Mottaret is the highest resort in Meribel, linking Les Trois Vallees with Courcheval and Les Menuires in the Rhone-Alpes, about two hours drive from Geneva airport. We go every year for the February half term. The skiing is wonderful, it's paradise for intermediates and Mottaret has the advantage of being higher up the Valley than Meribel so it gets all the snow and good access to the other Valleys of Courcheval and Val Thorens. I read somewhere that the Three Valleys provide the largest inter-linked ski area in the world. I know we have hardly begun to make inroads. It took four years before we bothered buying the Three Valley ski pass; the Meribel single Valley ski pass is more than enough for beginners/new intermediates.
The cost of flying directly to Geneva from Liverpool during half-term is prohibitive and we save on average between six hundred to one thousand pounds for the three of us by flying to Nice first and then hiring a car and driving to Mottaret from Nice. Once we flew to from Nice to Geneva (about 10 pounds return each) but as usual at this time of the year Geneva is a mad house with delayed flights, busy roads etc plus the cost of a Geneva-Mottaret transfer to build into the overall expense. The car hire from Nice has been the easiest option.
If you get the timing right, it only takes about 6 hours to do the trip from Nice to Mottaret, but use the motorways and don't be tempted to cut north through the mountains- I know it's shorter as the crow flies but I promise you it will take much longer - we tried it once; it's a nightmare.
Skiing is our one luxury holiday and we stay in one of the nicest hotels in Mottaret, The Alpen Ruitor with underground parking so you don't have to dig your car out at the end of the week. It is ski-in, ski-out sited right by the shops and Tourist Office and there are heated lockers right by the entrance to the Hotel. Anyone who has skiied with children and stayed 'just a few hundred meters from the slopes', which means a steep hill covered in ice with no pavement, will realise how wonderful it is to have this luxury right on your doorstep. The Alpen Ruitor is Swiss-owned and the service is friendly and efficient. The resident dog, a Retriever is extremely patient and will tolerate unlimited fussing and cuddling from the guests and their children.
Once out of the hotel, the lifts are at hand or the easy green 'Trout' run leading down to the main resort of Meribel is just behind the hotel. All the rooms have balconies and the ones at the front, south-facing and facing the main slopes and lifts are premium priced but it's great to sit on the balcony and watch everyone. We have economised by trying a room at the back, north-facing balcony but beautiful view over the mountains and the Trout. As well as saving some money, it's actually much quieter at night this side of the hotel as it is away from the bars and restaurants by the tourist office.
At 4pm tea and cakes are served in front of a log fire. We stay on a half-board basis and the food is exceptionally good and the breakfast is wonderful - immense continental buffet. Lunch we eat of the hoof, there's plenty of over-priced mountain-side restaurants, pizzerias etc around plus a resaonably cheap cafe just outside the hotel which does great paninis and chocolate crepes. Vin chaud, beer, hot chocolate and coffee is everywhere and very welcome too.
Mottaret itself is a small village. There are two supermarkets and a few rather expensive ski shops plus bars and restaurants, boulangeries, chemist etc and a large tourist centre with the ESF - Ecole de Ski Francais ski school attached. There is a very tempting Poivre Blanc shop too. Another great shop here is 'Superski', lovely clothes as well as ski gear. There are more shops down in the larger resort of Meribel plus a weekly market. A regular free shuttle bus links the villages stopping a minute from the Alpen Ruitor Hotel, just behind the Tourist Office.
Since we have learned to ski well enough to ski into Courcheval, there are even more wonderful shops here including a small Prada and Hermes. |
