Flaine might sound like something that fills your throat when you've got a cold, but its actually quite good....

Situated slap bang in the middle of the Grand Massif resort group it is immediately obvious from a glance at the piste map that there are a lot of runs and a lot of lifts in this place. Its not the highest resort base, but snow cover is reasonably safe bet due to the bowl shape of the main slope area. This catches a great deal of windblown snow when many other more exposed areas become scoured.

The village of Flaine at first looks like just another French, purpose built ski resort- born in the 60's from concrete blocks. Closer inspection reveals a twist though as there is actually something quite different about the design of the various apartment blocks.

The reason behind the unusually mesmerising concrete is that it was fashioned by the famous architect Marcel Breuer. This man designed the purpose built village in 1968 as he was at the time a leading product of the esteemed Bauhaus School of Design. Breuer used his distinct style to give the resort an unmistakeable modern art look. I hate it!

Some skiers who have skied in some of the more major resorts in North America might be interested to know that the resort and property giants that are “Intrawest” are spreading their wings towards Europe. Flaine is their second crack at the European whip and their own properties are popping out of the ground like molehills.

Flaine is a great resort for families as it is very hard to get lost when you can see the resort base from almost anywhere within the main bowl. There us a very good nursery area below the Bissac and Poya lifts which, although not extensive, is exactly what you could hope for in a beginner area: gentle, wide, sheltered and close to the village.

One of the best features for the beginner/intermediate is that there are some easy runs stemming right from the peak of the resort at Les Grandes Platiers. This 2480m vantage point allows stunning skiing with incredible panoramic views which include the Mont Blanc Massif and much much more.

For the expert skier there is plenty of good terrain available at Flaine, but there are not that many marked runs. This basically means that there are some of Couloirs and steeper open sections to enjoy, but you've got to be comfortable skiing off piste. I wouldn't personally rate this place as a resort for expert, but it gets a big thumbs up intermediates and would probably be quite a good bet for families with kids that can ski the blue runs: there aren't really enough greens to keep them busy all week unless they are complete beginners. On a final note, I would highly recommend Le Totem hotel for a good value, comfortable stay- they certainly took care of me nicely.