Le lac bleu 1650 is the perfect hotel for a family ski holidays. It is located near the slopes and the ski school, in the village center. Everything is a 5 minute walk away. The ski resort is maybe a little too small/easy if you are a very experienced skier but perfect for a family. The food is good and it is served at the table, except the buffet for breakfast.

The most important things I am looking for in a good ski hotel are proximity to the slopes (as there is nothing worse than being exhausted before getting to the first chair lift), and the standard of service.

On both counts this hotel scores very highly.

The decor of the hotel is also very nice.

I loved that the hotel is truly ski-in ski-out.

All the staff are excellent, its nice to be addressed by name, which gives a flavour of the personal level of service that the hotel provides. There were very few hiccups in service but if something did go wrong staff were always at pains to sort things out.

St Francois is a great resort for not-so-hot skiers like myself. It has a great range of blue runs with few nasty surprises - just up my street. If staying for a week or so, its worth getting the Grand Domain pass in order to explore the neighbouring resort of Valmorel although the descent down Col Medalaine into Valmorel is steepish but certainly not impossible for an intermediate skier. Thanks to Rachel for briefing me on the Valmel pistes- it gave me the confidence to venture over there!

I would have given the hotel 4.5 but TA does not allow that.

The minus points are:

1) Inadequate lighting in the staircases. The hotel is trying hard to be "eco" and uses sensors to turn the lights on but these don't always work immediately, and it could present a safety hazard to vulnerable guests.

2) No coffee making facilities in the room, which personally I missed. Also no fridge, although we left our drinks on the outside window ledge which did the trick

3) No choice at dinner but to be fair the standard of food was mostly good or very good and if you check the menu in advance they do offer to provide an alternative if the menu is not to your liking

4) Slightly disappointed in our room as it was a loft room with no balcony and only a very small window looking out over the mountain, but to be fair it was the height of the season and it was certainly large enough for us. Most of the hotel's other rooms are probably much better appointed than ours was. On the plus side beds were comfortable, and it was a quiet room.

5) Internet was good but you get thrown off the wifi connection quite frequently which is a bit annoying.

6) The ski room is on the ground level which is great as I hate negotiating stairs in ski boots but was a bit cramped at busy times, but we were visiting at the height of the season. Our locker was just about adequate for us (2 skiers).

7) Rooms on the third floor are not for the feint hearted. I think that last staircase is a black.