Review of Avoriaz

27th April 2011 by garethbeckett 

Getting Stashed In Avoriaz - 22nd January 2011
This was my first trip to Avoriaz and even though I knew the conditions were not going to be great I was looking forward to it. My first impressions of the complex were very good, the area and town looked very clean and had plenty of bars and restaurants. There was also a very good supermarket which was very handy to our apartment and the centre of town. The pistes were all very well maintained until mid-day when they got pretty cut up due to the number of skiers arriving from Morzine and Les Gets to take advantage of the better snow conditions in Avoriaz.  A lot of the runs have great areas for off-piste just off the main run and the whole mountain seems to get pretty well used for this purpose. There is also a large collection of differing runs, everything from wide open high descents to twisting tree lined runs. The runs really do offer something for everybody. The only really negative thing I would say about the runs is their grading; this seems, to me anyhow, to be a little too easy. A good number of the blue’s for example seemed more like greens, or at least had a large amount of ‘green’ within the run. The lift systems were very good and even though the main areas did get busy, we never had to queue that long.
The main reason I had chosen to go to Avoriaz was because of the Burton Stash, and it did not disappoint. Even though the conditions were icy and some of the larger rails had no kickers build up to them, it was still really enjoyable. The large picnic tables and butter boards are just great fun and for me the best part of the Stash. The parks were also very good and well designed with different areas for different abilities. The most fun I had on the trip was on the large airbag at the bottom of the boardercross run. I had never done this before and it was just amazing trying all types of tricks you would never dare attempt on the snow.
In general Avoriaz is a great resort. It has everything you really need, the resort is well run, the staff are friendly and it has great groomed runs as well as off-piste. The hotel we stayed in was basic but clean and warm. The resort its self was well priced and food was a lot cheaper than in other French resorts I have visited. Well done Avoriaz 8/10.

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