• Wednesday 14th April: Volcano erupts in Iceland.
• Flight departure time to Val Thorens: 05:50 Saturday 17th April.
• Actual Coach departure: 12:45 Saturday 17th April.
• Arrival time in Resort 10:00 Sunday 18th April.

Carrying on from Mr. David Froom’s superb depiction of the week that was….. 

Approximately 1179 miles of land and sea separate London from Iceland, so who would have ever thought that one volcano could cause so much disruption? Whilst Interactive Resorts were sitting pretty in London town there wasn’t a worry in anyone’s mind about the possibility of not going on our end of season trip. Then Friday rolls around and all flights to and from the UK are still grounded with the papers reporting that the country may be at a standstill for a further week. I started to have a small cardiac arrest realising that cancellation was a very strong possibility.

But lo and behold, the brilliant Skiworld pulled through for us and organised a coach to deliver us to Val Thorens safely.

The Journey Begins

To coach or not to coach….

A 12:45 departure from Gatwick Coach station saw us on our way to Dover to catch our ferry. A small delay in Calais from a backlog of “coached” clients trying to get from A to B was not an issue as far as I was concerned….I was just so stoked to be able to go on the trip. I had a small pang of guilt for those thousands of travellers world wide that were unable to go where they intended, especially as that included some of our own crew from the north who we had to leave behind. You were sadly missed.

The Interactive Resorts team outside chalet Bonhomme de Neige

A very eventful and sleepless 20 hours later, we arrived in VT. Job done. Out of all of the ways to get to the Alps I can’t say going by coach would be my first choice. As I say, I personally can’t really complain but for those of you considering to either coach, drive, fly or train I would suggest choosing one of the other options before resorting to the coach. To go on holiday for only 7 days and to spend 20 hours x 2 on a coach really does reduce your slope time. And come on now…..that is what we are all there for, right?

Bonhomme De Neige

Our home for the next week was the huge 28 person Chalet Bonhomme de Neige. Located on the outskirts of the Place du Peclet, it holds a brilliant location overlooking the whole of the resort and the Val Thorens Valley, with the most outstanding views. It’s a chalet that does its job well. For a large group such as ourselves, spending a lot of our time in the communal dining and living areas, I think it’s perfect. The rooms are cosy and comfortable, all offering your own en-suite bathrooms and balconies. 

Val Thorens and Les 3 Vallées

As a ski resort, Val Thorens just about ticks every box. On paper its statistics are second to none. Towering over the rest of Europe, VT nestles itself at a literally breathtaking 2300m. Combined with its sister resorts of Courchevel and Meribel you have a combined mileage of over 600km of piste to play on and ridiculous amounts of off piste to discover and explore. The valley itself spans from St Martin de Belleville (1400m) all the way up to the highest point of the highest lift, the Bouchet charlift (3266m).

Opening its first lifts in December 1971, Val Thorens is there for one main reason, to ski. It is very much a purpose built resort with the majority of accommodation being in 4,5,6+ storey apartment complexes. Although it may not be the most attractive of ski destinations, you can’t argue with the fact that no matter where you stay within the resort your chalet will either be ski in/out or no further than a couple of hundred metres away from the side of a piste, giving you easy access down to one of the main chair lifts or bubbles.

Live for the night

A view from the top

Let me paint a picture….. It’s a scorcher of a day. Not a cloud in the sky. You have been skiing since 10am and it is now 3:30pm and you have just about exhausted all your

energy. You can’t even face one more chairlift let alone another run and then….. there’s this sound… a constant beat. You come over the rise of your last run of the day to be confronted with none other than the living and breathing Folie Douce, Val Thorens style!! There is no other place like this on earth (apart from its original big sister, La Folie Douce in Val d’Isere). It is a haven of madness, table top dancing, drinking, singing and insanely good music that makes you dance even if your muscles refuse you the right to do it with any kind of style. Everyone must, oh you MUST see and experience the Folie! Then when you are made (definitely not by choice) to leave as the music ends, the beers stop flowing and the sun is going down, you have the joy of boarding or skiing home after a few pints which is an experience in itself.

After a quick refresh, then a lovely three course evening meal with wine flowing back at the chalet, we embarked on a little adventure to see what Val Thorens has to offer in terms of nightlife. As we were travelling at the tail end of the season our choice of bars was a little limited. In saying this though, we found one we liked and didn’t particularly branch out much further…..I blame our lack of imagination but also when you travel in a group as large as ours you tend to make your own fun no matter where you are.  Our local hot spot would have to be, without a doubt, the world famous Frog and Roast Beef, which is known for being the highest pub in Europe. This place kept us well and truly entertained with good sounds, cold beer and entertainment such as drum and bass nights and ‘Toss the Boss’ – a dice game where if you roll higher than the barman you get your round for free. Sweet!! Unfortunately my luck was lagging this night but we saw plenty of our crew leave having spent next to nothing.

The now legendary Folie Douce

We had many a good night out at Frog and Roastbeef, Saloon and the nightclub Malaysia. An empty wallet, a sore head and dark rings under my eyes from lack of sleep suggests that VT lived up to and exceeded all expectations in the nightlife department.

A question on everyone’s lips

So for the past few years Interactive Resorts has always had Val d’Isere as its one and only destination of choice for the end of season shenanigans. Adding VT into the mix threw a spanner in the works and was met with a few mixed emotions and opinions. Was it going to live up to the standards to which we were now well and truly accustomed? I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we were nicely surprised and impressed. For a purpose built, aesthetically unattractive resort it has a certain charm that welcomes you. Its ski area is superb for all abilities and offers endless options that will be sure to keep you amused for the week if not longer… I would be more than happy to return to Val Thorens and I am now super excited about sending people on their holidays there as I know their time will be unforgettable!

We stayed at the Bonhomme de Neige in Val Thorens. A week at the Bonhomme starts from £470 during the coming season. If you’d like to chat about Val Thorens or any of the other destinations mentioned here, then please give us a call or drop a line to our sales office!