On this year's ski trip with friends, we went to Haute Tarentaise in France. We stayed in a really nice B&B in Séez. This B&B was in a former farming house and was really charming. Also staying in Séez had the advantage, that we were able to reach many resorts like les Arcs, Ste-Foy and la Rosière in a short time.
Unfortunately Aiguille Rouge cable car didn't open at all while we were skiing at les Arcs. So the off piste opportunities were pretty limited with the Grand Col run down to Villaroger as the only big one left. Also the terrain got skied pretty fast. What we liked much better was Ste-Foy. This little ski resort offers great tree skiing. Due to bad weather, we were unfortunately not able to ski the backside of Pointe de la Foglietta.
Over all, these big resorts in Savoie are not as good for off piste skiing as you might expect. Too many people, too many cable cars. I definitely believe that small ski resorts are the cool places.