Eating
In the evening, there are four restaurants within the resort to choose from on our night off. The Bergerie and the Maison à Colonnes both serve really good food, much of which is typically Savoyarde. Prices are similar between the two, with the Maison being a bit more rustic while the Bergerie is more formal. The Pitchouli still serves pizza in the evenings and Chez Alison is also available for good food at prices which are a bit cheaper than the Bergerie or the Maison. If you're willing to travel a short distance in the evenings, there are a few more options outside of the resort. In Sainte Foy village, the Monal has a lively bar which also serves pizzas and a very good restaurant upstairs. Next door, La Becqua is a Lebanese-themed restaurant serving really good food with many vegetarian options. Beyond La Becqua, La Grange is another very good bar/restaurant in Sainte Foy village. Further down the valley, La Perce-Neige in Viclaire, between Bourg Saint Maurice and Sainte Foy, is also excellent (and a frequent beer stop on our summer mountain bike rides). Taking the back-road up the mountain from Sainte Foy village towards La Rosière leads to the twin villages of Le Miroir and La Masure where you will find a restaurant called Chez Mèrie. This restaurant is reknowned as one of the very best in the area and quite an experience. The building is a traditional chalet and food is cooked over an open fire to a very high standard. Prices are correspondingly expensive! If you have travelled to the resort by your own car or hired a car at the airport, then it's only 5 minutes drive to Sainte Foy village or 10 minutes to Chez Mèrie, the only issue is nominating the designated driver! A taxi back is not expensive either, if shared between a few people.

Nightlife
I once read a snowboarding guide book which, under the nightlife entry for Sainte Foy, read "The stars are bright." Fortunately, that was some time ago and things have changed a bit. The Iceberg is our favourite bar. It's right at the foot of the slopes and is great for an aprés-ski beer. They often have live music and stage regular karaoke nights. The Pitchouli bar in the resort centre is the other contender. They also have regular live music nights and serve food in the evenings. For comedic drunken effect, they also make you sit on swings instead of bar stools!

For a big night out, guests sometimes make the short journey up the valley to Val d'Isere or Tignes on our night off. Both have a wide choice of restaurants as well as a multitude of bars and nightclubs. A return taxi trip is around €20 per head if you can put a group of 6 or so together.

Shopping
Sainte Foy has a small supermarket, a handful of ski shops and a souvenir shop selling the obligatory whistling marmots. There's also a cash point. Be aware that there is no pharmacy in Sainte Foy, the closest options are in Seez, La Rosière or Tignes. Make sure you bring everything you need with you. For bike parts, there isn't much within the resort, although SkiSet have a hire bike fleet and will sell basics like chains, tubes & tyres if you ask nicely. However on our days out on the bike we will often pass through Bourg Saint Maurice, Tignes, Les Arcs or La Rosiere, all of which are well-furnished with bike shops.

Other Activities
Beyond the superb mountain-biking, Sainte Foy resort offers great walking on forest trails and on high-mountain ridges. The classic walk is the 2 hours or so to the historic village of Le Monal. Nearby, there is also excellent rock climbing on bolted sport routes with grades from 4 to 8a. This includes a Via Cordata (similar to Via Ferrata but using fixed ropes instead of cables) a form of rock-climbing where the climber is continuously attached to fixed protection and with metal ladders on the harder sections, allowing some of the exposure and excitement of rock climbing with less risk and exertion. Local mountain guides are available for climbing or via cordata instruction or for walking or mountaineering excursions.

The valley and the Isere river offer world-class white-water sports. There are water sports providers based in Sainte Foy village who offer transport and equipment hire for white-water rafting and other mad pursuits on the Isere. The resort is also a good parapente launch site and local instructors are happy to come to the resort to provide lessons or tandem flights.

The resort also organises games and activities for kids during the school holidays.

For a surreal experience, Tignes (20 minutes drive away) offers year-round snowboarding and skiing, including the legendary terrain park and half-pipe.There's a fair chance of seeing some well-known faces throwing down moves in the park or bashing gates during off-season training.

Spas
There are two spa centres in Sainte Foy resort, confusingly called Les Balcons de Sainte Foy and Les Fermes de Sainte Foy. Les Balcons is located at the foot of the slopes, near the ESF and the Iceberg. They are generally open from 1630 until 2030 and you can normally just walk up without having to book to use the large swimming pool and other facilities. This costs around 16€. Les Fermes is located within the large appartment block below the resort centre. They also have a pool and hot tubs, etc. but these can only be used if you are either staying in one of the appartments or are booked in for a massage or beauty treatment. The spas offer a wide range of massage and other treatments, but these get booked up very quickly, especially during the 1700 - 1900 aprés ski times. Let us know in advance if you want to book a session and we'll make the arrangements for you. Treatment costs start at around 60€. There are also local independent masseuses and physiotherapists with whom we can make arrangements to visit the chalet. This typically costs around 45€ per half hour.

The Bergerie restaurant in Sainte Foy resort

Sainte Foy resort centre in party mode

Les Balcons de Sainte Foy spa