“Freshly back from a YogiSki retreat in the French Alps”, is a phrase quite enjoyable to leave hanging in the air at an early morning on set. It holds steady with awe; with a pinch of the smugness generally associated with regaling tales of a ski break, alongside a heaped spoonful of intrigue at the idea of early mornings stridden with a grounding yoga practice, deep in the mountains.
At The Review, we take skiing seriously. If you want a sublimely modern slope-side chalet in glamorous surroundings, enveloped by Michelin-star eateries and couture shopping prospects, we have you covered (Courchevel, I’m looking at you). If you’re after exhilarating opportunities like heliskiing across a glacier between two countries, we also know where to direct you (it’s Cervinia, by the way.)
However, it’s easy to forget those in-between modes, where family time takes a front seat or where friends move around each other at perfect ease, reconnecting over a home-cooked meal after a fulfilling day of exploring, with mixed interests and abilities coming together to share a trip to the snow.
Saint Martin de Belleville
My most recent foray to my favourite ski area fell just two weeks before the seasons’ close, set in the Vallée des Belleville between the French resorts of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and Les Menuires. With lifts rising to 2800m, the resort offered good snow coverage (around 170cm at the top and 60cm at the base of the slopes) and still received regular fall, nonetheless, the season’s change nipping at the foothills revealed other ways to enjoy the mountains at a different pace.
Yoga and ski entwine more candidly than one might think at first glance, with core strengthening and stretching at the heart of a good ski warm-up and cool-down. Meanwhile, time in unmitigated nature and breathwork combine to offer moments of reflection and emotional expansion that draw parallels to one’s experience at the precipice of the mountain before your descent.
Shared between the two neighbouring resorts, this seemingly reticent section of Les Trois Vallées has a unique offering. Returning in 2025 for its 9th edition, the YogiSki festival spans April 6-11th, with a packed programme of events for guests of the area to speckle some more directed wellness moments across their stay, like reflexology lectures or meditation, sound bathing or Thai Chi. Across the week offers unique ways to experience your surroundings, like night hikes and morning yoga at 2800m, with bookable events offered free of charge by the tourist board.
Les Menuires
For accommodation chalet-style, hosts Self-Catered Saint Martin offer a wide range of rentals to fit the wants of each group. For alpine luxury complete with heated indoor pools and wellness areas, Chalet Nanook with its warm wood accents might take your fancy, or for a more modern take, Chalet Imladris offers crisp lines and rendered feature walls for an understated take on Savoyard-chic. For a break for two or just a few, Apartment Lac Blanc features a clean alpine aesthetic, featuring a Nordic bath and ski-in-out access.
My days away were a heartening mix of pursuits. I welcomed my first daybreak with a coffee on our chalet balcony imbibing the caffeine and crisp air whilst watching rich clouds pour snow over the mountains. Later, I enjoyed a still-early morning stroll into Saint-Martin-de-Belleville village, for a reflexology workshop in their festival yurt, which across the week offered holistic workshops in both French and English, on topics like naturopathy, diet and ayurveda.
Refuge du Lac du Lou
Led in 2024 by Lili Barberry, daily yoga classes accessible for all ages and abilities offered revitalising and grounding practice with gentle vinyasa and kundalini flows entwined with expansive breathwork, alongside candlelit yin sessions. Now, 2025 will see two ambassadors take the helm, with Caroline Perrineau, a vinyasa expert with a focus on mental health and functional mobility, and Mathilde Guibert, a vinyasa and ashtanga specialist who, accompanied by her partner in work and life, Matthew, will be leading strength classes based upon his training in functional fitness.
Each element of the programme offers plenty of serene moments, a highlight of the trip for sure was the ascent to Refuge du Lac du Lou, pausing for breathwork reflection on our journey by a rushing river and later at our destination, before the frozen lake at 2045m. After a playful yoga practice, a hearty family-style dinner is served at the refuge, before summoning the last of your energy from your repletion for the descent by moonlight from the barren heights of the valley. Only accessible by foot along with its high altitude means a feast for the eyes as you return, as life back in the village twinkles far below between the glistening peaks.
M-Lodge
Having celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, Les Menuires celebrates a legacy of fascinating architecture, as one of the few resorts to hold firm in its 1960s brutalist aesthetic. Now somewhat back in vogue, for some, it was always a speciality of beauty. Whilst traditional Savoyard design crept in after the initial Plan Neige town-scaping, the charm of its inception remains, as Le Brelin, finished in 1972, with its spanning balconies and pointed elevation is said to resemble a ship, dropped anchor in the snow.
For your moments off the slope, just entering its second season the M-Lodge at Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is a must-visit. The Table du M Lodge restaurant creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere, set with architectural decor and eye-catching art to accompany the menu by Giuseppe Ruggiero, previously of Le Pavillon LeDoyen and La Credenza in the Piemont. If resident, you can expect a luxurious stay, as their beautifully designed rooms are the epitome of contemporary alpine luxury, whilst the spa boasts 220 sqm for wellness, with panoramic mountain views and treatments hosted by Valmont.
Hotel Lodji
The Hotel Lodji offers the perfect stop off too, be that to visit their deli when self-catering, or to visit their bar, Au Torè. With ski-in-ski-out access, their heated south-west facing terrace with panoramic views over the valley at 1425m makes the perfect spot to while away the late afternoon and soak up the sunset until their DJ starts the party.
Meanwhile, Chef Jean-Sébastien Prijot creates a relaxed, family atmosphere in the Au Torè restaurant, with an open fire and a traditional menu of local meats and an Italian-Asian fusion to their seasonally changing menus.
For the true foodie, hotel La Bouitte, Les Menuires, will be an important destination. Run by father and son duo René and Maxime, their Gourmet Restaurant holds two Michelin stars. Their 20-year working relationship welcomes creativity, whilst respecting local ingredients and Savoyard heritage for an experimental and ‘continually evolving’ menu, alongside French wine-tasting evenings held by the chefs.
Chalet Pépé Nicolas
For a more relaxed dining setting, Chalet Pépé Nicolas embodies the charm of the valley, with a menu to match. Traditional Savoyard dishes of fondue, raclette or croziflette are visited tenderly, alongside marrow bone, farmhouse ribs, pumpkin velouté, and the perfect egg with truffled potato. Roasted vegetables meet hand-picked flowers and fragrant herbs from their permaculture high-altitude garden, served alongside the farm’s own cheeses from doorstep mountain pastures, and delectable local wines.
Originally a humble mountain pasture for the family’s herd of dairy cows, today, the Suchet family still owns and runs the farm and its restaurant, creating a unique and unforgettable space.
Sitting at 1850m, Les Menuires offers open skiing, with wide vistas, as its forest cover sits lower in the valley. With ample time to enjoy the last of the white stuff as the season ends, you can take your ski pass across the entirety of Les Trois Vallees to enjoy the largest ski area in the world, offering 600km of piste accessible from 170 lifts. From 1,300m to the summit of Pointe du Bouchet in Orelle at 3,230m, 85% of the piste is located above 1,800m, giving varied skiing from a variety of summits, past glaciers, ski parks and dense forests. And, when it comes to ability, with 16% green to 10% black runs, it’s a pretty fair split for every skier.
Retreat Day
First tracks hits a little differently when preceded by a yoga class at the highest Les Menuires lift, with sun salutations made to quiet, statuesque peaks at 2800m. But, the main event of the week is the retreat day, the perfect ebb and flow of activity. From hiking and snowshoeing to reach your refuge for the day, to a duo of long, indulgent yoga classes that combine chanting and breathwork. A pause for a shared meal offers time to share experiences, before finishing the day with yoga nidra, or yogic sleep, for complete relaxation before your descent by foot.
After a trip offering such an eye-opening exploration of how our yoga practice can serve us, and combine with seemingly opposite disciplines, I am unsure how the plain old yoga studio will measure up now. But, I know in my heart, all I need for my practice is my mat and my intentions.
