Club Med La Plagne or Val Claret? Post Reply

[millymoo]

Looking into club med for skiing at Easter next year and wondering if anyone has been to the Val Claret or La Plagne resorts? We haven't skied with them before and wondering what it might be like. Also open to other suggestions!

[juliantenniscoach]

Hi there,

It depends on how much and how good your skiing ability is really. Tignes/Val D'Isere is awesome and some of the best and challenging pistes (and off piste) in the World. I worked 4 seasons there and 9 in the Alps and it was by far the best skiing.

La Plagne however has its attractions if you prefer cruisy blues, wide open slopes and mile up mile to explore. With the recent link over to Les Arcs you can ski there for weeks without getting bored.

I can't comment on the Club Med set up, only to say I've heard good things. The location of Val Claret though is great. One last thing to consider is the transfer. It's probably another 30 minutes further to Tignes because it's further down the valley and a little higher.

Hope this helps.

[millymoo]

Thank you Julian, super helpful as always!

[Seb]

Totally agree with Julian.

I learnt in La Plagne and it was beautiful wide motorways - lovely lovely cruising.

Tigne and Val D'Isere are super extreme and even some of the runs into the resort are tricky

[this_is_cat]

We stayed at the Club Med in Les Arcs a couple of years ago.
It is very close to the Vanoise Express cable car which links Les Arcs with La Plagne.
Les Arcs tends to get slightly better snow of the two resorts, as it is more sheltered and the snow settles better so would be preferable if you are skiing very late in the season. But La Plagne is a lovely resort and slightly quieter.

The Club Med set up is great - the food was outstanding, lots of entertainment (if you like that sort of thing) and the rooms were bigger than the Chalet average.

The only downside is that your lessons are provided by ESF, which are a very second-choice for me behind New Generation or Evolution 2, but I know others are happy with them. ESF groups are much bigger than the other schools though, and in quiet weeks, they mix up French and English speakers (although this is unlikely to be an issue over Easter)

We booked via IfYouSki and got a great deal, with BA flights and private transfer from Geneva to the hotel so it all worked out as excellent value for money, especially as we didn't have to spend much at all once we were in the resort.