France has a hotel classification above five stars. The Palace distinction was created by the state in 2010 for properties judged exceptional beyond the standard ratings, it is awarded by a national committee, and there are only around thirty of them in the entire country.
Courchevel 1850 has several. For a village of a few thousand beds at 1,850 metres in the Tarentaise, that is a concentration that exists nowhere else in the Alps, and it tells you what this resort is.
The four altitudes
Courchevel is not one village. It is four, stacked up a mountainside, and they were renamed some years ago though almost everyone still uses the numbers.
Courchevel 1850, now just Courchevel, is the top and the expensive one: the Palace hotels, the jewellers, the altiport where private aircraft land on a sloped runway, and direct access to the best of the terrain.
Courchevel Moriond, at 1650, is a level down: sunnier, more family-oriented, considerably cheaper and on the same lift system.
Courchevel Village at 1550 and Le Praz at 1300 are lower again, more traditional, and where seasonal workers and value-conscious families stay.
All four connect into the Three Valleys, which links Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens across around 600 kilometres of piste on one pass — the largest linked ski area in the world.
Méribel sits in the middle valley, chalet-built and the most Anglophone of the three. Val Thorens at 2,300 metres is the highest resort in Europe, which makes it the most snow-sure and the least attractive to look at.
The thirteen below are grouped by which.
Courchevel 1850
The top village. Palace hotels and the best terrain access.
Residence le Cheval Blanc occupies a position on the Jardin Alpin piste with ski-in ski-out access, a serious spa and a level of service that is the benchmark in the Alps.
Residence le Cheval Blanc
Jardin Alpin, Courchevel 1850 · 5★ · $$$$
Ski-in ski-out with the deepest service in the Alps
Check availabilityBelambra Clubs Résidence Les Menuires - Le Hameau Des Airelles sits on the same slope with an interior of considerable extravagance, a large spa and a children's programme that is the best in the resort.
Belambra Clubs Résidence Les Menuires - Le Hameau Des Airelles
Jardin Alpin, Courchevel 1850 · 5★ · $$$$
The best children's programme in the Alps
Check availabilityAman Le Melezin occupies a quiet position on the Bellecôte piste with a restrained interior, a pool and a level of calm the other palaces do not attempt. It is the anti-Courchevel Courchevel hotel.
Apogée Courchevel, Oetker Hotels sits above the village with a spa, a cinema and ski-in access from the door.
Apogée Courchevel, Oetker Hotels
Jardin Alpin · 5★ · $$$$
Spa, cinema and ski-in access above the village
Check availabilityLe K2 Djola occupies a chalet-style building on the Cospillot piste with a spa, two restaurants and a private cable car link.
Le K2 Djola
Cospillot, Courchevel 1850 · 5★ · $$$$
Chalet buildings with a private cable car link
Check availabilityHotel Barriere Les Neiges sits at the foot of the Bellecôte with a casino, a spa and a large pool.
Hôtel Le Strato occupies a slope-side position with a restrained modern interior and a strong restaurant.
Hôtel Le Strato
Courchevel 1850 · 5★ · $$$$
Restrained modern slope-side with a strong kitchen
Check availabilityHotel Le Chabichou sits in the village with a long-standing two-star restaurant and a spa, and it is the most established name in Courchevel dining.
Hotel Le Chabichou
Courchevel 1850 · 5★ · $$$$
The resort's most established restaurant, with a spa
Check availabilityCourchevel Moriond
One level down. Sunnier, more family-weighted, better value.
Manali Lodge by Alpine Resorts occupies a ski-in ski-out position at Moriond with a pool, a spa and apartment-style rooms at a fraction of the 1850 rates.
Manali Lodge by Alpine Resorts
Courchevel Moriond · 5★ · $$$
Ski-in ski-out at a fraction of the 1850 rates
Check availabilityMéribel
The middle valley. Chalet architecture and the best position for the whole Three Valleys.
Hotel Le Coucou Méribel sits on the slope above Méribel with an interior by a well-known designer, a pool over the valley and the most striking rooms in the Three Valleys.
Hotel Le Coucou Méribel
Above Meribel · 5★ · $$$$
A designer interior and a pool over the valley
Check availabilityHôtel Le Kaïla occupies a position at the foot of the Méribel pistes with a spa, a pool and a Palace distinction of its own.
Hôtel Le Kaïla
Meribel piste base · 5★ · $$$$
Palace distinction at the foot of the middle valley
Check availabilityVal Thorens
At 2,300 metres. The highest resort in Europe and the most snow-sure.
Altapura Hôtel & Spa Val Thorens occupies a position in the village with a large spa, several restaurants and ski-in ski-out access at altitude.
Altapura Hôtel & Spa Val Thorens
Val Thorens · 5★ · $$$$
Ski-in ski-out at 2,300 metres with a large spa
Check availabilityRésidence Koh-I Nor by Les Etincelles sits above the village with a pool under a glass roof, a spa and the highest luxury rooms in the Alps.
Résidence Koh-I Nor by Les Etincelles
Above Val Thorens · 5★ · $$$$
The highest luxury rooms in the Alps
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The chalet rentals across all three valleys are excluded, and in the Three Valleys the catered chalet is a whole industry, particularly in Méribel. They are houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Ski the Three Valleys properly. It is possible to cross from Courchevel to Val Thorens and back in a day and it takes commitment; a guide makes it far more efficient.
Eat on the mountain. The Courchevel and Méribel altitude restaurants are among the best mountain dining anywhere, and lunch here is a proper meal at a proper price.
Watch the altiport. Aircraft landing uphill on a 537-metre sloped runway at 2,000 metres is a genuine spectacle from the terrace above it.
For non-skiers, Courchevel has an Olympic-standard ice rink, a bowling alley, an aquatic centre and enough shopping to fill a week.
In summer the valleys are hiking and biking country at a fraction of the rate, with the lifts running.
Practical notes
Geneva is about two and a half hours by road, Lyon two and a half, Chambéry an hour and a half. Transfers on a Saturday in season are considerably longer. Courchevel's altiport takes private aircraft and helicopters.
The season runs December to April. Christmas, New Year and February half-term are the peaks, and February in France is exceptionally busy because of staggered school holidays. Mid-January and late March are the value windows.
Val Thorens holds snow longest; Courchevel 1850 and above is reliable; the lower villages can be marginal at either end of the season.
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Questions people actually ask
What is the Palace distinction?
A French state classification above five stars, awarded by a national committee to around thirty hotels in the country. Courchevel holds several.
Which altitude should you pick?
1850 for the terrain, the restaurants and the hotels. Moriond for sun and value. Méribel for the centre of the Three Valleys. Val Thorens for snow certainty.
Is one pass enough?
The Three Valleys pass covers all of it. A Courchevel-only pass is cheaper and covers a great deal.
How many nights?
Seven. The area is too large for less.
If you only book one
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