I've had the joy of skiing in Les Portes a few years back and loved every part of it. My wife and I got a place in Champoussin, on the Swiss side (which is literally the far end of the entire Portes Du Soleil entire map coverage). When you need a ski map, there are four of them to cover both France and Switzerland.
Getting to Champoussin is a challenge but also an adventure. If you dream of ski in/ski out, this is THE place: we stepped out of our building every morning and skied down to the one and only access T-bar to go up into the first mountain (don't worry, it is never crowded and very reliable). I would recommend Champery, if you want to stay near "ski civilization", but, if you are a true powder hound, I can't think of a better start to my ski day.
Being on the far end of an "8 resort" region is both amazing and challenging. While we are not young or ski racers, we can ski fast and anything (reds and blacks) that Les Portes offers, except "The Wall/Le Mur". Even from far away, you can tell, it is long, moguled and STEEP.
What is amazing is that it is impossible to go from one end (Champoussin, Swiss side) of the region to the other in France (way past Morzine) in one day. So, you have to plan your ski day and know where you are going, stop for a bite and, turn around and ski back. What a blast! No time to do the same run twice.. it is GO GO all the way and back!
We had booked another trip during COVID and it was cancelled (winter of 2020). One final image: it is the only place, other than when I heli-skied, where I felt that I was skiing in the middle of nowhere and on top of the world... truly a dream.
WOW. The largest interconnected trans-national ski resort in the world certainly impressed us. Portes du Soleil has so much to love; but with its immensity comes a few things to loathe as well. We skied it in early February when crowds were at their peak & some fresh snow had fallen. A more perfect time to check it out could be had. The backdrop of Montreux & Lake Geneva to the north, the peaks of the Dents du Midi to the southeast, cold dry powder in the Torgon steeps, the world’s best hot chocolate, and mile after mile of diverse skiing are just WOW.
We adore Portes diversity - 2 countries, all terrain types, & loads of villages that will suit everyone’s proclivities. We love the great snow in the high alpine, affordable lift passes, ease of access on the Swiss side (to Champery) and the fact that from one end to the other, one can still find quiet, untracked, ‘old school’ ski areas (like Torgon). And we love the distance one can travel. On one long day we skied over 80km distance with relatively little effort, and that included some fine powder snow hunting & a long lunch as well! Simply wonderful, and reason enough to come to Portes du Soleil.
We loathe that there are too many people in a few of the resort areas (Avoriaz for example) and that it leads to piste trails getting smashed in those locations to a point where it is impossible to believe it had been groomed earlier in the day! Thankfully, we are powder hounds and so such things concern us less, but we are in the minority when it comes to the skiing world! It is also a shame that skiable verticals are not greater, but again, that it relative - fun on snow is fun on snow whether its a staggering 2000m vert or a more comfortable 400m vertical (as is usually the case at Portes!). We do worry that in a changing climate the lower sectors of the resort are becoming snowless earlier in the season. Pleasingly though, it does get massive dumps of snow from cold winter storms.
Regardless of the things to loathe, Portes du Soleil is an area best explored in totality, as a sum of its many parts, rather than just sticking to one country or sector. Unlike some mega-resorts, it is the combination & complex interlinking of resorts that make the experience so good.
Where to stay is the vexed question. If after busy, bustling & popular stay in Avoriaz or Morzine. If seeking high alpine quiet, look to Champoussin. If wanting public transport convenience & classically Swiss, try Champery. For affordability, try Torgon or even better, Morgins. If after a mix of all of the above, Châtel is the place!
We say it often of European ski resorts and here is another. Do yourself a favour & ski here for a week at least once in your life. Take you time, explore, eat, drink & soak it all in. You’ll think WOW too.
You can see our thoughts on the pros and cons on the Portes du Soleil overview page and also see our European ski resort ratings page regarding how we score it compared to other skiing areas.