Within Val Thorens, the highest ski resort in Europe (with a six-month season) and rated the best on the planet. Does it live up to expectations?

Forget a ski-in/ski-out hotel, how about a ski-in/ski-out resort?

Welcome to Val Thorens in France, declared the best ski resort in the world nine times, including the 2024/2025 season.

Here, no matter where you stay, the snow is never more than a few meters from the doorstep of your accommodation.

I stayed in hotels Altapura and Fahrenheit seven and the white thing was inches from the trunk quarters.

But I found that proximity to snow is far from the only reason this resort lives up to the hype.

For starters, there’s the altitude.

At 2,300 m (7,545 ft), Val Thorens, surrounded by six glaciers, is the highest ski resort in Europe, making it a safe haven for snow. And you’ll be able to ski most of the time in the sky: 80 percent of the slopes are above 2,300 m.

The snow is so abundant that the ski season lasts six months, the longest in Europe.

We went in April and it snowed for two days. The entire complex and all the tracks were covered in white material.

The landscape is another great attraction. It’s fascinating.

Val Thorens is the highest point of the 3 Vallees ski area, the largest in the world, with 600 km (372 miles) of interconnected slopes catering for all levels of skiers and snowboarders.

The highest summit skiers and snowboarders can reach in Val Thorens is Cime Caron (3,200 m/10,482 ft).

We didn’t get there, but we did ascend the Col de Rosael, which sits at an altitude of 3,000 m (9,842 ft) and offers a stunning view of Val Thorens, the valley that runs down to the neighboring resort Les Menuires (1,850 m). /6,069) and, in the distance, Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe (4,805 m/15,766 ft).

This paralyzing sight stopped our descent (and everyone else’s too).

We set off and experienced an all-time great ride: a blue roller coaster (called Fond) which, even though it was the Easter holiday period, we had to ourselves, as if the resort management had closed it especially for we. .

If there is one downside to Val Thorens, it is the almost complete lack of trees, which means that in the “white blackouts” it is not much fun.

But when the sun comes out, it’s fantastic.

Additionally, most of the lifts depart from the center of the resort in a star shape, making it hugely convenient.

And they’re modern, well-organized, chaos-free lifts, too, with gondolas funneling skiers and snowboarders into pre-boarding “corrals,” with numbers limited to ensure there’s always a respite in the climb.

The resort itself, while not particularly pretty, offers several above-average eating and drinking options.

As with any resort, there are mediocre places that attract tourists, but head to the La Maison restaurants (la-maison-valthorens.fr), with its Instagrammable furry chandeliers, and Le Tivoli (www.tivolivalthorens.com), and disappointment will be very unlikely.

On the slopes, all you have to do is have a coffee at the Le Caribou restaurant, located at the crossroads of the Genepi (blue) and Asters (red) slopes.

The views across the valley to the Thorens Glacier are amazing.

As for places to stay, I can wholeheartedly recommend the aforementioned Altapura, with its indoor and outdoor pool and epic rooms, and Fahrenheit Seven, with its glorious terrace views and original decor.

Val Thorens – is a resort at the peak of its powers.