Ski Holidays in Les Carroz d'Arraches, France

The Grand Massif is a vast area, which has something to offer all standards. It is reasonably snow sure with a lot of the skiing above 2000m. Flaine, which is purpose built and unattractive, is the centre of the skiing and the resorts of Les Carroz and Samoëns are satellites with good connections.

Les Carroz is a traditional village surrounded by wooded slopes and has a relaxed French atmosphere. It is family orientated and offers plenty of extra activities, including tobogganing, floodlit skiing, hot air ballooning and a cinema. It is not noted for its night life but has more than enough bars and restaurants and even has 3 discos.

We rented a place here for 2 seasons (09/10 and 10/11) without knowing the area before. As keen advanced/expert... read full Sarah Buxton

Avg User Review Score: from 1 Les Carroz d'Arraches reviews

Samoëns is on the other side of the mountain from Les Carroz and most of its slopes are north facing. It is the only ski resort listed as an historical site and has a glorious feel of the slow pace of the countryside. It maintains many of the old traditions, including a weekly market on Wednesdays in the medieval square. Samoëns itself is not connected directly to the skiing but there is a frequent free bus to the lifts.

Photos © Monica Dalmasso.

Great little resort 19/01/2012

We rented a place here for 2 seasons (09/10 and 10/11) without knowing the area before. As keen advanced/expert skiers we hoped it had enough to keep us happy. The village-attractive, friendly, some nice restaurants. We recommend the Milk Hotel for lunch, Les Servages d'Armelles for a total gourmet splurge and Le Spatule in the village for reasonable evening meals. The skiing-truly lovely tree lined runs above Les C which are hard to beat. The links to the other resorts are all good and rarely shut. The cruise down to Morillon to L' Beu creperie (great crepes, and omlettes) just above the main lift is always a joy. For those with cars, there is the added bonus of avoiding half term morning queues by driving 3km up the road to the fast Molliets 6 man chair. The Molliets restaurant at the bottom is a cosy end of day spot for a vin chaud/hot choc and home made cake. Flaine is easy to ski to and offers lots of wide intermediate pistes running down into the trees. The run down the Gers Bowl is a good work out and feels more of the beaten track. Off piste-lots of lift served, but take care in Flaine because of the rock crevasses in the upper half. Disadvantages of the resort and ski area? Would be great if it was all 400m higher, but having said that, the snow fall is higher cos of the proximity to Mont Blanc. The Grand Massif says it has 265km of piste, but that includes runs below 1100m which rarely opened in the 2 seasons we were there. Having said that, you probably get 200km of piste over varied terrain, more trees than the mega resorts and a less industrial scale atmosphere. All this and only 1 hour from Geneva airport!!

Skiing/Snowboarding: 4/5 Apres Ski: 3/5

Sarah Buxton