Meribel has been a popular destination for British skiers for a long time and was first developed as a winter sports destination by a Scotsman called Colonel Peter Lindsay back in the late 1930’s. Over the years it has grown to become one of Europe’s most popular resorts as well as proudly hosting part of the Winter Olympics in 1992.
Here are 10 reasons why we like it so much:
- Meribel sits at the heart of the World’s largest linked ski area called Les Trois Vallées and this means that during your holiday you can easily explore all of the other resorts that make up this expansive ski area.
- Meribel is particularly appealing for intermediate skiers who are comfortable on blue runs and able to make it down a red or two. It has fantastic runs from the top of the ski area all the way back into town.
- The majority of the accommodation in the resort is chalet based with very few large hotels. This makes for uninterrupted views over the entire Meribel Vallée from almost all of the pistes and vantage points.
- The resort has invested heavily in the infrastructure over the last few years and it now has snow cannons all the way down to ‘La Chaudanne’ at the base of the skiing area. This helps ensure that there is great snow cover throughout the season. Further investment and a programme of replacing older lifts with new state of the art hi-speed chairls have seen lift times reduced and any queues kept to a minimum.
- The Aprés ski in Meribel is so much fun. La Follie Douce offers some of the most entertaining Aprés in the Alps with live bands and DJ’s, professional dancers on the tables and magnums of Champagne in gold plated cable cars, it simply has to be seen to be believed. La Rond Point is another famous venue and was voted in the top 3 Aprés bars in Europe a few years ago. More live music, crowd surfing and toffee vodka is what has put it on the map.
- The range of chalet companies is huge with something to suit all budgets. Check out Alpine Ethos, Delicious Mountain, Purple Ski, Ski Vive and Alpine Infusion for some fantastic offers and a guarantee of great service. Due to the layout of the village lots of chalets offer ski-in-ski-out accommodation as well as offering a complimentary shuttle service around resort.
- The aspect of the valley provides skiing in the sunshine whatever the time of day. Move from one side of the valley to the other and follow the sun throughout the day or alternatively stay in the shade to guarantee firmer snow.
- Meribel has a good range of family friendly restaurants on the piste and in the town. Most are sensibly priced and offer a range of traditional Savoyard dishes on their menus.
- Transfer times from Geneva and Lyon are relatively short and most of the journey can be completed on the national Autoroutes. This guarantees that things keep moving even in the busiest of peak weeks and makes Meribel worth considering as a destination for mid-week or long weekend trips.
- There are a couple of stand-out slopes in Meribel Altiport that we consider mentioning in their own right. The Altiport is located at the top of the Rhodos bubble lift and is a great for skiers that have just mastered their first turns after their first to practice. Part of an actual golf course during the summer months the slope is gently undulating and is serviced by a high-speed chairlift. We consider Mont Vallon as enough to justify a trip to Meribel on its own. The bubble lift takes you to 2952m where you have an option of skiing 1 of 2 red runs. The start of each can be a little tricky with either a narrow path (skiers left) or a mogul field (skiers right) to navigate before the slopes opens up and you have over 4.5 kms of wide open piste to enjoy.
Sweet Snowsports ski school have provided ski lessons in Meribel since 2009. We are available to offer you great advice and answer any questions you may have.
