We decided to visit Megeve after a week in St Anton and a further week in Samoens. Megeve fully justifies its excellent reviews and was for us [ average skiers , early sixties, english speakers, live in the Caribbean ] exactly what we were looking for in a resort and more enjoyable than the other two both from a skiing perspective and as a vacation location. The village is expensive but you generally get what you pay for and all of the logistics both on and of piste are first rate. Another reviewer has dealt with the Grange D'Arly in depth and fairly accurately We enjoyed our stay and had absolutely no complaints - the hotel is just as it portrays itself on the hotel website. The owners are indeed characters but work fantastically hard to ensure the comfort of their guests We ate in only once (there are so many good retaurants in Megeve that any half board deal is bound to be a dissapointment) and the dinner was very acceptable. A huge plus for the hotel is its location within 50 meters of the skibus base station giving immediate access to the three routes.

Reason for stay: Independent Sking holiday
Hotel: This is local family run business. It is under the control of the Madame of the houes very firmly. She runs everything and is ever so slightly mad. A consummate linguist she will switch languages in an instant. You will get her life story on your first dinner. The style is very much traditional alpine house so don't expect anything great on designer toilets. It is about ten years old and has held up well. The decor is very twee I suspect due to the influence of Madame!

Food: She who must be obeyed controls cooking and the menu is the same year after year. I don't think more than five days is wise. Savoyard cooking is not for those on a diet! It is heavy going in many respects.

Clientele: Rather like Chamonix this higher resort has become swamped by UK visitors which somewhat spoils its charm. Most of us want to get away from the loud brigade on holiday. Surprisingly given the high cost of this hotel (around 1600 GBP for two rooms for seven days) some seem to come and do not even ski?

Village: The village is best and easily reached by hire car from Geneva. Snow is quickly removed but equally comes in spades when it arrives so you could be caught out. This is an expensive resort so all the shops tend to be very pricey. The quality of goods is very high so don't be looking for a cheap pair of shoes in Megeve. The tea rooms are great value as are the chocolatiers. You can easily do a lunchtime shop in the local Casino or go down the hill to a Carrefoure if you want to keep the kids eating bills down.

Ski Area: This is good resort for families. There is little challenging so no one is going to get hurt. It is however pretty busy with beginners and the South facing slopes (most) melt very quickly in the sun. In any week you are going to need snow fall and will lose a day when this arrives as it falls very deep.

Overall: Good for families once or perhaps twice. You will not eat in every night as the food is repetitive and too expensive. The bus station is next door so don't waste time walking anywhere. Hire a car to avoid rip off food stores.