Resort height: 1450m
The mountains
Méribel regulars love the fact that they can quickly migrate to the two neighbouring valleys. Courchevel, to the west, offers high-quality pistes, while the Belleville valley (home to the ski resorts of Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin-de-Belleville) is the place to go for high-altitude, snowsure skiing, as well as an award-winning terrain park. Beyond that lies the “secret” fourth valley, above Orelle, which offers, in the right conditions, awesome off-piste skiing.
As a result, they tend to overlook the shortcomings of their own valley, which suffers from prolonged exposure to the sun - resulting in perennial problems with snow and ice, especially on the busy pistes down from Courchevel into Mottaret, and from the Altiport/Rond-point area into Méribel. Many skiers and snowboarders get a nasty shock when they first attempt them.
No matter: there are several ways to avoid them - the simplest being to ride the lift down rather than skiing. And once you've left them behind, you'll find some magnificent runs elsewhere in the valley, notably the Mont Vallon piste - which is north facing, and after a couple of tricky switchbacks at the start opens out into a joyously wide and grippy track on which to test your carving skills.
Getting there
You can drive to Méribel, take the train (stopping at Moutiers, in the valley beneath the resort), or fly to Chambéry, Lyon, Grenoble or Geneva airports.
Rating: 
8/10
Après-ski
We Brits like a party, and there's no shortage of them in Méribel, in bars scattered around the slopes as the sun goes down. The Rond-point is a traditional rallying point, as is Jack's. Later on, the scene shifts to the legendary Dick's Tea Bar. However, as is common in many ski resorts with lots of catered chalets, the restaurant scene in Méribel is under-developed, because so many guests eat in each night. La Bergerie Chez Kiki's is popular, thanks to its extensive menu of flame-grilled meat, while Pizza Express is a favourite refuge of families.
Rating: 
5/10
Non-skiers
Lots of non-skiers come to Méribel and Mottaret, dragged there by their keen skiing and snowboarding partners. However, the way the two main villages sprawl over steep-sided hillsides means they're almost impossible to get about in on foot. As a result, non-skiers can sometimes feel rather isolated in their chalets and hotels. If they do manage to get out, they'll find plenty to keep them occupied: there's a good pool and spa in the Olympic Centre, as well as ice-skating, snow-shoeing, dog-sledding and scenic flights from the Altiport.
Rating: 
6/10
Cost of living
Its popularity with well-heeled Brits means Méribel is never going to be a bargain-basement destination. However, it does have a good stock of self-catering apartments for those who want to keep their costs down.
Rating: 8/10
Attractiveness of the resort
It's a good-looking valley, especially when you get up to the far end, beneath the bulk of the 2950m Mont Vallon. Close up, Méribel is the better looking of the two accommodation centres, but both it and Mottaret suffer from being built on steep slopes. You'll need the muscles of mountain goat if you want to get around on foot. (Fortunately, there's a shuttle-bus service.)
