Hotels in Huez

Huez is a small mountain commune whose name is really shorthand for Alpe d'Huez, the purpose-built ski resort above it, one of the biggest and best-known in the French Alps. Skiers come for the sheer scale: over a hundred kilometres of pisted runs, high-altitude snow reliability, and the Sarenne, one of the longest black runs in Europe. Cyclists know it for the 21 numbered hairpins of the climb, a regular Tour de France mountain-top finish that draws amateur riders all summer.

Be honest: the resort architecture is mostly functional nineteen-seventies concrete rather than picturesque chalet village, and in peak season it can feel like a purpose-built machine for processing skiers rather than a place with much local character. The permanent population is tiny, so almost everything revolves around tourist infrastructure. Stay as close to the main lift base as budget allows, since the resort is spread out and altitude changes between areas make walking with ski gear genuinely tiring.