I am going to give a special mention to a few companies, bars, and restaurants in this blog. I want to be transparent I have no affiliation, discount or have been paid off to mention them, haha, these recommendations are all from our trips and experiences with have had with them.
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How to get to Meribel 

You have a few choices of how to get to Méribel

If you have skied or travelled to this area of the Alps before you have no doubt heard of Chambery Airport, now this is most definitely the shortest distance from the airport to the resort BUT we have had more than 1 terrible experience with flying into this airport. Including being taken halfway to the resort and kicked out of the taxi as there was too much snow. * we were all but abandoned on the roadside to make our way to the train station “just down the road”, with all our gear.  We have had cancelled flights and many hours sitting on the floor ( small airport) waiting for a plane to take us home. There are also fewer flights to Chambery Airport which can hinder long weekends and flexibility so all in all our experience has not been great (I am sure there are many who have been fine) but our go-to is still Geneva Airport and take the extra transfer on the chin. If they are not flying due to conditions you have no place being on a plane, haha to be honest the difference in time is 45mins – 1 hour. For the headache and likely upset at the start or end of your trip just fly to Geneva.

Which Ski Lifts to get in Meribel 

We have skied and stayed in Meribel and The 3 Valleys a few times with enough insight to pass on some recommendations.

First of all, in OUR OPINION do not start your day getting the lifts from Meribel centre, its an absolute bum fight to the lifts in the mornings not to mention the trek to you have to walk (cars can only take you so close to the lifts) with all your gear first thing in the morning when you are still full breakfast and that extra pan of chocolate you should have not reached for, by the time you have made it to the gondola or the lift there will be very little keeping it from reappearing.

Our tip is to start your day getting the Golf-Lift which is in Meribel Village, not only does it have IMO the best apres bar in Meribel (La Terrasse du Village) but the lift is on top of a bus stop which you can get from anywhere in and around the Meribel area, if you have a driver they can drop you off at the foot of the lift and park up or if you are staying in Meribel Village the walk it about 2-5 mins MAX from most of the accommodation in the area.

If you are skiing down to the centre of Meribel to be picked up there is a bar on the right-hand side just by the taxi pick-up called Jacks. It has an indoor area for if the weather is dodgy or a great terrace which catches the sun all afternoon for when it is nice.

From the top of this lift, you can choose left or right, left to Chourcheval, and right to Meribel. Which are only 1 -2 lifts and run away from the Golf-Lift.

Ski Rental in Meribel 

For Ski rental, we cannot recommend the guys at Freeski enough. They are located in the Meribel centre. You can pre-order your skis online so they are ready to be picked up and in our opinion, they have some of the best and latest skis available. We rented some Faction CT 2.0 ( which I was keen to try before I bought) and some Black Crows. Could not have been happier with the service, we had to swap some for one of our teams midweeks and had a pair we owned serviced both of which were done with no hesitation. 

Mountain Lunches in Meribel

Les Pierres Plates – Top of the Saulire lift, amazing views over Meribel and Courchevel. Go for the pizza and house red wine. You will not be disappointed, the pizzas are thin and not too stodgy so you will have the ability to ski after lunch. The staff are very friendly and the restaurant is very cosy  

 Le Fruitere, Folie Douce – I know that Folie is not everyone’s cup of tea but we had to give them a shout as we had a great experience for lunch. My advice would be to go for a big breakfast in the resort and have a late lunch at Folie.. we didn’t do much skiing after a long lunch. The Star of the show was the Truffle Mac & Cheese paired with many bottles of Whispering  Angel. The vibe is great and it is a party towards the end of lunch. It’s not a quick inexpensive quiet lunch it’s pretty much the opposite but as long as you know what you are getting yourself in for there is no doubt in our minds you will have a good time.

Le Blanchot – Located in the heart of the golf Meribel right next to the Altiport is Le Balchot. Ideally, you want to be on the terrace for lunch here ( weather permitting) more for the surroundings and the views. If you can’t get inside there is a very cosy fire inside. We couldn’t pick one thing on the menu that stood out, we were all very happy with our lunch. The best advice would be for us to leave room for dessert. There is an insane choice and you will no doubt be waddling out of there, fortunately, it is not a long ski down to the village.