Les Deux Alpes
Good value resort with lively apres ski & nightlife scene. Glacier skiing makes it snow sure
Les Deux Alpes resort guide - a general overview
Les Deux Alpes is a narrow long village situated on a high but remote col, with a sprawling collection of haphazardly placed buildings ranging from old chalets to monstrous 1960's apartment blocks. One of the main reasons for the resort's popularity is the excellent snow reliability especially on the higher slopes, however, the network of lifts is susceptible to closure due to bad weather and extremely low temperatures on the upper slopes.
The varied high mountain terrain has everything from motorway cruising to seriously steep blacks, off-piste slopes, a gentle glacier with a fine array of easy runs and the world's biggest on piste vertical descent of 2,268m. For such a large resort the piste area is deceptively small with long narrow and fragmented pistes, which lead to crowding especially around key season dates.
This is certainly not a resort to take a non-skier as Les Deux Alpes is very quiet during the day, although the après ski scene is one of the liveliest in the French Alpes with numerous bars and nightclubs open until the early hours.
If you like a good value for money, chalets in Les Deux Alpes are your answer as there are many and cover most budgets.
Resort stats
200km
1,650m - 3,570m
Level of skiing
- Beginners
- Intermediates
- Experts
- Snow sure
- Off-piste
- Ski area
Qualities
- Charm factor
- Non-skiers
- Nightlife
- Resort layout
- Fine dining
- Short transfer
- Resort value
Airports
- Grenoble
- 2hrs
- Chambery / lyon
- 3hrs
- Geneva
- 3hrs 45mins
Pros and Cons
Pros
- High, snow-sure slopes, including an extensive glacier area and some great off piste
- Great resort for boarders with lots of boarder friendly facilities and an excellent terrain park
- Excellent south facing sunny nursery slopes
- Nightlife is vibrant with a good selection of bars and restaurants
- A good value for money ski resort
Cons
- Limited number of good mountain restuarants
- Not very picturesque. There is quite a British feel to the resort
- Piste network is modest by mega resorts standards and limited cruising runs
- The resort is quite spreadout with very few ski in/out properties
- Home runs potentially get very busy and icy so people queue for a lift down
Restaurants
Les Deux Alpes Resort Restaurants
Les Deux Alpes offers a wide range of restaurants catering for all budgets. At the top end of the market there is the Chalet Mounier, which has a great reputation, serving excellent food. Bel' Auberge has a very traditional French menu and is well worth a visit but do book in advance. If you are looking for more reasonably priced food then the Petite Marmite has a good atmosphere and the Papate, the cloche and Crepes a Gogo are also recommended. If you are looking for cheap and cheerful then Bleuets bar or the Spaghetteria are the places to go or Smokey Joe's Tex Mex.
Les Deux Alpes Mountain Restaurants
There are mountain restaurants near all the major lifts but none of them are of a particularly high standard. Chalet de la Toura has the best reputation with a lovely big terrace and the wooden interior makes it quite an atmospheric hut. The Panoramic is also well worth visiting but be warned it does get very crowded and there's no queuing system.
Les Deux Alpes Apres Ski
The apres ski scene in Les Deux Alpes is lively, unsophisticated and lots of fun. There is a wide choice of bars to choose from, most staying open until the early hours of the morning. Corrigan's and Smokey Joe's are popular hang out spots and lots of the British go to The Windsor and Smithy's. The Baron is always heaving with teenagers.
Les Deux Alpes Nightlife
If you are still looking to carry on partying after the bars have shut or looking to shake a few moves on the dance floor then the Avalanche is still the best club. The opera is worth a visit but a little bit away from the hub of the resort.
Funicular
Cable Car
Gondola
Chair lift
Drag lift
Property
