Les Deux Alpes
Les Deux Alpes is situated where the northern and southern Alps meet. The town centre is focused on the main street which is more than a kilometre long. This haphazard collection of older buildings and 1960's apartments blocks are situated on a high remote col. There's a strong community atmosphere and the town has a large number of permanent residents.
The pistes are superb for all abilities and one of the main reasons for the resorts popularity is the excellent snow reliability especially on the higher slopes. There are 105 snow canons and a fantastic park. However, the network of lifts are susceptible to closure due to bad weather and extremely low temperatures high up.
The varied mountain terrain has everything from cruising wide runs to steep blacks and off-piste slopes. Not the best resort to take a non-skier to, Les Deux Alpes is very quiet during the day.
The apres ski is a different story and there are 30 bars open until 2am and three clubs open until 5am making it one of the liveliest in the French Alpes.
Pros
- High snow guaranteed slopes including a glacier area.
- Some great off piste.
- Good resort for snowboarders with a world class terrain park.
- Good nursery slopes.
- Vibrant night life.
- Good value for money.
Cons
- A lot of the easier skiing is higher up both on and around the glacier.
- Limited number of good mountain restaurants. Not very picturesque.
- Limited cruising runs in what is a spread out resort with little ski in ski out accommodation.
- Home runs can become icy resulting in tail backs at the lift queues towards the end of the day.
- The young, predominantly Brit party element won't appeal to everyone.
