Val Thorens, specifically
hotel Le Cheval Blanc. Cheap, chearful, and on the slopes itself.
Best off using
Jet2.com to fly to Chambéry, as this will cut down your transfer time from 4.5hrs (from the two major nearby airports of Lyon or Geneva) down to just under 2hrs. But I guess this all depends on if you have a nearby UK airport that Jet2 do the UK>Chambéry route from. Alternatives would be easyjet or similar to Geneva or Lyon, but they always seem to be more expensive.
As for transfers, you can use
altibus, or get a taxi (which isn't as expensive as it sounds). Another alternative is to use taxi to Chambéry train station, then a train to Moutiérs, and then the Bus up to Val Thorens (this worked out as cheap as the direct bus from altibus.com, but was more interesting).
Renting is simple if you stay in Le Cheval Blanc, as they have an intersport shop in the lobby that are as cheap as anywhere else you will find in the resort to rent from, good selection too. You can find them on
http://www.intersportrent.com, but I've never been when they have had no stock in to rent, so booking in advance isn't a necessity. You also get your lift pass with the room (if you book them as a package) so it simplifies that a bit).
The reason I've laid it out like this is that generally I seem to save on average £100 a person over booking with a tour operator.
Hope that helps
