La Tania - Skiing
By Gareth Wild
Developed in 1992 for the Albertville Olympics La Tania boasts impressive runs, incredible scenery and great connections to other resorts in the three valley region. Found 1400 meters above sea level the first thing that strikes you is how relaxed the town is, with only one road running through it and almost no traffic you can start to forget about the misery of an English winter back home.
Despite being a small resort La Tania is positioned perfectly between Courchevel and Meribel and offers a wide range of runs suitable for all levels of competency on the slopes. The horse shoe shaped ‘town centre’ is comprised of ski schools, ski hire shops and a number of bars and restaurants dotted around the edge. A big bonus for skiers is that due to La Tania’s size or lack thereof, at the end of a hard day on the slopes you can ski right up to your hotel or chalet reducing time spent on awkward shuttle buses.
Hotel La Montana
The Hotel:
Containing 71 rooms each with Bathroom and private toilet, 3-star Hotel La Montana is one of the few large hotels to dominate the skyline in La Tania. Most rooms have a balcony and the view across the town centre and nursery slopes is superb if nothing else but to watch people skiing into the resort at the end of the day.
The hotel has a large bar area and seating around an open fire to help warm up any aching muscles. We were lucky enough to have a drink whilst one of La Tania’s residents took to the piano for the evening, entertaining all and sundry with a number of distinctively French tunes.
If you are the healthy sort and still have energy after a full day of skiing there is a basic gym available but in all likelihood, unless you are some sort of athlete you will prefer to relax in the sauna/swimming pool combo.
The hotel restaurant is a pleasant dinning experience with set menus each evening that cater for most, perhaps lacking in options for those who don’t eat red meat but the food itself is cooked to a high standard and is served by a very efficient waiting staff.
The buffet breakfasts were superb and the ‘lots of choice and plenty of it’ ethos means that you can stock up for a long day up the mountain.
The Heart of The Three Valleys
Eating Out:
If you fancy eating out of the hotel then there are a number of options which fit differing occasions. If you’re after a curry and a pint then the ski lodge bar is perfect, prices are similar to a UK Wetherspoons (€10 for a curry and a drink) and the atmosphere feels a lot more British. Whether that is a good thing is down to personal taste.
For a special occasion there is La Farçon, a Michelin rated restaurant which has some creative dishes that would keep Heston Blumenthal guessing. Prices are steep compared with the rest of La Tania (€30-€100) but La Farçon is a unique eating experience and if money is no problem then it is definitely worth a try.
For those of you looking for something in between pub grub and the high life there is La Taiga, a restaurant with great choice, at a price that isn’t going to break the bank. La Taiga has all the specials that you’d expect to find including a delightfully smelly Tartiflette and also a wide range of traditional menu choices. Expect to pay in the region of €15 for a main.
Nightlife:
La Tania does struggle to generate much nightlife as the bars are few and far between. 'The Ski Lodge' being the general hub for all drunken activity, usually packed by 9pm its worth getting in a little early to bag a table as no amount of alcohol can take away the ache from a days skiing. La Taiga also has a restaurant-bar where you can catch some live music and the cocktail happy hour manages to get the evening going nicely.
The Skiing:
The three valleys has a reputation for the best skiing in Europe and its easy to see why, with 600km of ski slopes it is in fact the largest ski area in the world. Although I was only able to explore the Courchevel and Meribel valleys it quickly dawns on you just how much skiing is on offer. Whether you like wide open pistes or something tricky running through the trees, you’ll be able to find it here.
La Tania’s positioning between Courchevel and Meribel makes accessing these two valleys very easy and La Tania is a logical base camp to explore as much of the region as possible.
Courchevel is famed for its long never ending runs and the lower pistes comprise of some excellent green and blue runs ideal for beginners who are picking up confidence and are looking to take the next step. Further up the mountain there are some tricky red runs to remind you that Courchevel played its part in hosting the 1992 winter Olympics.
In the Meribel valley the slopes suit the more advanced skier with the east and west faces dominated with red and black runs designed to test, perhaps it was my tired legs but some of these slopes pushed me to my limits. All runs are clearly marked and returning from the other valleys to La Tania via chairlift is easily done. If all else fails there are regular buses between the valleys that pulls up behind the back of Hotel La Montana.
Directski Staff
Although not based in La Tania our rep was always available by phone and called us each evening to see how we were getting on and offering up suggestions for alternative evening activities. This was a different approach to repping from previous trips but it worked. As the trip was so efficiently planned there were no questions left unanswered regarding transfers too and from the hotel yet it was good to know that if did need assistance it was only a phone call away.
Directski.com has a 7 night half board ski holiday to the slope-side Hotel Le Montana in La Tania from £609 per person. Prices include return flights from Gatwick or Manchester and transfers.
Visit www.directski.com or call 0800 358 0448
see La Tania at www.directski.com/ski/france/la_tania
