilities and there’s plenty to keep the non-skiers busy too.
New Year in 2 Alpes
Reviewed 24 Mar 2015
We stayed here as a family over New Year’s week. Christmas had seen hardly any snow (only the glacier was open) and then there was a massive dump of snow just before we arrived and the roads were totally clogged. We all thought it was great because it meant good skiing and knew it was going to be busy - because anyone who owned a chalet or lived nearby would be out on the slopes. It was certainly a bit bonkers with a lot of lift queues meaning it took quite a while to get up in the mornings.
The slopes all got a bit skied out as the week went on and we gave up trying to ski down. The red that would have bought us down wasn’t open anyway and the black was getting sludgey, so we got the lift instead.
Overall, it’s not the most challenging ski area but it worked well for us and was fine for the kids.
There were various things on for new year’s eve, we ended up in a cheap little pizzeria because most places were really expensive and then spent 5€ to get into a bar which worked perfectly for us.
Back on the slopes at 2 Alpes
Reviewed 23 Mar 2015
I’ve covered a lot of resorts but hadn’t skied Les 2 Alpes before, it was our first time back on the slopes for a while and 2 Alpes was perfect for that. We were blessed as we arrived 4 hours after the dump that made the national news when it snarled up the Alps on Boxing Day, we had an amazing bus driver who got us up to the resort and arrived there to plenty of snow and a village that looked the part.
We were here for New Year’s week but Les 2 Alps is quite big and didn’t really have a hub for fireworks and a big party. I got the impression that bars and restaurants all held their own events and fireworks. It’s a long, 2.5km strip at the bottom of the valley, with major lifts all the way along; a little more fragmented than other resorts.
We are all good skiers of a similar level – we’re strong believers in ski school and had lessons with a little ski school (not Ecole du Ski Francais) that operates in the resort. We had a French instructor who was brilliant, the nicest guy I’ve ever had. We made friends with the people in our group which was 100% British and drank together – the après was really good.
Challenging blue runs
Reviewed 3 Jul 2014
I liked it, it’s a nice resort. The snow was great and we had good weather most of the time. It was beautiful. Some of the runs were quite challenging, the blues felt very similar to the reds. Some of our friends who came were beginners and they just stuck to the blue runs – I don’t think it helped that some of the days were whiteouts. I think if you can cope with the blue runs here then you will be fine skiing blues anywhere.
There were plenty of places to eat, we found a nice restaurant close to our apartments which did very good fondue and there were lots of places where you could sit outside. We tried out pretty much all the mountain restaurants, they were good.
Good value for money. Watch out for the odd piste grading
Reviewed 27 Jun 2014
It’s a pretty good resort. We went over New Years and the snow conditions weren’t very good, there was only just enough snow cover on the pistes. We had a mixed group, some of us were advanced skiers and some were very much beginners. The beginners struggled with the last decent back. There was either a black run or a blue/green run. The blue/green is a road in the summertime so you can imagine it’s quite narrow. It’s a popular run and it gets very busy with lots of skiers and then the snowboarders as well are trying to weave in and out of everyone. It’s difficult in bad snow conditions, I tried it once and then just used the black instead which was actually easier. The beginners in our group just ended up taking the lift down instead.
Other than this run, which I had read about and knew would be like that, I would actually recommend the resort for beginners. It’s generally good value for money. We used all the restaurants and bars and the pricing was quite reasonable. For the advanced skiers it was hard to tell how good the resort really is as certain options were closed due to the conditions and there wasn’t really any off-piste. True advanced skiers would probably want to go over to other resorts like Alpe d’Huez for a day or two.
The grading was pretty farcical. At times the blacks were easier than the blues and some of the blues were actually harder than the blacks! I would give the resort a higher rating because it’s good value but it’s not particularly pretty.
Fantastic beginner snowboarder holiday
Reviewed 18 Jun 2014
It was my first ski holiday – well I snowboarded actually. I was a total novice. It was fantastic! It’s a great resort. My legs hurt a lot afterwards… my muscles started to seize up after a few days. I just kept going anyway though. It was really warm, I had all the insulated kit, but I didn’t even need a jacket half the time (we went mid December).
Pano bar up on the mountain is great. Umbrella bar at the bottom is a good place to carry on after afternoon après has ended.
If you are a snowboarder avoid the run on the lefthand side which runs all the way down to the bottom, there are loads of flat sections and I got stuck a lot. There is a great long run on the righthand side though (I think it’s a green), it winds all the way down to the bottom – that one is really nice for learning.
Very good for late season snowboarding
Reviewed 17 Jun 2014
It was late in the year and 21 degrees while we were here. We sunbathed a lot and snowboarded in T-shirts. Les Deux Alpes is a summer resort so it stays open late; there was still snow up high on the glacier. The snow was ice in the mornings and slush in the afternoon, but the conditions were excellent for that time of year. A large proportion of the lifts were still open and they managed the resort really well. It’s a very good place to snowboard.
It was good for our little boy as well, the nursery slopes in the valley were shut, but he was able to learn up on the mountain. He had to learn the hard way by starting up high, but he didn’t know any different to be honest. I would definitely recommend the International Ski School over the ESF, they had good instructors and they spoke English.
The transfer was easy and access around the resort was easy. There are plenty of places to eat out. Don’t eat and drink up on the mountain, it’s much more reasonably priced down in town.
My favourite resorts which get 5 stars are probably the 3 Valleys, American resorts such as Winter Park, and Saas Fee in Switzerland.
Thoroughly recommended, as a resort it has everything
Reviewed 11 Jun 2014
Deux Alpes was much bigger than I anticipated, both in terms of the town and the ski area. I really enjoyed it and would go back, there’s enough to keep entertained and the conditions were fantastic. I’d really recommend getting a guide and going over to La Grave, it's one of the things you have to do if you’re a good skier/snowboarder and are staying in the area. It’s in the next valley along which didn’t have as good snow as Deux Alpes at the time, but was still pretty great.
It’s just the nature of the mountain but one or two of the runs down are blacks which get pretty icy... not much fun unless you’re a good intermediate or above. If I remember it right there’s another run down which is easier but also much longer.
The après ski is really good fun and there are lots of places on the mountain. There’s a really lively party venue some way up at the top and it’s complete carnage on the way down!
Icy conditions
Reviewed 5 Jun 2014
The weather wasn’t great while we were there – it was March and the snow was melting and so slopes were getting icier. It meant we skied tentatively. I don’t know what the people the week after us did, presumably there was no snow left.
The resort had everything we needed, all the shops and restaurants. It was good.
It's not Val d'Isere but it's good fun
Reviewed 5 Jun 2014
Les Deux Alpes isn’t Meribel/Val d’Isere/Lech, but then it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s not a particularly up-market or charming resort, but we liked it. It feels quite purpose built – there are a few apartment complexes dotted about, and the town sprawls along the valley.
The ski area is slightly lop-sided in that you can go up to the glacier and then there are many runs down from there on just the one side of the mountain, back down towards the resort. There aren’t so many runs on the other side of the mountain. So it’s like one long strip of slopes with runs all the way along one side. The resort is slickly run, the lifts are good and the pistes were well groomed. The snow wasn’t great while we were there (April), it did snow one day but it wasn’t enough to get the off-piste going. By the end of the week the snow was just about gone. We did manage to ski back to the door every day though.
We had some lovely lunches, there was a nice restaurant up on the mountain. We went to the Panoramic Bar and there was another fun place with music, and dancing, etc, a Folie Douce type bar. We also went out one night in town to a great bar with live music.
Nice place to ski
Reviewed 30 May 2014
The skiing was good and the town itself was nice, I had a really good week. It’s a big enough town if you’re looking for restaurants and bars. It does get really cold and windy up at the top (it was -20 when we were there!) which is the only negative of the skiing here.
Really good first ski holiday
Reviewed 23 May 2014
This was my first ski holiday, so I can’t compare it to anything else but everyone who had been skiing before said it was one of the best resorts they’d ever been to. The snow itself was really good, there was quite a lot of snowfall and the weather was amazing – the views were beautiful. I had ski lessons and the ski school was amazing, everyone rated them really highly. We went to quite a lot of bars and restaurants – Secret Bar was one of the good ones that we went to a lot as our ski instructor owned it!
An upside down resort!
Reviewed 21 May 2014
We went on the second from last week in January which was excellent because there was no one there – I think it was just after all the kids had gone back to school. We didnt have to queue for the lifts, literally the maximum time I had to wait was 20 seconds.
The snow lower down was a bit flakey at the start but we did have a nice dump, the ski area is very high so it’s quite snowsure all year.
The ski area is like a cake, it’s flat at the top and get’s really steep at the bottom with lots of blacks which were quite tough as there wasn’t a lot of snow. It’s quite a nice place to go for confident skiers but can be quite daunting - if you’re not that confident you don’t necessarily want to ski back to the hotel and can get the gondola instead.
The runs at the top are excellent if you can be bothered to go all the way up, the blues there are fairly tame and there are some reds so you have a nice mix. The learner slopes are at the top too – so it’s all in all a bit of an upside down resort. We did a day out organised by our resort reps where we skied another area - it was a 45 minute coach journey to Alpe d’Huez.
We went out in the evenings and there was quite a lot going on considering it was out of peak season. It’s a nice area in general and there are different places depending on what you want, quiet pubs and clubs with dancing. The resort is popular with uni tours as it’s one of the cheaper places to ski, which might be off-putting or might be a good thing depending on who you are!
The transfer from Grenoble didn't take as long as we thought it would, but it might be longer in high season when there are more coaches going there. Grenoble airport is pretty basic on the French side, if you can get away with a smaller bag it would make things easier as getting your bags out was a pain.
A week of amazing powder
Reviewed 20 May 2014
It’s great! Good skiing. It’s an upside-down resort so there were easier runs up at the top. We skied on the glacier which was cool, but I actually preferred it lower down because the snow was so good I just wanted to be off-piste. You can’t really go off-piste on the glacier. There was loads of good off-piste around the resort though, it was amazing, so much powder! We spent most of the time off-piste! The snowpark is good too, it’s huge. We started off in the beginners zone, there were some grind boxes and little rollers, and then we moved onto the intermediate part with kickers and stuff. There was a half-pipe too, really there was everything you could want. I was boarding and I think Les Deux Alpes is very good for boarders. Not so many flats, and the off-piste is the best part.
There were some nice pubs in town near where we were staying. We went to an English bar and drank Leffe beer, that was good fun.
We would come back
Reviewed 20 May 2014
A really nice resort. It had everything you needed. We wouldn’t normally go back to the same place, we like to try different places, but we liked it so much here we would come back next year. Getting up to the nursery slopes was a bit of a pain because you had to take the cable car up, but there were some easy slopes at the bottom too. It was good for our family.
The layout is my only real gripe
Reviewed 19 May 2014
We had a very good week, the snow conditions were a bit challenging, it was warm when we arrived, then there was a big dump and then it warmed up again.
The two runs back in are a green (which is horrendous by the end of the day) and a black (which is essentially a mogul field). Apart from these ones which you need to choose between at the end of the day, there are plenty of runs for everyone.
It’s not that the resort wasn’t good, but I wouldn’t go back again because of the way it’s set up. You are in a valley but it’s very linear and takes a while to get to the glacier. The Vallee Blanche on the other side is very open to the weather and we had a couple of very windy days. In other weather conditions I’m sure it would be very different.
I would definitely recommend the day trip to Serre Chevalier, which we did in the middle of the week and really enjoyed.
I liked the whole resort!
Reviewed 18 May 2014
With most French resorts, there was nothing there before skiing came along, whereas in Austria they used to be agricultural alpine farms and then skiing came which mean the skiing isn’t as well orientated. Deux Alpes is unusual as it was 2 villages before the skiing came, the villages are now linked up by a main road and it’s really nice to look down and see it all.
The après ski wasn’t brilliant but there was one good bar on the slopes from which you could ski down in the twilight, which was magic. Christmas week was busy but it was a nice busy (if it’s not busy you don’t get the buzz). We managed to book into a fondue / raclette place which was really good.
Visit the medieval village of Venosc while you are here
Reviewed 16 May 2014
We loved Les Deux Alpes. It’s absolutely beautiful. We liked the ski school which was great for the young children in our group. The beginners liked the ski area, as did the more experienced skiers in our group. There were some really nice bars and restaurants. I went up to Le Panoramic bar at the top of the mountain, although I’m not a skier. There was plenty to do for non-skiers in the resort. We went in the gondola down to Venosc which is a medieval village down in the valley, that’s a good place to visit.
One tip: fly into Grenoble not Chambery. Grenoble is much nearer.
A very pleasant week of skiing
Reviewed 16 May 2014
I had loads of snow with no queues and no problems overall. There’s something for everyone with skidooing and things as well as bags and bags of skiing.
If you go to the top of what was the the Vanoise chair lift in the old village (it’s now been replaced with bubbles), it takes you to a nice place with a big wide area.
There are some good places to eat, go on the telecabine and get off at the first stop where you go round the side of the building and up there’s a good restaurant there and right at the top where you start to go on the glacier, the restaurant there is fine (I paid 10€ for burger and chips which is quite good) and there’s actually a lovely red/blue run down. Down at the bottom where the Vanoise chair lift is there’s a good place where you can get a burger for 3€.
Nice long runs with some good blacks, but probably best for beginners
Reviewed 16 May 2014
It’s a good resort, but not the best I’ve been to. I think my judgement might be a little impaired because we had a lot of whiteouts while we were there. Skiing is always good fun though. There are lots of places to go out, although we didn’t go out that much. One night we went to a club, but we could have easily gone out more – probably a sign we a slowing down a bit! There was a random mid-week firework display, even though we didn’t go over New Years - that was nice to sit and watch. There were a few places around town to sit in the sun and enjoy a beer.
The skiing is fine for advanced skiers, there were a few black runs that were particularly good. There was lots of off-piste too. There was quite a bit of fresh snow while we were there, so the powder was good. There wasn’t any tree skiing though.
It’s quite a linear resort in that the runs are quite long. The snowboarders in our group appreciated this, and had a whale of a time getting into the rhythm of it. However they didn’t some of the like the long, flat runs – I ended up dragging them along behind me a bit. There was one long green run leading back down into the resort that was quite narrow and flat and they really didn’t like that one. Otherwise I think they had a good time though, we all did. We pre-booked the whole area lift pass which was a good idea. We also did an excursion to Serre Chevalier one day which was really, really fun. The skiing was better there in my opinion. We want to go there next year. Les Deux Alpes is better suited to beginners I think.
Not sure I’d go back
Reviewed 16 May 2014
It’s a good resort, but now I’ve been there I’m not sure I’d go back. We did have a lovely holiday here though. The conditions were good, it would have been nice to have some off-piste through the trees. It’s a very open resort. It’s a lively place, and I didn’t particularly want that, I’m happy with a smaller village and more advanced skiing. For that reason I like Serre Chevalier, which is amazing, you are allowed off-piste everywhere there!
Quality resort
Reviewed 16 May 2014
We really liked it. I couldn’t fault it. We had good ski conditions. There are so many runs, we will have to go back there to see some more of it, I’m not sure we even skied 1/5th of it. It’s so big! It’s quality. There aren’t any tree runs, which isn’t really something we were bothered about but we did notice that. All the places to go out are pretty good, we found lots of places. We went out every night I think.
Not bad at all but prefer Austria
Reviewed 13 May 2014
I liked 2 Alpes but am an Austria person really - I like the après ski over there and there are some things they just do better than France. In the main part of 2 Alpes where everyone gathers up the mountain, I thought the toilet facilities were a bit naff with huge queues. Some of the lifts were old gondolas and small 4 man chair lifts, which they didn’t seem bothered to replace (in Austria every time you go they have invested in new lifts and heated seats).
I didn’t have any problems with the week as a whole and it was nice to being away with the kids. The kids had lessons and really enjoyed them and the skiing was overall good with quite a lot of off piste for me – we had brilliant conditions and loads of snow even though it was the end of March.
Fantastic resort, fabulous skiing
Reviewed 8 May 2014
We thoroughly enjoyed 2 Alpes. The conditions were so good (mid March) apart from one cloudy day at the beginning of the week.
We loved the extensive skiing and never had any problems with the ski lifts (they’re all electronic now anyway).
One of my friends had private lessons and found the instructors very friendly.
Les 2 Alpes has a plateau so as a beginner you can go further up on the mountain where it’s really geared up for beginners. This means that whatever time of the season you’re learning you should have good snow.
There’s a fabulous selection of restaurants with informal places, snack restaurants and more – and the prices weren’t that bad.
I’d definitely recommend the evening skiing – they floodlight one of the pistes at night which is really fun. You have to be able to use the tow but the slope is one of the easier ones and you can get off at 2 levels, one lower and one slightly higher.
They also have an ice rink which you can use with the lift pass and there are other things like snowmobiles, paragliding and helicopter skiing.
Fantastic 1st ski holiday
Reviewed 6 May 2014
I’d definitely say this is a good place for beginners. The ski instructors were really friendly and helped me through the ups and downs of learning to ski on the first few days! The kids did have English speaking instructors but I don’t think their English was great (possibly because there were lots of French children in their group) but they ended up doing much better than us! We were really lucky in terms of the weather as we had sunshine the whole week and were skiing with our jackets open. Overall, very fond memories of our week here – we want to go back!
Huge variety of terrain
Reviewed 6 May 2014
The good thing about 2 Alpes is the big choice of skiing. We really liked it and would go again.
Next holiday has a lot to live up to
Reviewed 28 Apr 2014
This was my first time in Les 2 Alpes and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last. For me, it ticked all the boxes. You have great slopes, the instructors were fantastic, the nightlife was good and eating out was not too expensive (and you have everything from traditional restaurants to Italian pizza places and American cuisines).
I was in the beginner’s class and they made sure I was looked after well and made getting to grips with things really easy. They don’t restrict you in terms of how you progress which was really good.
The weather in the middle of March was ideal; although the season was coming to an end, the snow was still nice and fluffy, and we had sunshine too – it was extremely hot at the peak of the mountain!
What stood out the most was the overall hospitality, from the trained instructors through to the staff in the hotel, everyone was really nice, warm and welcoming in every way.
All you need for a ski holiday
Reviewed 28 Apr 2014
Deux Alpes is a really good resort, there’s plenty to do with a wide variety of pistes and loads of bars and things to do in the evenings, including ice rink and swimming pool.
Lots of choice for skiers and snowboarders
Reviewed 24 Apr 2014
Les 2 Alpes is good, there’s quite a lot of choice of different slopes and you can go over to the other side if you want which my husband did while we were here.
We’re a middle range skier and snowboarder and there’s a nice amount for us, it’s definitely a good place for snowboarding as there aren’t any cat tracks in the area. There are also quite a lot of blacks for really advanced people and you have a massive area behind the main street with some beginner slopes, kiddie parks and sledding so it caters quite well for families.
We ate out a lot because our hotel was B&B, we found a really nice restaurant called Le Cellier which had lots of local stuff like fondue and raclette. The price of eating out wasn’t terrible, I’d say it was middle range and there was enough choice to go round.
Good skiing, restaurants and apres
Reviewed 24 Apr 2014
It was our first occasion there, my wife and I have both skied a few times, probably about 10 times each. I was skiing and my wife was ‘ironing’ - there’s an array of different slopes with the glacier at the top and one week is probably a good enough time to do a full explore. The ski park just below the glacier is great fun and they have ice caves literally at the bottom of the glacier which were interesting. To get back down, everyone had to go through the nursery area which got quite icy nearer the bottom. I don’t think we saw much of a dump of snow but the off piste was good and I found a way to ski down a cliff which was brilliant.
We missed the English half term but caught the French half term, so there were lots of kids out there. The lift queues weren’t too bad as the main gondola you use to get up the mountain is a new 6 man chair which is really efficiently run.
The resort is along a single road and quite stretched out. The vast majority of restaurants were very good; it’s definitely a good place for foodies if, like us, you’re quite happy to go to the best places you could find. There was a particular restaurant called Le Cellier at 3 place de Venosc, where the French girl spoke very good English. We went there a couple of times and they have proper French food like raclette. They also do a cordial type of liquor which they used in beer, never had anything like it before but really enjoyed it.
The town has an Irish bar which was full of drunk English people (a bit embarrassing!) but Altitude clubbing was quite fun. There’s a large, almost open air nightclub about half way up the slopes where we saw people dressed as the teletubbies and power rangers and the DJ was dressed up as a duck... it was good fun with lots of dancing in ski boots!
Big village, always somewhere good to ski
Reviewed 22 Apr 2014
It was our first time in Les Deux Alpes and we quite liked it. It’s a bigish village with a mix of new purpose built and older, more established places - the facilities are really good.
It was my kids first time skiing and they really enjoyed it, the real baby slopes are right down the bottom and you have to go right up the top to get to the other ones, so if it gets too hot on the lower slopes there’s always somewhere else to ski.
We ate in a variety of restaurants including a nice pizza place and everywhere was good with the kids.
It’s definitely a great place for families like us but I suppose all ages would enjoy it - there are lots of bars and stuff so it would also suit younger people.
Great ski area, limited apres
Reviewed 4 Apr 2014
The ski area is really good for snowboarding and has plenty of decent off piste.
Deux Alpes is a nice place but lacked a bit of après ski. Pano Bar was brilliant but once everyone left there at half five, everywhere was dead which meant the après was quite poor. For a good meal out, Smokey Joes is a Tex Mex place that does good steaks and stuff but it’s quite pricey.
Lovely wide blues and not wild apres ski
Reviewed 4 Apr 2014
I didn’t go off piste but the on piste skiing is good, there are a lot of wide blues so even people who are not that great an get the lifts to the top and go all the way down. It’s one of the highest resorts in Europe, so skiing all the way down from the top can take up a good 2 hours before you need to get the lift again.
There was good snow in January and we also had blue skies but also a couple of white outs on the mountain where some of the lifts were closed.
There isn’t much après ski – everyone seems to go back to their rooms after all the bars and stuff on the slopes shut up at 4ish and once everyone skis back it’s empty!
People disappear and then you end up in a club at midnight that does have people there but even then it isn’t really packed.
Great for our group; awesome nightlife
Reviewed 4 Apr 2014
The nightlife is really good and it’s an absolutely great place for groups. The Polar Bear bar is pretty cool and there was another pub that was just like the pub we have at home, where you can get a good fry up in the mornings. They have English sport there on Sky and you can watch sport in the Polar Bear too.
The food in the restaurants is really good – there’s a place called Crepes a Go Go which we thought would be a bit naff but is actually amazing! For lunch there’s another restaurant next to the Diable lift that does amazing pizzas.
We were all skiers except one boarder, one of us was a complete beginner and the only runs back down to resort level are three blacks and a blue which by the evening turned into a pretty tough red. There is a green beyond that which my friend said was only about 10 metres wide and all the beginner skiers go down there at the end of the day which meant it was packed. Because of this I’d say it’s definitely not a place to ski if you’re new or nervous. For the rest of us, the runs would have been fine if the snow cover was better at the beginning of January (later in the season it would have been good) but it was pretty tiring skiing down icy blacks at the end of the day.
Lots for us intermediates and beginners
Reviewed 3 Apr 2014
I skied here with my boyfriend and it was our first time here.
There were more than enough slopes for us (beginner and intermediate) and the hire places were really helpful.
The only thing is that we couldn’t find much food for lunch on the mountain.
We went to a couple of bars including somewhere that had live music which was good.
Beginners maybe get lift back down
Reviewed 10 Mar 2014
Les 2 Alpes is really different to your usual ski resort. It’s a big town that’s long and linear along the valley.
For real beginners, a word of minor caution, the 2 Alpes is a bit weird as the mountain isn’t a normal mountain shape with the point at the top. All the beginner stuff is at the top and the runs down can be intimidating for a nervous beginner.
The main run is more of a track and gets really busy, hard and icy and the alternative is the black run.
Hard to beat mountain and night life
Reviewed 7 Oct 2013
After heading to Les Deux Alpes for a week long holiday, we came home intensely satisfied with both the skiing and the night life. Staying in a hotel on the pistes near the bottom of the Super Venosc lift, getting out in the morning was easy, catching the lift at the bottom of the run the hotel was situated on, then traversing across to the chair which took you across to the larger ski area. Getting back was a little more difficult, but the free shuttle bus made it easier to get through town. The glacier makes for amazing spring skiing, with its height maintaining great snow, although we found it was very exposed on the colder days, with the wind hugely reducing the temperature. La Grotte du Yeti was our favourite late opening club, pumping out some great music with some relatively cheap drinks, and kept us entertained for a good portion of the week. This is a definitely a place to go if you want to ski hard and play hard.
Skiing La Grave from Les Deux Alpes
Reviewed 24 Jul 2013
Probably the best days skiing I ever had, was in La Grave. It is completely un-pisted with amazing couloir skiing at the top and really sick tree runs at the bottom. There is only one lift that has 3 stations and La Grave is accessible directly from Les Deux Alpes. Really can’t big it up enough, definitely would go with a guide next time though as they know all the best powder spots. The little town at the bottom has some hotels - some of the hotels are actually owned by ski guides as well so they can take you up but… this resort is definitely not the place to go if you are looking for apres ski, as there is virtually nothing, but if all you want to do is ski off piste then there is nowhere better in the world IMHO. Best to book a ski holiday in 2 Alpes and ski a day or two in La Grave.
Really cool apres & motorway pistes
Reviewed 19 Jul 2013
Les 2 Alpes is a really cool resort for après ski, loads of bars and clubs on one easy strip. Smithy’s is definitely the best place for après ski. If you are going all out then head to Avalanche afterwards to make a full night of it. As a seasonaire I found the runs on the mountain are a little bit limited, but bear in mind I was there for 4 months! So I guess there’s way more than you need for a week or two, but some of the off piste is incredible. Not many tree-lined runs so better for conventional motorway piste skiing. The other side, the Vallee Blanche has some amazing off piste when there is a dump of powder and not many people bother to go there so it’s quiet. The snowpark is really good as well, with a beginner park and great slopestyle section. The access to the pistes is fairly simple; I would always go up on the Diable chairlift first thing in the morning as the Jandri Express can be fairly busy.
Liked 2 alpes, chalets out of centre – thoroughly enjoyed holiday
Reviewed 26 Dec 2012
Liked Les Deux Alpes although had to use a green track a lot to get across to main lifts and get back in the afternoon as chalets are out of the centre; however the blue to and from the end of the road was one of the best runs on the resort after fresh snow as they left it open but un-pisted so I was able to master off piste whilst staying insured. All in all thoroughly enjoyed the holiday – early season powder almost every morning made it the first week where off piste has really been a joy after almost 40 years of ski-ing. Mark & Leo Allen
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