Client Review: We love to go to Les Carroz!

Our loyal client, Mary visited Les Carroz for a ski holiday with her adult son in January 2025. Read on to hear all about their wonderful trip...

Reflecting on twenty years of family ski holidays in the French Alps, some of my happiest memories are of staying in the friendly mountain village of Les Carroz, and exploring the scenic Grand Massif ski area in a large group of friends, watching the children progress over the years from the gentle green Marvel in Morillon to the hair-raising Diamant Noir in Flaine.

Not only does the Grand Massif area have extensive skiing above and below the tree line, but it also has some superb mountain restaurants.  When I asked our now adult son where he might like to go skiing with me in January, without hesitation he replied, “I’d like to go back to the Grand Massif!”

With only two of us travelling, and having our own ski equipment, taking the train seemed a practical option. We stayed overnight near Paris Gare de Lyon and caught the 7am TGV to Cluses the next morning. The train initially whizzes along the high-speed line, before meandering through the mountain foothills and past the Lac de Sylans near Nantua, where the Autoroute Blanche towers high above the valley on an impressive viaduct.  At 11:30 we reached Cluses station, from where we had pre-booked a transfer through Peak Retreats for the short journey up to Les Carroz.

Arriving in resort at midday, we left our luggage in the reception of our accommodation, Les Chalets de Léana, which occupies a prime village centre location, just off the main square. We then headed straight for lunch at Le Refuge 1110m, a cosy, family run restaurant offering a range of Savoyarde dishes.  Not only was the meal delicious but we enjoyed catching up with the friendly owners, who were pleased to see us back after a gap of several years.  By the time we had dropped our skis off for edging and waxing, and picked up a few provisions from the nearby Casino supermarket, our apartment was ready.

The friendly receptionist accompanied us to our one-bed, first-floor apartment in Chalet Cristal, and we were thrilled with the balcony view of snow-covered rooftops and the Timalets piste.  

The apartment had a pleasant living area with a comfortable sofa bed and ski themed furnishings.  The bedroom was also on the Timalets side, and once the distant sound of the piste basher had subsided, I loved drifting off to sleep listening to the gentle babble of the Gron stream.  Each morning our pre-ordered bakery goods were conveniently delivered to the apartment door. 

A potential downside of Les Chalets de Léana, in comparison to its sister residence Les Chalets de Jouvence, where we had stayed on previous winter visits, is that the former is not ski-to-door.  Nevertheless, we soon got used to the five-minute walk and two magic carpets up to the revamped Kédeuze gondola.  Other options for accessing the slopes would have been taking the ski bus or hiring a ski locker at the foot of the gondola.

Having previously skied in the Grand Massif in early April, we looked forward to trying a few runs that had not been open on our previous visits.  Whilst it was a week since the last snow fall, the temperatures were cool and the sun was out, so we had perfect ski conditions for the first few days, with good snow depths right down to village level. 

We soon found ourselves saying; “We want to ski here in January every year!” One early highlight of the week for my son was skiing the more challenging Gers area in Flaine for the first time, and taking the “steepest drag lift ever” back up!  In contrast, the next day we enjoyed a long descent on blue runs from the top of the Tete des Saix to Morillon village, where with the help of snow cannons, the beautiful wooded Doina piste was open down to the foot of the gondola at 700 metres.

We also explored the pistes between Samoens and Morillon served by the Coulouvrier chairlift, which starts significantly lower than the Lanche lift it replaced, resulting in beautiful, longer runs through the forest to a tranquil valley. At the time of our visit the Aouia and Les Chars runs were blissfully quiet, so we incorporated them into our itinerary most days, and enjoyed the scenic ride back up on the Coulouvrier, the longest chairlift in Europe!

The weather then became unsettled, with two mornings of snow higher up and rain on the lowest slopes.   The skiing was better than expected in the wet weather, thanks to good visibility on the many sheltered tree-lined runs, making more use of the Kédeuze gondola, and being able to dry out over lunch at a cosy mountain restaurant.  In the afternoons, once the clouds dispersed, we enjoyed skiing small amounts of untracked powder at the edge of the by now deserted pistes.

We ended each day skiing our favourite Les Carroz runs independently, before meeting up at the Anfionne mountain restaurant for a drink by the glowing woodburner.   From there we headed down the Timalets piste to the upper village, where we loved skiing past the pretty chalets, whilst savouring the enticing smell of woodsmoke which emanated from them.  

As we took our skis off at the foot of the nursery slope for the short walk back to Les Chalets de Léana, we looked forward to heading to the residence wellness area, with the extensive facilities including a superb indoor pool, warm Jacuzzis and a relaxing steam room.  During the course of the week, I also felt rejuvenated after a visit to the Ô des Cîmes Spa, where the staff were friendly and treatments exceptionally good.

The village square looked very pretty by night, with many illuminated trees, and the restaurants and bars were bustling with people.  Le Baratin became our favourite stop for an après ski drink, and we treated ourselves to takeaway pizzas from L’Agora restaurant on the last night.

On the final day, we had a transfer back to Cluses for the 9:30am train to Paris.  Arriving in Cluses on the early side, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at a bakery called Entre 2 Fournées, which was only five minutes’ walk from the station.

After a relaxing journey, we stepped off the train at Paris Gare de Lyon at 2pm.  It was exciting to find ourselves in Hall 1, facing the prestigious Train Bleu restaurant, also famous for its association with the film Mr Bean’s Holiday! 

Book your Les Carroz ski holiday

Are you ready to book your Les Carroz ski holiday or would you like to pick our brains? Peak Retreats are French Alps experts and we have a small friendly team on hand to help with any questions you may have. Give us a call on 023 9283 9310 or email reservations@peakretreats.co.uk.