Les Deux Alpes

France

This is one of France’s original ski resorts and is still one of the most affordable, both for skiing and après ski fun. Set high in the picturesque Dauphine region, it’s a lively and colourful resort. There’s a vast ski area – over 200kms of pistes - an impressive snow record and an above-average amount of sunshine.

Every type of skier and boarder will be happy here: beginners have plenty of choice, with spacious nursery slopes at village level and lots of easy runs on the Glacier du Mont de Lans. Intermediates enjoy the versatility of the resort – you can start the morning on the sunny Pied Moutet side, then drop over the back for a long, tree-lined run down to the village of Bons. Expert skiers are not out of place, with plenty of off-piste opportunities. Snowboarders have their own snow-park with a boarder cross, two half-pipes and a specialist boarding school.

Off the slopes, there’s ice-skating and ice-dodgems, plenty of bars and restaurants to try out, or you can take the gondola down to the cobbled streets of pretty Venosc.

Les Deux Alpes is a lively village with a huge number of bars and restaurants to suit all pockets and tastes such as the Tribeca Bar and Restaurant or The Windsor Pub.

Chalethotel La Berangere

Set at the foot of the slopes, facing south with views over the Massif de l’Osians, this luxurious chalethotel is a real find. Spacious and light, most rooms have picture windows, sun-trap balconies and good-sized bathrooms. The social areas provide comfy places to sit round the fire and there’s a great restaurant. The lower ground floor offers an indoor pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi as well as a treatment room for aching muscles. At the end of the season, weather permitting, the outdoor heated pool and sunny terrace comes into use.

Double (for sole use) and twin bedrooms are equipped with TV and hairdryer, ensuite shower and balcony. There are a few ‘true’ singles, with sink and shower but sharing a wc and without a balcony: reduction £25 per week.