Wow! I had an excellent day climbing via ferrata in Thônes, FR with Mark! He is an excellent…read moreguide-- professional in all respects, a great communicator, and made our entire day fun! I highly recommend Simply Savoie for your guided experience!

Wow! This place is great. I had trouble finding ski touring equipment (Randonee as it is known in…read moreFrance) as most ski places do not carry it. I went with a friend to another (not Sport 1600) nearby ski shop where they only spoke French, had lost his reservation he made online and they literally threw the equipment at him and made no effort to make sure it fit or be helpful in anyway. Some locals suggested I try Sport 1600 and I am so happy I did. The staff all spoke English and French (as well as a selection of other language) and were very friendly and helpful. They took great care to make sure that everything fit perfectly and made sure I knew how to use the bindings (very different to nordic or alpine ski bindings). They offered to come to my accommodation to fit my gear for me but the weather was good and it was a short walk up the hill to find them. The equipment was excellent and well maintained. I emailed the shop ahead of time and they were expecting me and had the right size equipment set aside for me. The staff were so helpful and kind and the ski gear was great. They also had a good selection of clothing and other equipment in the shop. I highly recommend Sport 1600 and will be back next time I am in Meribel.

Ths staff here went above and beyond to be friendly and helpful here. All my gear worked great and…read moreovernight storage made the whole week so convenient. Highly recommend for rental needs in the area.

The Ski Republic in the centre of Val Thorens is a ski and snowboard rental shop. In Val Thorens…read morethere are two Ski Republic shops. The rental prices is very reasonable. You can rent skis, shoes and sticks for a week for EUR 60. Also, different to the Skiset Snowberry, they accept small signs of usage without charging extra money. They even didn`t ask for money when a friend of us brought back the equipment with a broken stick, although we of course were sure that this damage has to be paid. My wife and another friend brought their own equipment there. They charge EUR 5 for waxing, EUR 5 for sharpening the edges and EUR 5 por small renovation of the bottom side. They are very friendly and service is important. Next time I`ll definitely will rent my equipment in this shop!

Ariondaz sports is located alongside the main carpark of Domaine de L'Ariondaz which is a large…read moreprivate complex on the topside of Courchevel 1650 and consequently is primarly used by residents and guests of the Domaine. The shop changed hands in 2010 and has been totally revamped with 6 day ski hire now starting at 60 euros which is cheap for Courchevel. A quick look at the equipment offered for hire would suggest that it's all quite new so rental prices look good.

I've spent 3 weeks here this season, and feel like I could live here…read more I can't give it a better recommendation. Considered one of the 'snow-sure' resorts, Val d'Isere is more likely to have decent snow coverage than most. It has a variety of terrain to suit all abilities, a lovely town, modern lifts and is pretty easy to get to from Bourg St Maurice. You can't really go wrong with Val d'Isere!

Fantastic pistes, very efficient lift network throughout the resort. There really isn't much more…read moreyou could ask for from a ski resort.

Great place! The slopes are awesome and there is every skill level you could want. Well maybe not…read moreso much in the way of glades but that is what you get when you are this high up in the mountains. Really nice lifts for the most part and lots of fun stuff to do. I keep dreaming that someone will one day come to France to make reasonably priced yet decent food on a ski slope...like the burgers you find in Sun Valley in the US... One day... One day... Until then, Val Thorens is as good as it gets.

I think this must be the most friendly ski-hire shop I've ever been too. The two brothers who work…read morehere spend the time to make sure you get exactly what you need. They're also, of course, extremely knowledgeable about the best places to ski - it's good to get some advice when you have the world's largest skiable area to explore! I'll definitely be going back there this year and attempting le grand couloir on their equipment. The free homemade jam you get with every hire is a nice touch! Delicious. UPDATE FOR 2008! Of course we went back to Sport Gliss. What's changed? Nothing - it's better than ever. The brothers aren't brothers though! They're mates who look EXACTLY the same! JB's my new best friend. The jam is still great. And I'm still not quite good enough to tackle the Grand Couloir. Next time, my friends, next time...

Small train station that everyone takes to get to the Alps ski resorts. Has a waiting area,…read moremagazine kiosk and small coffee shop with free wifi. The customer service is not great but that seems to be quite standard in SNCF stations. The Eurostar also stops there and has an information booth.