Samoëns - Community Reviews & Ratings

Samöens is an overall good resort with relatively high snow reliability from mid December- March, with a great ski area in the Grand Massif. However in Peak weeks like New year or February holidays, queues for lifts such as Chariande Express can be upwards of 30+ minutes, with the runs at the summit of the mountain (Tete des Saix) being very congested and being full of moguls come lunchtime, not ideal at all and is quite frankly dangerous with experienced skiers mixing with beginners inevitably resulting in collisions. This is caused by the other chairlift at Samöens 1600 the Chariande 2 being unserviceable as one of the pylons has since moved, thus being deemed unsafe. But lift queues can be avoided by accessing the Coulouvrier lift. However this lift has been built slightly too low, so the snow quality isnt always the best and can be a very icy run, however I would ski down (if able) to access the Coulouvrier lift to save queue time. So in terms of the ski side of things, Samöens is an excellent resort if visiting outside peak weeks, but still a good resort during peak weeks (as unfortunately queues are inevitable nearly everywhere in the Alps at this time). There is a great selection for ski lessons as well, personally I believe the best school in Samöens is 2skifly, they teach skiing and snowboarding to a high quality in different languages. But of course you can find others e.g ESF. In the village after skiing there is a vast range of restaurants and bars as well as Apres Ski Samöens which has always got a good vibe to it and regularly holds a live DJ set. Pricing is pretty standard averaging 6-7 euros a pint of beer, and 18-20 euros for burger and chips. However when having lunch at Samöens 1600 be sure to eat at Brasserie des Saix which is cheaper and always quieter as Im fairly sure it can only be accessed via the red (marmot) run. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Samöens with some great bluebird powder days and would like to come back and would recommend it 100% outside of peak weeks but still during peak weeks just as long as your know what your doing and a confident skier. Stewart.