Val Thorens Sensations France

Club med is very well located with ski-in / ski-out possibilities. The place is really cozy, clean with good food, drinks and parties. At the reception Elena was really lovely. In the ski shop Marco is the go-to guy. At the bar Moses, Eduardo and Cecília are very helpful. In the restaurant Camille is really good as a waitress. At the store Luiza and Ana helps you a lot and the leader of all parties is really engaging and fun!

We had a great time during the stay, the food was great and diverse, the location is very convenient, rooms comfortable, the open bar and staff were great (Alex in particular makes amazing cocktails) and many activities and things to do.
The staff were amazing, and in particular a huge thank you to Eden and Asaf for their incredible help with anything we needed, attention to detail, as well as showing us around and making our stay so much more fun. The trip would not be the same without them.

We are a family of five with older children 19, 19 & 21 and a mixed skiing ability group. I have never skiied before last year.

We absolutely love coming to VT the week before Christmas
(this year 15 th December x 7 nights) just as the children finish university term and just before Christmas. We came the same week last year, but sadly, the term dates do not work for next year 2025, or we would all be back! We chose VT because we felt it was more snow sure at this time of year.

Everything about this hotel and the Club Med experience is fabulous. No, it's not 'ultra luxury', and you need to be realistic. It's not a fortune either, but it's a very strong 4* experience for very good value for money.

Staying in a Club Med ski resort is a bit like staying on a cruise ship on the side of the mountain. We just love the convenience and not having to think about anything, including food and different palettes. There is plenty for all and variety in abundance. We thought the food this year was better than last year in that there were some great speciality options including scallops, sashimi tuna, mussels & confit duck. You will definitely not go hungry here. Vegetarians will be fine, and there is no bun fight for food or afternoon tea where once it's gone, it's gone, as we have experienced in other types of all inclusives.

There's a reason why we saw many repeat faces from last year and met multiple people who have been coming here year after year.

Beds are extremely comfortable. We had balcony rooms, which were large. I bet the standard rooms would be more than fine.

Don't let no pool put you off. The steam room is great and does the job. There's a reasonable enough gym. But just across the road there is the most fabulous public pool, spa, massage pools, saunas for 22 euros a session but you can literally spend an entire afternoon there so if you go, plan to make it worth it. If you just want to swim it's cheaper.

A big shout out to YACIN HAMMOU for his fabulous instruction at the climbing wall in reception. My son has been developing his climbing and enjoyed climbing every afternoon. He feels he really learnt a lot. YACIN also does the walking in the morning, and next year, I may try that!

If you forget any kit, try TOP SPORT a 10 min walk. Head for the public pool complex, go up in the lift, and you arrive in an arcade. Reception will direct you. Even I managed to find it on my own. Another 5 mins walk further up into the town and there's plenty more shops. The market on Thursday night is pretty to take a wander through.

Things to be aware of:

Some of the rooms can hear the faint boom, boom of the louder entertainment at night. We had rooms 762 to 765 and we could hear the entertainment. It wasn't too bad as luckily it didn't go on too late. Last year, we had rooms on Level 3, and I do not remember hearing anything at all.

VT is not fabulous for total beginners. It's okay'ish. I'm a nervous beginner. The beginner area is also where all the other slopes converge, and so you've got some super fast skiiers whizzing past you from behind. Also, there are no trees, and on white out days, it is difficult to judge the edge. That said, plenty of beginners or Level 1's made great progress. The rest of my family love the variety of slopes on offer, and there's plenty for them.

Ski lessons are more like guiding. Some groups can be big. Say up to 12. ESF do their best, but at the end of the day, it's a numbers game. That's what I mean about being realistic for the money. It's really a luck of the draw if you get into a considerate group or a dysfunctional group! There's some rearranging in the first 2 days to try to match up abilities, but sometimes you get families wanting to stay together, and so some in your group may not be of the same level. Some people also think they are better than they are. ESF instructors can only police so much. I had a couple of private lessons at 150 euros for two hours. Well worth it.

No kids club or lessons for under 12 yrs. That means very few small children around. Families with children that need lessons would need to be up early and down onto the slopes to deposit children to other providers before 9 am if they want to then join their own group unless they are having private lessons and then presumably the instructors could meet you at the hotel. It takes about 20 mins to get down via the lift system (via the public pool area), there's the free bus that stops right outside the hotel. Don't know how long that takes as it goes in a continuous circle around the town, and I've never taken it down. Or you can ski directly from the hotel, but some parts of the route would be challenging for a total beginner. Just take your skis off and walk down those bits. I managed that fine. Club Med ski instructors meet you directly outside the boot room of the hotel. Talking of which, we thought the hire equipment was very acceptable and the staff are very helpful if you needed to change anything.

Transfers arranged through Club Med are not bespoke. So, a coach might be waiting for several flights. When we arrived at Geneva, one family had been waiting nearly 3 hours for us! Similarly, on departure, we had to catch a 9.15 am coach for a 4 pm flight because it was also servicing those on a 2 pm flight. Some people arranged their own transfers via 'Cool Runnings' but it costs £350 one way.
Lasy year we flew to Grenoble with Club Meds chartered flights Titan and I preferred it. Everyone on that flight was going to a club med hotel and the organisation was better.

Super fun vacation, second time staying in Club Med Sensations. The rooms are comfortable. Food is versatile, both in each meal and every day, while being delicious.
Service is amazing - All the GOs are fun and friendly. Huge shout-out to Eden and Asaf for their personal care and warm attention, going above and beyond - they improved our vacation tenfold. When our baggage did not arrive because of our flights - they kept our spirits up until it did. They and Club Med got us some free basic necessities to get us through until we got our baggage and we are very grateful for that.
The open bar with its crew (especially mixologist master Alex) were great and helped with that as well :)

An excellent holiday. The staff in the hotel were friendly and welcoming nothing was too much trouble.
The all inclusive aspect works well the quality of food is really good.
The rooms are clean and tidy with beautiful views.
I would recommend.