High in the sunny Champsaur, Orcières-Merlette is a snow-sure family resort built at 1850 m in the southern Alps. Big skies, gentle slopes and a famous mountain-top pool define the place.
Orcières-Merlette is a ski-in/ski-out resort (most of the village is genuinely on the snow) in France, in the French Alps. The village sits at 1850 m and the lifts top out at 2725 m, with 100 km of pistes and 24 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 78/100, and the season usually runs Dec 14 → Apr 14.
How we score and classify resortsResearched by the BestSnowHotels team
Run counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Very good · 705 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Orcières-Merlette, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Guests rate this hotel as very good (4.3/5 from 705 reviews). A mid-range option for Orcières-Merlette, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Great · 748 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Orcières-Merlette, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 158 reviews
One of the highest-rated places to stay in Orcières-Merlette, with guests singling out the service and comfort.
Very good · 219 reviews
Strong value for Orcières-Merlette, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Good · 447 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Orcières-Merlette, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Good · 361 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Orcières-Merlette, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Great · 125 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Orcières-Merlette, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Very good · 75 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Orcières-Merlette.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
Purpose-built Orcières 1850 sits right on the snow-front, so most apartments and hotels there are genuinely ski-in/ski-out.
Orcières-Merlette sits on a sunny shelf at 1850 m in the Champsaur, one of the warmest, brightest corners of the southern French Alps yet high enough to hold reliable snow. The 100 km of piste are mostly forgiving, ideal for families and improving skiers, with the 2725 m Drouvet summit giving the longer, steeper runs and wide southern panoramas. It is a self-contained, car-light resort with a big focus on activities, from a mountain-top pool to floodlit night skiing.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Orcières-Merlette: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Orcières-Merlette offers 100 km of pistes across 24 lifts, from 1850 m to 2725 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Dec 14 to Apr 14, with a snow score of 78/100. Snow is usually most reliable in the heart of that window, deep in winter, while the closing weeks bring longer days and softer afternoon snow.
Purpose-built Orcières 1850 sits right on the snow-front, so most apartments and hotels there are genuinely ski-in/ski-out.
Orcières-Merlette has 100 km of marked pistes served by 24 lifts, between 1850 m and 2725 m of altitude.
Orcières-Merlette counts about 52 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
The closest alternatives, an easy switch if dates or hotels are tight.
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