Accessible Skiing in Val Thorens!
Just how accessible is Europe’s highest (and many say best) ski resort? To find out, we sent two of our expert holiday agents to Val Thorens in the French Alps to visit the top accessible hotels, check out the nightlife and experience the thrill of disabled-friendly sit skiing!
Stacey and Danielle visit Val Thorens...
In December we visited the amazing ski resort of Val Thorens for an educational trip to experience the adapted skiing facilities.
We flew from Manchester to Geneva with EasyJet on a plane we felt had sufficient legroom. Arriving in Geneva meant the transfer to Val Thorens in France was fairly long (around three hours), but this also gave us the opportunity to experience an amazing drive through the scenery of both countries.
We travelled to the resort in a shared shuttle transfer, which would be ideal for someone who can transfer and has a manual collapsible wheelchair (although it’s worth mentioning that DisabledHolidays.com can arrange private adapted transfers too!)
We arrived at the resort in the late afternoon and checked into our gorgeous hotel. We then unpacked and went straight to a small restaurant to grab a bite to eat! We found some of the restaurants to be wheelchair accessible, but not all. That night we had a good walk around the resort to get an idea of the terrain for our customers. With little snow on the pathways that night, we felt a manual wheelchair would have been fine to get about; however, it’s important to bear in mind that Val Thorens is built into a valley and can be hilly and slippery in some places.
During our trip we were able to check out various hotels’ facilities for the disabled, and we’re pleased to report they offered a wide selection of features, such as purpose-built accessible rooms, roll-in showers, grab rails and shower chairs. The hotel restaurants and bars were also accessible.
While all the hotels we saw had good disabled access, we did have a couple of firm favourites, including one with a kids’ club which would be ideal for a family group with younger children. Take a look here!
On our second morning, we got to experience the best thing both of us have ever done – the sit ski! Val Thorens is one of the only “ski-in, ski-out” resorts, meaning you can literally ski from the hotel door straight onto the slopes. In the morning before the lesson, we went to hire our ski equipment. Every hotel has its own ski shop, so you don’t need to go far to hire your gear.
Related: Experiencing the Thrill of the Sit-Ski!
We then met our fantastic ski instructor Alain on the hotel terrace. Alain has a disabled son and designed the sit ski himself, so he has a great understanding of disabled skiers’ requirements. We took turns going out on the slopes, which lasted around 45 minutes each. Alain has over 35 years of experience, and his attitude the whole time was amazing. We trusted him right from the off and he made our trip worthwhile.
Sit skiing is great because it’s suitable for people with all levels of mobility. We went skiing down a blue slope, which is a moderate slope in comparison to a black slope, the biggest and steepest. Alain explained that he speaks to every sit skier before and during each lesson to ask what they would be comfortable with regarding speed and the steepness of the slopes. So whether you want a thrilling high-energy run with the wind blowing in your face or a more leisurely glide down the piste, it’s totally up to you. During our sit ski session, we also rode on the ski lift, which has amazing views and accommodated the ski chair with ease.
Read more: Disabled Ski Holidays
After the afternoon of skiing, we had some lunch and light refreshments in the hotel before getting ready to experience a night out. Val Thorens is known for its amazing nightlife, and it definitely lived up to expectations. We went for a lovely meal up in the centre of town, and after that to a few bars and nightclubs. Unfortunately the bars we visited had steps and weren’t disabled friendly, but that shouldn’t put you off because Val Thorens’ accessible hotels have their own fancy bars with wheelchair access.
That night it snowed quite heavily and in the morning the whole resort was covered in around six to eight inches of snow, making everything really picturesque (but more difficult to get around). The good news is that even if you’re not in the mood for skiing, there’s still plenty to do at the hotels, such as enjoying a lazy day at the spa and pool.
On our return from the wonderful resort, we took a slightly different route back to the airport, which made for a beautiful journey back through Switzerland and France past Lake Annecy, which was just stunning!
We absolutely loved our trip and we are so lucky that we work for such a fantastic company!
- Stacey and Danielle
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