Residence Les Balcons de Sirius

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This was our 3rd visit to Risoul. We stayed at the Les Balcons de Sirius for one week at the end of January and couldn't fault it.
If you go with a tour opertor the tranfer can be quite long at 3 hours and you could find yourselves left alone on a 49 seater coach after dropping people off at other resorts on the way. Once your there you don't have to worry about it for a whole week and plus there aren't too many resorts within stones throwing distance of an airport.
Accomodation
The appartment was for 6 and was clean, tidy and very modern. It had 2 seperate showers (1 en-suite) and a completely seperate toilet. A little trick for staying in appartments is to take a box of matches. ( It kills certain odours). The appartment was warm and our clothes seemed to dry out overnight. There are radiators in the room for drying your gloves on. The dinning area is fairly seperate fromm the sleeping areas and theres no converting seats into beds in the appartment for 6.
The ski locker is also large and can easily hold all of the skis, boards, boots and more.
The pool was warm but could get a little busy.
Location
The location of the appartment was also great as you could practically ski back to the ski-locker room door. There is a walk down into town, which is quicker via the piste. You can also walk down the road and then down some stairs that cut through the apparment blocks below. For beginers there is a green run that takes you down from an 8 person chairlift down to the appartment block. This also links up with a blue run that is a little more direct.
Skiing
The runs in Risoul are very good, well looked after and cover all ranges and abilities. For wider open pistes go over to Vars. Don't be put off by the map, you can get back fom Vars without using a tow lift.
The only negative we had this trip is that it was quiet in the resort (which is actually a good thing when queing for a lift) but not if the one of the lifts isn't operating to keep costs down. We were forced to either go to the top of the resort or to take the tow lifts to access one side of the resort. Don't be too put off though as my girfriend won't go on tow lifts and she still managed to ski this part of the resort.
The resort
There are a few bars and restaurants and it is easy to eat out when the resort is quiet. When it's a French holiday it becomes very busy and you must book early to secure a table in a restaurant.
Overall - Risoul is a lovely ski resort that isn't ugly and not too busy with a lot of varied skiing
The resort can get a little quiet, so if your looking for great nightlife Risoul isn't for you.