Why did we pick Les Allues?

One of the questions we frequently get asked is why did we decide to base ourselves in Les Allues. Deciding to be within the Three Valleys was easy - the largest ski area in the world. Meribel is the middle valley so a natural choice giving easy access to the other valleys.  At this point the choice became interesting. We have spent many ski holidays in Meribel predominately based in Mottaret in an almost ski in and ski out position which in terms of ease of access to the snow cannot be beaten but when thinking about running a business and being able to "sell" a little bit of France to visitors Les Allues won hands down.

Les Allues is an authentic French mountain village. More than 2,000 people live in Les Allues all year round, it is the home of La Mairie - the Mayor of the area. There is a primary school, a bread oven (or two) a beautiful church and even a Museum.

Museum Les Allues

The links to the ski area from the village are excellent. The Gondola stops in the village and travels on to the central lift network at Meribel giving you direct access to the whole area. There is also a free regular bus service to Meribel Village giving direct access to the Altiport ski area and the Loze link to Courchevel

After a day in the mountains you can return by the free bus, the Gondola or when the snow conditions are good via the Village run which ends in Les Allues, (conveniently opposite a bar). With all those year round residents to serve we have more than one bar plus several restaurants ranging from Pizza to fine dining. Add a small supermarket - fresh bread and pastries twice a day- a ski shop, a post office and even an ATM what more could you want?

Well yes if you want night clubs, casinos, all night parties and being woken from your well earned sleep by over enthusiastic apres skiers then maybe a purpose built ski resort is more your thing. It's a personal choice but we are very happy and proud to call Les Allues home and love to share this slice of mountain life with all our guests.

Looking across the valley from Les Allues

Future plans for Courchevel

Following the update on what is happening in Meribel as preparation for next season we now turn our attention to our neighbour  Courchevel and their plans for improvements.

Courchevel have released an ambitious and extensive 7-year plan, which is estimated to cost 118m Euro. The plan does not just impact the main area of Courchevel but extends to satellite areas of 1550, 1650 and Le Praz and as far down the valley as Bozel, which will also give a lift link from St Bon.

Like all 7 year plans there will no doubt be changes along the way but it certainly shows the commitment to the area and the bigger picture rather than seeing piecemeal changes year by year. The proposals encompass new lifts, piste improvements, new snow cannons and the re-naming of the satellite areas. No more 1650 instead it will be known as Moriond and 1550 will become Courchevel Village. They can change the name but we are sure The Bubble Bar in 1650 will still be the best spot in the whole area for great hot chocolate at great prices!

For next season the most exciting change will be the replacement of the Biollay Chairlift, which will transport more users, more quickly. This is great news for us as we often use this lift to reach the Suisse Chair on the way back to Meribel Valley. It looks like the new Biollay may end in a slightly different place when it is completed, we will have to wait and see.

Of course the best news about all the changes to the Courchevel area is that we will be able to get there quickly via the new Meribel Gondola previously posted about. So quickly we will beat many people actually staying in Courchevel!

Video of how things are in the winter..................

We love hearing from guests from a quick "thanks we had a great time" as their car leaves Les Allues to the repeat bookings which are starting to appear in our in-box. We shared a couple of weeks last season with a pair of Australians and although they are now back living the beach lifestyle in Sydney they sent us this video, thanks guys come back soon.

Summer and Meribel is already getting ready for next winter

Fishing and more energetic activities available now in Meribel!

One of the great attractions of being based in Meribel is that every summer season improvements are made to the infrastructure of the resort giving us even more to look forward to each December. Visitors last season will have experienced the Saulire Express 2 which provided super fast access to Courchevel and the opportunity to ski back into Meribel or Mottaret on almost untouched pistes each morning. This summer the Saulire Express 1 lift will be built which includes a new lower lift station. The completed Saulire Express will reach the summit of Saulire in just 12 minutes, compared with a previous journey time of over 20 minutes. The cost of this work alone is in the region of 20 million Euro.

At a cost of just a few million Euros less a new Plattières lift is being built which will replace the existing Plattières 1 and 2 gondolas. This lift will be the first ten-seat gondola in the 3 Vallées. With a journey time of nine minutes, compared with a previous journey time of 22 minutes it all means more time on the slopes for everyone. The existing Plattières 3 Gondola will remain providing a sneaky way to reach Les Menuires or start a zig zag journey into Val Thorens avoiding the often freezing cold Cote Brune chairlift.

There are improvements being made to piste layouts as well which we will post about at another time, there is so much to look forward to. So as construction is taking place on the slopes summer has arrived and there is a buzz around Meribel with a Mountain Bike event which covers the whole of the 3 valley area being held on the 7th and 8th of July. The event covers Meribel Courchevel, la Tania, les Menuires and Brides-les-Bains, this year is the 13th time the event has been held and it gets bigger every year. Of course there is also that other cycling event – The Tour de France which passes through our area soon, see the previous post for more information.

The Tour de France in our area

As the southern hemisphere slides into winter things are warming up in Meribel as the date for the Tour de France gets closer. The Tour which was first staged in 1903 covers more than 3,600 km of demanding terrain and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours" the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. Those not lucky enough to catch the Tour live keep up to date with extensive TV and Radio coverage which for Australians means a lot of late nights hoping to see Cadel Evans repeat his success of last year.  

In Meribel this year there were many activities to mark the 20 year anniversary of the Olympic Games being hosted by Albertville and on the 12th July the City will mark the start of stage 11 of The Tour. This stage is 140 km, the riders will tackle the Col de la Madeleine, the Col de la Croix de Fer and the Col du Mollard before the final climb towards the resort of La Toussuire. This stage is being seen as one which could single out potential winners of the Tour. Albertville is less than 30km from Les Allues so the stage is a real treat for the many cyclist enthusiasts who live in the village as well as the visitors who flock to the area for a taste of The Tour.

The end of one season and the start of the next

The snowy end to the season arrived as promised so we enjoyed great conditions and empty slopes until the day the lifts finally closed. For many this is now a wind down period after a busy winter but for the Lift Company there was an air of frantic activity as they start their work on two big new lifts in Meribel. As soon as the lifts started their gradual closure earth moving began and we even spotted one of the newly retired bubbles from the Burgin Saulire gondola sitting outside one of the mountain bars. We will post soon about the new lifts and other developments in the area which will greet us next season.

There is still so much snow in the Three Valleys area that many people will continue to enjoy sliding around having walked up in the absence of lifts. Ski touring is always popular in the area with access to glaciers and high altitude areas, this summer it promises to be as popular as ever. For those who prefer to take a lift skis and snowboards were quickly replaced by bikes. Lycra took over from merino layers and gortex and cows wearing huge bells started to appear at the base of the valley waiting to begin their assault on the fresh green higher pastures.

The speed with which the transfer from winter activities to summer activities takes place is shown in these pictures. Whilst we were enjoying our last few days of skiing at the top of the mountain summer was creeping in from the base. The floral display greets visitors as they climb the hill into Les Allues to take part in the myriad of activities the area offers. The next post will look at what The Three Valleys has to offer outside of the winter season.