āTwenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didnāt do, than by the ones you did do.ā
Mark Twain
Meribel is a quaint village, high within the French Alps, which not only oozes hospitable charm but delivers a picture-perfect playground for an active family holiday in the snow.
What if I told you there was an affordable holiday option where you could stay in a āpostcard-worthyā chalet, complete with all the comforts of home, including a Chalet Host to prepare freshlyĀ cooked meals every day. Someone with local knowledge who is assigned to coordinate your visit, allowing every member of the family the rare privilege of actually switching off from domestic routines and concentrating instead on enjoying that sweet holiday blissā¦
I KNOW RIGHT!!!!!!
Meribel History
Meribel was established back in the late 1930ās thanks to the visionary foresight of one Peter Lindsay. The fact that this village was built from private capital might explain why even in the midst of winter, as a blanket of snow covers the valley, there is something immensely cosy about this charming area. Or perhaps it is the connection the early chalets have with the local environment, as they were constructed (as per strict building code) with local materials of slate, wood and stone.
The end result speaks for itself as the classic alpine style chalets, along with their double-pitched roofs, stand fiercely proud against the dramatic backdrop of white capped mountains.
Arriving at Meribel
In all my experience with snow holidays over the years, never has one of my blog posts began with…
Words cannot express how relieved we were to walk into the warmth of our chalet after a day spentĀ travelling. It was minus something degrees outside (a detailĀ we underestimated as we chose our clothing for the transfer up the mountain) and night had fallen on the Alps. We were introduced to the other families who would be sharing our chalet with us for the week, as our home-cooked meal was being served by our bubbly Chalet Hosts.
Related Post: Packing List – For An Active Family Holiday In The Snow
As we slowly began to thaw out and the children instantly made themselves at homeĀ chatting to the other guests, all that was left for us to do during āwitching hourā was to carry our luggage to our room. The wine had been poured by the time we returned downstairs and we were informed that not only had our pre-ordered skies and snowboards just arrived in the equipment room downstairs, butĀ the representative from Slidecandy was here for our final fitting.
Six holidays to the snow and we had hit the jackpot – no picking up hire cars, grocery shopping, tag team in the kitchen, heading to town to hire equipment or lining up for ski passes. After weeks of pre-planning for this holiday, with the company called Ski Beat, we were here and living the dream. This week, in the middle of December, we had secured two bedrooms in a shared chalet accommodation package and all that was left for us to do was enjoy our holiday.
āThe name MĆ©ribel is believed to derive from the Latin āmirareā, meaning āto look atā and ābelā, meaning beautifulā.
Merrinet.com
A Meribel Town Tour
The sun is in no hurry to wake you during winter and the excitement of watching the mountainĀ scene come to life on the first morning, especially if you arrive in the dark, is just pure magic. A hot breakfast was waiting downstairs and the living room was a flurry of excitement as everyone busied about getting ready. We opted for a ‘slow day’ for our first day, choosingĀ to explore the town centre rather than joining the other guests on the slopes.
You can certainly find everything you need and more in the town of Meribel. From the practical supermarket, pharmacy, church and post office, to independent stores such as gorgeous locally owned delicatessens, speciality stores (especially those filled with winter ski attire and equipment), as well as quirky little homewares and novelty shops. Cafes and restaurants are dotted along theĀ streets and, I was later to discover, a weekly street market is held every Tuesday and Friday.
There is a real buzz in the atmosphere and every store we entered presented a chance to practiseĀ ourĀ bestĀ Bonjour,Ā MerciĀ and Au Revoir’s, which only added to the charm of this adventure. We had little use for the conveniences of the town during our visit as, for the duration of our stay, our Chalet Hosts prepared us a cooked breakfast, baked a cake for afternoon tea and a three-course meal was served every night.
The Chalet HostsĀ had one day off a week (and gosh didn’t they deserve it!), which gave us the opportunity to ‘dine-in’ at a local restaurant. If you find yourself in Meribel and are partial to enjoying a warm curry, we highly recommend Tsaretta Spice – exceptional and contemporary Indian cuisine.
Hitting the Slopes – Meribel and Mottaret
There is genuine excitement in the air on the first āski dayā of the season. Our Little Man had even gone as far as to lay his entire outfit out on the floor the night before in excited preparation – certainly donāt see that type of enthusiasm on a school day!Ā The smell of bacon and eggs was wafting up the stairs from the kitchen thanks to our wonderful Chalet Hosts and we had a date with the Chalet Driver (aka Maintenance Man), who took us up the mountain each morning in his minibus.
The meeting point for the children’s ski lessons each day was a short yet picturesque drive up the mountain, toĀ a neighbouring ski-in-ski-out village called Mottaret. So a daily routine was established. Although it was tough waking to an early start each morning to meet Ski School starting times, it did mean my Husband and I enjoyed āfirst tracksā on the piste and the joy of a couple of ‘child-free’ hours snowboarding down considerably quieter runs.
MottaretĀ is a self-contained hubĀ complete with all the necessary conveniences and novelty shops you need to ensureĀ a hassle-free snow season – especially a wide range of cafe/restaurants. We are traditionally a packed lunch family but certainly enjoy dining in on the days were well laid ‘packed lunch’ plans come undone. If you are looking to grab something on-the-run you can’t pass the freshly prepared baguettes atĀ Sandwicherie SavoyardeĀ or, if you are feeling decadent, try the oyster kioskĀ Chalet de l’Huitre.
Meribel and MotteratĀ are part of the ‘3 Vallees‘, the largest linked ski area in the world and, even if you just exploreĀ the localĀ Meribel-Mottaret terrain, as opposed to skiing or snowboarding between the linked ski fields, you have aroundĀ 1400ā2952m of range to play on.
During our first week, we chose to ski and snowboardĀ in the Meribel-Mottaret area, rather than venturing off to explore other valleys. This was due to both time restraints with pick-ups from Ski School and the fact that we were headed to Val Thoren’s for week #2 of our holiday.
Related Post – Thrills & Spills In Val Thoren: Family Christmas In TheĀ SnowĀ
Although our holiday didn’tĀ coincide with peak season and there wasn’t the coverage of snow we have enjoyed on other snow holidays, we had an absolute ball and the views from the top at 2952m were (as I am sure you can imagine) nothing short of spectacular.
Our family consists of two snowboarders and two skiers. Our eight-year-old Little Man who (by the end of the holiday) was skiing his first black runs and our four-year-old Little Girl who enjoyed the green and easy blue runs. It is without even the slightest hesitation I recommend theĀ Meribel-Mottaret area inĀ the 3 Vallees, asĀ aĀ family-friendly skiing and snowboarding destination.
Keen to see what’s going on in Meribel right now – well let me introduce you to Holly and Jasmine, who are the Girls’ behind my favourite Meribel Instagram accountĀ Chalet Girl Diaries.Ā Here you will findĀ regular updates on all that fresh white power, discoverĀ the best placeĀ to buy essentials such as green smoothies and the hottest venues in town for live and local entertainment!
Related Ski & Snowboarding Holidays in NZ:
Queenstown is open for Snow Business #2 – Honey we’re here where do we start
Queenstown is open for Snow Business #1 – Getting ThereĀ
Getting down to the ‘Nitty Gritty’
Bus Transfers to Meribel:
Benās Bus offers straight forward airport transfers up the mountain from Geneva, Lyon and Grenoble Airports. It is a three-hour journey from Geneva with only one change over at Moutiers bus depot. Interestingly enough, if you are being dropped off at one village and, like us departing from another village, you will need to book two single fares per person.
*** Please Note ***
Benās Bus will drop you in the centre of town regardless of the time of day/night or temperature. Please consider how you will get from this part of town to your accommodation, with all your luggage, once you arrive. There are taxiās in Meribel and, although they are considerably expensive, this is a sensible āshort distanceā transport option in the middleĀ of winter.
Accommodation in Meribel:
Our accommodation was organised throughĀ Ski BeatĀ which came highly recommended to us via the personal experience of family members – and I can see why! Their loyalty is due to exceptional customer service, quality of food and accommodation, efficient and personable āon-groundā staff and value for money. Ski Beat can arrange your entire holiday for you in a single package or you can choose to organise your own transfers, which is what we did.
Lift Passes in Meribel:
There are several ways you can book lift passes, online, during the bus transfer, or at the ticket office on the slopes. If you still havenāt got yourself organised, Ski Beat can organise a member of their team to visit you in the Chalet. The price is the same regardless.
Board Hire in Meribel:
We pre-organisedĀ ourĀ ski and snowboard hireĀ online throughĀ Slidecandy, whoĀ delivered directly to ourĀ chalet. Because we booked online there was a slight variance of sizes during the time of the fitting however, new sizes were delivered within half an hour with no hesitation or extra expense to us.
Ski School in Meribel:
Although ESFĀ is the bigger Ski SchoolĀ company, we chose and were completely happy with the more personalised attention given by the smaller groups atĀ Magic Ski School. I would strongly recommend you pre-book your lessons online in preparation forĀ the peak season. If not, a team member from Ski Beat can pop over to the chalet and organiseĀ your booking for you at your leisure.
Ski-in Ski-out in Meribel:
It is a short walk to the ski fields fromĀ Chalet Daurel, which is where we stayed while in MeribelĀ (Mussillon). Although we had the Chalet Driver there were times when his scheduled pick up times didn’t fit with our plans. For those times we used theĀ ‘free’ MeribusĀ which is the local transport option. You can check the timetable of this local bus serviceĀ online or on the bus stop boards.
Does anyone have any questions?
Pin Meribel Family Snow Holiday For Later
2016 was the year we named One Day Is Today and we certainly ended the year on a high. Literally. Think 1450 metres above sea level enjoying the experience of our first ever White Christmas. It is not hard to see why Mr Peter Lindsay fell in love with the area and we can all be eternally grateful to the local farmers who sold him their land to establish this winter playfield.
Looking forward to continuing the conversation in the:
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Disclosure: CWMS has in no way or means been sponsored by any of the above businessesĀ to write this post and the thoughts and opinions expressed are purely our own. CWMS is excited to share this discovery and to start conversations which align with our Keeping it R.E.A.L ethos.
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