News – 2017/18

The big news is in Moriond (1650) where the long-promised replacement Ariondaz gondola from the village to Bel Air will be in place for 2017/18. The old 6-person cabins will be replaced smart new 8-seaters and it will be the first gondola in France to be lit inside and out using power supplied by on-board solar panels. It will carry 2400 people per hour (twice as many as the old one, so cutting peak morning lift queues) and the ride time will be cut from 12 minutes to seven.

The run back to the village will benefit from smart new state-of-the art snow cannon – some of the extra 115 that will be installed in the Courchevel ski area for this season.

A new 3km toboggan run has been built from top to bottom of the new gondola. It has eight underground tunnels and will be open every day and be floodlit until 7.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In Moriond, the slopeside Cimes Blanche hotel has been taken over by the trendy Farenheit Seven group which opened its first hip hotel in Val Thorens last season. The place is being completely renovated and upgraded from 3- to 4-star.

In what used to be 1850, various of the plush 5-star hotels are being further renovated and improved (including a new spa with minimalist Japanese-style decor spreading over two floors at the Aman Le Mélézin).

News – 2016/17

Further major investments in snowmaking were made. The already impressive children’s village was further developed and is now the largest children’s village in France, covering over 12 acres of trails and specially decorated lifts. It also has a nuresery, games area and a dining room.

As part of the Handiski scheme to make snowsports accessible to disabled people, 75% of lifts are now adapted for people with disabilities, a dedicated teaching area for people with disabilities has opened at Pralong above 1850 and eight specially qualified instructors are available.

Summary

Courchevel’s ski area is the most compelling sector of the famous Trois Vallées, the biggest linked ski area in the world; if we’re heading for the 3V, we generally head for Courchevel.

But it’s not one destination, it’s four. Back in 2011, the resort rebranded its villages. The highest and swankiest, with its airstrip, ritzy hotels and countless Michelin-star restaurants, used to be called 1850 but is now just Courchevel – how crazy is that?

The lower villages are Courchevel Moriond (used to be 1650), Courchevel Village (used to be 1550) and Courchevel Le Praz (used to be 1300). These have none of the pretensions and sky-high prices of the highest village; in these lower villages, the restaurants and bars are not cheap, but they are not noticeably more expensive than in other top French resorts. Sadly, on the slopes there are few affordable lunches to be had. But thanks to the many UK tour operators who feature the resort, there are plenty of affordable catered chalet holidays on sale here in all four villages. 

Blogs, features and news

• Le Ski upgrades and adds new chalets
• Get paid to ski the world
• New ‘Where to Ski in France’ book on sale next month
• Courchevel 2018/19 winter calendar
• Ski Collection adds new hotels and self-catering apartments to their portfolio