We have just returned from a week in this hotel which we only booked two nights before leaving. My husband is a keen skier but I have recently damaged my knee so was looking for a hotel where I could relax and also be near the centre of the village without having to walk too far. We had seen some reviews which indicated that it wasn't up to being a 4* Hotel and to be honest in some areas it does require a bit of refurbishing but it has been taken over recently by new owners and feel that they are in to doing this. Our room was fabulous with amazing views, the food was delicious, five courses every night and couldn't fault one of them in the whole week. The lounge area, was very comfortable and the staff were so friendly they really couldn't do enough for you. The swimming pool requires a bit of painting on the roof but it has the loveliest views of the mountains from it and you don't have to hold your breath when you get into it - a lovely temperature and a good size of pool. All in all we were pleasantly surprised by the whole place and would not hesitate in going back there .

Having also seen the below reviews we were a bit dubious about staying at this hotel. However, going though lots of other reviews on various hotels in the les deux alpes area we thought that we were buying into a good deal as half board was included.

We were right!

DECOR
The hotel is very nice and warm!! The furnishing is a little dated in the foyer and dining area but you get a magnificent view of the mountain. Our hotel room had been refurnished and was very modern - i think there is a mixture of how many refurbished rooms there are so you should check when booking yours is one of them.

FOOD
Food is typically french - continential breakfast buffet with lots of bread, cheeses and meats as well as cereals and juices.

Dinner can be hit and miss - you receive five courses but these courses are pretty small and you need to enjoy fish to really appreciate how many courses include it! It is typically french and every night includes a cheese board and the desserts were always very tasty.

DRINKS
What i would say to watch out for is the price of drinks - they really are extremely expensive (6 euros for a bottle of water, 12 euros for a white russian!) so tip is to just ask for tap water (which tastes fine) and save the drinks buying for your apres ski pint further down in the resort. So you are aware - all drinks in the les deux alpes area are very over priced - the higher you are on the mountain the more expensive drinks and food are priced - tip is to eat your lunch at the bottom of the mountain every day and get the gondola back up or else buy provisions from the numerous supermarkets that are in the resort.

LOCATION
The hotel is located at the far end of the resort so this is useful when getting a good night's kip (some people we met complained that the noise was disturbing during the night where their hotel was located near the square and main meeting point for ski school) however, a bit annoying when walking anywhere. There is a hotel bus which will take you to your desired location and pick you up - you do need to phone them when you want to be picked up (you can't book) so if you don't want to inflate your mobile bill, go to a local shop and in your politest french ask to use the phone to call the hotel!!. The bus driver Jerome is a lovely chap and he gave us lots of invaluable information on the resort etc so recommend asking him lots of questions!

SKI HIRE

There is a ski hire shop within the hotel. You pay 12 euros for insurance as an extra but costs the same as other ski shops so is reasonable.

SKI SCHOOL

We went to the nearest ski school Ecole de Ski which has British ski instructers although ours was a frenchman! He was absolutely excellent (in fact was a mogul champion and owned an off piste guide business) so we really got our money's worth.

SLOPES

The advantage of les deux alpes is that it is high up where alpes d'uex is lower and tends to be icier. Les deux alpes have snow cannons and there is a mixture of blues, greens and quite a few reds and blacks. The resort is probably suited more to the skier who has 4 weeks or more experience as the greens and blues can still be fairly steep and icy and there are quite a few narrow paths that may make the beginner skier a bit nervous.

The resort is not as big as others however, there is a snow park so plenty of opportunity for jumps etc and the resort was not over crowded despite it being the first week of half term for school kids.

Overall it would be accurate to say that the hotel is more of a good 3 star but with the food included on a half board basis, you are definitly getting a good deal (especially if you compare to the cost of other hotels in the area).

We had a fab time and we would love to go back next year.

I was a bit concerned after booking La Farandole and reading the other reviews and didn't know what to expect.

However I was very pleased indeed. The hotel has recently been taken over by Eurogroup Vacances and is in the process of being updated. The south facing room we had was lovely, a huge queen size bed, LCD TV, great bathroom with the deepest bath I've seen. Complimentary bubble bath, moisturiser and soap and the fluffiest white towling dressing gowns and towels. The rooms were cleaned in the afternoon whilst everybody was out skiing.

The food was absolutely delicious and we ate everything put in front of us, especially the cheese course ! We had a bottle of red wine every night called Haute Rodier which was €19 and I can recommend it and for a 4* hotel I don't think this was a bad price at all.

The bar area with the pool table perhaps needs updating and making a bit more cosy and the beer wasn't very nice and priced at €5 for a glass was a bit pricey, but I enjoyed the piano playing, very chilled out.

The swimming pool area also needs a bit of an update but I really enjoyed my swim and the pool was lovely and warm.

The staff couldn't have been more helpful, although the majority of them were French their English is very good but there were also a few English people working there which was really helpful.

Great bars near by, especially Smithys (upstairs) and The Red Frog.

My boyfriend and I booked this hotel for Christmas 2006, thinking it was a 4 star. It's no more than an average 2 star. The rooms are dreadfully furnished, the staff, while friendly, are incompetent and there are not enough of them. We were harrassed most mornings from 9 o'clock on to get out of the room so the cleaner could finish early and go skiing!!! We waited one hour between courses for the christmas dinner, finally we just asked for the dessert and left. The only good point was a very experienced and understanding barman. I believe that the hotel ownership had recently changed hands and had apparently previously been closer to the 4 star experience we were naively expecting. We left 3 days early for our sanity. Very very disappointing.