Regular readers of our newsletter and socials will know that the whole team love skiing in March and April. At the start of March, some of our marketing team headed to the Aravis mountains for an educational, where they travelled around discovering the ski area, visiting accommodations, opting to stay in Le Grand Bornand and Manigod! Find out more about Lyndsey's experience on the trip...
Two of my marketing team colleagues and I had the opportunity to go on an educational trip to the Aravis region in the French Alps in March. Situated near Mont Blanc and just an hour's drive from Geneva Airport, this area encompasses the villages of La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand, Manigod and St Jean de Sixt, boasting a combined 230km of pistes.
The Aravis region is famous for producing Reblochon cheese, which you will find in classic French Alps dishes such as tartiflette, along with bacon, potatoes, wine and cream. If you wish to learn about the cheese-making process, you can visit one of the local farms and take a tour.
After hiring a car from the airport, the first stop on our 3-day mountain trip was Le Grand Bornand, which is separated into 2 distinct mountain villages - Le Grand Bornand Village at 1000m and Chinaillon at 1300m. The highest skiable point in Le Grand Bornand is Mont Lachat at 2100m. Fun fact about Le Grand Bornand – there are more cows than people! Over 2000!
We were lucky enough to be staying at the new Les Chalets du Joy 4* luxury residence in Le Grand Bornand Village. This top-notch residence is not far from the 2 gondolas in the village and comprises of high-quality fixtures and fittings, spacious South-West facing apartments and a spa area with indoor pool overlooking the mountains.
Double bedroom at Les Chalets du Joy
Kitchen at Les Chalets du Joy
Lounge and bar area at Les Chalets du Joy
Other properties in Le Grand Bornand we visited were in Chinaillon – the 4* luxury Roc des Tours and the 4* Le Village de Lessy. Roc des Tours is opposite the ski slopes for easy access and Le Village de Lessy a few mins walk away. Both have excellent views over the mountains and both have a really lovely spa area with indoor pool.
Spa area at Le Village de Lessy
Reception/lounge area at Le Village de Lessy
Apartment at Roc des Tours
Reception/lounge area at Roc des Tours
Apartment at Roc des Tours
We were also fortunate enough to ski in Le Grand Bornand for a few hours with an ESF instructor who took us on a tour of the ski area. It was snowing so we had some lovely powder to ski on! It's very easy to get around Le Grand Bornand’s ski area on easy slopes, so ideal for beginners and families! Experts in the party can take advantage of the steeper slopes off the Mont Lachat.
Skiing in Le Grand Bornand
Quick lift selfie!
The next morning we had a ski tour of La Clusaz with another ESF ski instructor. The weather was the complete opposite, very sunny! We managed to cover a bit more ground and one of my colleagues even tried her first red run! One thing we did notice was that Le Grand Bornand was a little more family friendly in terms of the pistes however La Clusaz had some lovely green runs on the Beauregard plateau. This is where the link to Manigod is as well. You will find some long red runs off l’Aiguille and shorter ones from Col de Balme and Torchere.
La Clusaz is a short drive away from Le Grand Bornand, or you can take the shuttle bus if you don’t have access to a car. The ski areas of Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz are not linked by piste, however the ski area of La Clusaz and Manigod are. The resort of La Clusaz sits at 1100m and the top skiable height is Col de Balme at 2477m. La Clusaz is much more lively than Le Grand Bornand, with plenty of late nights bars available to you! Unlike Le Grand Bornand, there is just one village centre where everything you need is situated.
Beauregard plateau
Quick pose by La Clusaz’s sign!
We also visited some accommodation we feature in La Clusaz, such as Les Grandes Alpes, Les Cimes, 5* Au Coeur de Village and Hotel Beauregard.
Indoor pool at Les Cimes
Typical bedroom style at Au Coeur de Village
Each accommodation was well located in the village centre – Les Grandes Alpes was a short 5-8 minute walk to the pistes (400m) through the village centre, the other 3 were within 50-100m of the pistes.
In La Clusaz, we were also treated to a tour of the Distillerie de Aravis (founded in 1878 but has now been taken over by a new family in 2000) where they make Genepi (a famous Aravis liqueur) along with other alcohol such as gin. The tours are generally conducted in French but if you need a tour in English, this can possibly be arranged by contacting the Distillery. Naturally you get to try the produce, as a variety of Genepi was passed around. We have to say, it was very nice indeed! At the end of the tour, we got to try our hand at sealing a bottle and adding the stamp and label. I actually think we did a decent job of it!
Shop produce
Having a go at sealing the bottle!
Our final destination was Manigod, located on a small plateau a 15-min drive from La Clusaz. Manigod is split into a few different areas – the brand new 4* accommodation we offer is located at the Col de la Croix Fry. We were lucky enough to stay at this residence for the night and it didn’t disappoint. The residence is at the foot of the slopes, has a wonderful indoor pool and spa area and the apartments were beautifully decorated!
Lounge and bar area at Hameau de l’Ours
Double bedroom at Hameau de l’Ours
In the heart of the Aravis Massif, Manigod is a friendly authentic village located between 1460m and 1780m. The small family-friendly ski resort locally has 25km of marked slopes as well as a ski lift link with the ski area of La Clusaz taking it to 125km.
No trip to the French Alps would be complete without trying the local food! We ate at several lovely restaurants over the time we were there and had some fantastic meals! The best part of eating in the mountains is that the food is all made fresh from local produce, no microwave in sight! We had raclettes, fondues, tartiflettes, burgers, fish…always topped off with a delicious desert and washed down with a glass or two of local wine! Even Genepi made an appearance once or twice – it’s an excellent after dinner digestive!
We had an excellent trip and were well looked after by the lovely team at the tourist office who hosted the meals and gave us the tours of the accommodations. We felt thoroughly spoilt!
Here are some highlights from our meals:
Tartiflette at La Cozna in LGB ~ Ice cream at La Table du Chalet in LGB ~ Cod dish at Auberge de Pre Vieux in LGB ~ Macaroni cheese at Papi Jo mountain restaurant in LGB
Trip highlights from the other ski experts on the trip...
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"Away from the slopes, a highlight of our trip was a tour of the Distillerie des Aravis in La Clusaz. This is a family-run distillery known for its Génépi, a traditional Alpine liqueur made from a local flower. Not only was the tour very interesting as we got to see behind the scenes in the distilling process, it was also very interactive. We had a go at sealing a bottle of Génépi with wax and stamping the top, and of course, got to sample some of their range! This made such a lovely non-skiing activity – perfect for either non-skiers or to just to mix up the day. Tours are €6 per person with under 12s free." ~ Nicola |
| "On the first day, we skied in Le Grand Bornand, and the ski area was a dream! Loads of gentle greens, perfect for beginners. We were lucky to have an ESF instructor as our guide, they were brilliant. I also skied my first tree line slope! We stopped for lunch at Papi Jo, an Alpine restaurant, located at the bottom of the green Serpentine slope. Offering great views and possibly the best and cheesiest mac & cheese I ever had!" ~ Chelsea |  |