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flaine-town2

Flaine Town Centre

The resort of Flaine tends to divide opinion; set in the heart of the Grand Massif in a stunning snowy bowl the scenery is extremely beautiful but the resort itself receives more mixed reviews! 

The village was purpose built in the late 1960’s but it is not just your average purpose built ski resort. In an attempt to do something a bit different the famous German architect Marcel Breuer was brought in to design the resort in the Bauhaus style. The design was intended to reflect its landscape exhibiting ‘the principle of shadow and light’ like the shadows of the surrounding crags, even the colour of the concrete was chosen to match the surrounding limestone. The design does not stop with the buildings, modern art sculptures have been brought in to adorn the town and the bottom of the pistes, including a piece by Picasso. The resort has its admirers but probably more detractors. It’s generally agreed it looks better from the pistes.

Whatever your opinion of the architecture Flaine still has a lot going for it. Split over three levels it is a very well organised and efficient resort with excellent accessibility and a very relaxed atmosphere.  

The resort is car free which gives it a nice feel and getting around the three levels by foot and lift is easy. The neighbouring villages of the Grand Massif are also very easy to get to and offer much more traditional and picturesque mountain villages. Everything about Flaine is convenient if not beautiful, even getting here is easier than most resorts being just 70km from Geneva. If you can ignore the look of the resort and are after some excellent skiing in a well organised the resort Flaine could well be the place for you.

Flaine Nightlife

The nightlife in Flaine is definitely quieter then in other resorts, there are a few bars and restaurants, but they are better suited to a quiet glass of wine or beer in the evening rather than a full night of partying. 

 

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FLAINE FACTS

Best For: Intermediate skiers
Resort Charm:
Centre Comfort:
Nightlife:
Nearest Airport: Geneva (70km)
Coach Available:
Fun Fact: There is a Picasso sculpture in the resort
Snowsure Rating:

Testimonials

  • Lunch and dinner were epic. Buffet style with delicious and varied options each day and night. Not cheap foods either - Full roast chickens, ribs, roast beef, etc. Unreal!
    Ron H
  • UCPA is a unique and brilliant experience, I would not describe it as a hotel but also not hostel it is somewhere in-between. Its a place where meeting people and making friends...
    Peter E
  • There is always a range of ages, nationalities, mixtures of solo travellers, couples, groups etc. We have booked as a group of 6, a group of 36 (no joke) and even just me and my boyfriend – it works for all.
    Anna R
  • The food is PHENOMENAL at UCPA – brilliant for those with eyes bigger than their belly. 
    Asim A
  • The food offers great variety, choice (several options each night), quantity (as much as you want) and quality is decent (7/10). Cheese and yoghurts coming out of your ears, packed lunch option, afternoon...
    Anna R
  • Everyone at the Flaine UCPA centre was very friendly and spoke perfect English.
    Tong Tong
  • No matter how hard you try, when you book everything separately (especially with the Euro and price of food at the moment), you will never beat UCPA.
    Anna R
  • We all appreciate that we are inside one of those perfect moments, heightened by the expectation of another afternoon riding the perfect, untracked powder that our instructor...
    Matt J
    

REVIEWS – READ WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY ABOUT US!

Reviews 1 to 10 of 11
12

Flaine | Ski Full Time Instruction

Staying with UCPA in Flaine in January 2013 was possibly one of my favorite ski holidays yet.  It was my first time with UCPA so I was not sure what to expect but I was not to be disappointed.  The ski instruction was brilliant and we were lucky to have a huge snowfall half way through the week too.  We had group lessons every day and our instructor was great fun.  It would have been even better if the group sizes were smaller (ours was 12 people) but you can’t have everything!  My skiing improved dramatically and I really built my confidence up during this week, and am now keen to push myself even further next year with UCPA!  I stayed in a twin room in Flaine and the accommodation was reasonably basic, but more than adequate with en-suite facilities.  Downstairs there is a nice big bar area with a fire in the middle of it, which was a great way to meet up with friends after a hard day of skiing.  Evening activities were amusing and I took part in stretching most nights and we especially enjoyed the karaoke, being in the minority as a group of English amongst the French singers!  The food was incredible with so much choice every evening – that was a real highlight of UCPA.  I can not wait to go again!

Flaine | Ski Off Piste

I chose a week in April of full time off piste skiing tuition at the UCPA in Flaine, booking through Action Outdoors with a group of eight of us, who drove from the UK.

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Flaine | Snowboard Half Time

I went to Flaine in March this year for my first time ever snowboarding. The resort was exactly what I expected, simple but with everything you need. It may not be the prettiest of buildings that you stay in, but you wont be going there to look at the resort, it looks a lot nicer from up the slopes and that's what counts.
The rooms are basic. We had four single beds, a wardrobe each, a shelf each, a plug socket (take a euro adapter and a normal UK extension lead for more sockets if you need them), small room with a toilet and another room with a shower and a sink. We had enough storage space for all our wet gear, however the radiator was partly covered and meant not much could be put on it at once (however this could well be just because of the layout of the room we were in, not sure about other rooms). Also, the windowsills are wide enough to keep a few bottles of beer cold for you as you don't have a fridge or anything in the room.
The instructors were amazing, they don't just help you learn to snowboard, they make sure you're enjoying it and they're there to have fun as well it seems. Very patient despite being in a group with varying quality, so anyone is able to learn.
The food provided was outstanding, with it being a buffet, you can make sure the portions are big enough so you don't go hungry. There wasn't a day when they didn't have something I liked.
The only real negative I could think of, is that it's fairly quiet once the lifts close, but the cheap drinks in the small supermarket just down the stairs from the UCPA can make up for that. However, the UCPA bar was always lively and there is a pool table there (2 Euros a game).

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Flaine | Ski Half Time

This is the best value skiing holiday one could ever find, anywhere.

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Flaine | Ski Full Time Instruction

This was the eigth time that I have been away with Action Outdoors and the UCPA and all I can say is that I wish I had discovered it sooner!

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Flaine | Snowboard Full Time

The journey was blighted by the terrible weather, making the coach journey take an additional 12 hours to arrive, once there the venue was beautiful, the accommodation was adequate, the room small but fine with. Great view of snow covered mountain slopes, the food was brilliant, the instruction was great, moving us on as our ability  improved. The staff provided après ski cake and tea which was a very nice touch. The warm down exercises organised by staff at UCP were helpful too. Lovely place, lovely people.

Flaine | Beginners Ski

I loved the resort - the brutalist architecture may not be to everybody's taste but where else can you wake up and see a Picasso outside your bedroom window? The network of pistes and various kinds of lifts meant for great variety, once I had enough confidence to do blue runs - of which there are some that are awesomely stunning. Our ski instructor Jean-Louis was amazing, a real philosopher and an empowering teacher. Food was plentiful and delicious especially the ice cream bar at lunch, and CHEESE. Not pulsing with nightlife, but perfect for an energetic, greedy, relaxing week with friends. Definitely recommend.

Flaine | Ski Full Time

Resort: location was fantastic we could either stay on the same mountainside as Flaine and get many fun runs down the mountain or go further into the grand massive for longer more relaxing runs.

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Flaine |

The food was plentiful and a big Variety

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Flaine | Ski Full Time Instruction

We had a fantastic time at UCPA Flaine.  Our 2 person room was a good size.  It was clean and the shower had great water pressure which meant a hot shower after a day on the slopes was glorious.  The staff at the centre were very friendly and efficient.  The in house entertainment is a good laugh if you've got a group of friends together.  The instruction was brilliant, the instructor himself was awesome, he was very knowledgeable and funny.  He did his best to accommodate the expectations of the group, working to improve our technique whilst at the same time taking into account that is was our holiday and making the lessons fun.  

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Reviews 1 to 10 of 11
12