Les Menuires is more a purpose-built area divided into three separate tiers – La Croisette, Reberty and Preyerand – with facilities and accommodation at each level. At the heart of the area is La Croisette where you will find most of the apartment blocks which have given Les Menuires its reputation for not being attractive. However, the village has grown over the years and newer properties, together with more sympathetic renovations have improved its appearance. There are now several hamlets that are more aesthetically pleasing on the eye and you really can’t beat the convenient access to the ski area. Nearly all the accommodation gives you almost instant access to the slopes with very little traffic to get in the way, hence its a popular choice for families wanting a more snow sure resort, with Les Menuires being at 1850m.
With much of the accommodation being ski in/ski out onto easy blue and green runs, a holiday to Les Menuires is not only perfect for families, but also for groups and beginners, who will be able to roll out of bed, have a quick coffee and croissant and minutes later going straight into any lessons, close by. Queuing also tends not to be a problem in Les Menuires with the lift system being fast and efficient. Also being part of the vast 600km 3 Valleys ski area, it means there is so much choice, with numerous lifts, so getting around is more of a breeze than an exhausting expedition.
There are free buses (and a couple of lifts)that connect all the parts of the resort, running every 20 minutes until 8 pm after which they run less frequently up until midnight. The resort is relatively quiet in the evenings but there are some excellent local restaurants to try, including the K, the Cocon des Neiges, the Ferme, Maison des Neiges and Ours Blanc. The nightlife in Les Menuires is tamer than in its neighbours, but there is still live music and a couple of night clubs. Anyone wanting a livelier après will need to consider Meribel and Val Thorens, but Les Menuires does offer easy access to the world-famous La Folie Douce. Here at the highest open-air club in Europe you can enjoy live bands, a vast dance floor and DJ’s, skiing back to Les Menuires on easy blue runs or via the bus! Le Plan B though is lively and continues until 2am. Bar Kube is for lounging over cocktails and the resident DJ. Le Caviste is a great wine bar also serving tapas and Le Comptoir for apres crepes and cocktails. To cater for families, the resort hosts a variety of child-friendly entertainment every week and there’s a large and new indoor swimming pool/activity centre, a soft-play centre and even a bee museum.
Les Menuires is an excellent destination for serious skiers, with relatively queue-free lifts giving you excellent access to Val Thorens further up the valley or to the next valley of Méribel and Meribel Mottaret. On one side of the valley is La Masse which can be reached by a gondola from just below the village. The views here are excellent and given its height and northerly orientation the snow here is also amongst the best in the Trois Vallées. The runs from the top are mostly reds or fairly easy blacks but the skiing here is best-suited to intermediates and more advanced skiers. As this area is at one extreme of the 3 Valleys it does tend to be one of the quieter areas to ski.
To get to the Méribel valley there is a gondola and fast chair from La Croisette and the same from Bruyères. This will give you access to almost endless skiing and within an hour and a half, you can be in Courchevel. Access to Val Thorens is either by a blue from the top of the Montaulever draglift or from the top of the Bruyères gondola. There are several parks and areas too for snowboarders across the valley.
Accommodation options are numerous and varied with many apartments, self catered chalets and catered chalet options with a few hotels dotted around. Catered chalets tend to be popular in Les Menuires as do apartments and with most being right by the slopes, they tend to book up quickly so call or email us as soon as you can and we can see what options we have that might suit. Les Menuires is definitely a good call for those wanting good value self catered apartments, catered chalets and hotels.