Whether you’re already hitting the slopes, or waiting to find the most pristine slopes, excellent après options or a wide array of winter sports, you’ll find your perfect choice in our selection of the best ski resorts in the most sought-after locations. Whatever your winter tastes, read on to find which ski resorts are for you.
Best for gourmet food and athletic runs: Lech, Austria
Lech, which was famously Princess Diana’s preferred ski resort, continues to be both discreet and flashy. If this is your first time on the slopes, the Austrian spot is probably not the best option, since even the blue runs can be challenging (case in point: just look at how Bridget Jones fared on the Lech pistes in The Edge of Reason).
However, if you’re a more skilled skier, this athletic area has some rewarding runs to test out, and a renowned food scene to enjoy after working up an appetite. Surprisingly, even vegans are well catered for in seemingly traditional chalet-set restaurants, such as Gasthaus Älpele in the Zug Valley, which serves a dairy-free hot-pot in place of fondue (as well as, for the purists, a rich cheese version, of course). Piste-side pitstops to stagger around in your ski boots at lunch include restaurants Burg and Murmeli, both of which dish up the region’s classic dishes: order the wiener schnitzel and kaiserschmarrn (cherry pancakes).
Where to stay: Severin’s is a cozy, nine-room boutique hotel with a four-bedroom self-contained chalet, a swimming pool and spa in the basement, and a restaurant to match its culinary rivals in Lech. The decor is a modern take on chalet style, with concrete bathrooms, velvet sofas and glass-fronted fireplaces. The suites open onto a (likely snowy) terrace, where you can enjoy drinks from the complimentary minibar with a view of the amazing alpine scenery.
Best for star factor: Verbier, Switzerland
Home to legendary nightclub Farm Club and super-chalets that sell in the tens of millions of euros, Verbier is one of the glitziest ski resorts in Europe. Big personalities have graced the club, which was opened by two Italian brothers in 1971, such as Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and David Bowie.
Aside from its nightlife, Verbier is an excellent choice for serious skiiers, especially those who favor going off-piste (not for the faint-hearted – the tracks can look practically vertical), and skiing with a view, since some of the glacier trails overlook the highest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc.
Where to stay: The Experimental Chalet is luckily located right next-door to Farm Club, so it’s the only choice for skiers who want to party especially hard, with no traipsing home through the snow involved. The hotel has rooms with a view, plus some with a terrace or hot tub, and lots of nods to mid-century design.
Best for partying: Méribel, France
At the center of France’s vast Les Trois Vallées ski area in Savoie, Méribel is situated between Courchevel and Val Thorens, and you’ll be able to move between all three resorts with ease – so it’s an ideal choice for active skiiers who never like to take the same run twice.
The party-loving resort has a reputation for being one of Europe’s most fun (it’s affectionately dubbed ‘merry Méribel’), with piste-side restaurants, an outpost of La Folie Douce and lively nightlife. Traditional restaurants include Le Clos Bernard, which you can ski to and warm up with some mulled wine in one of the deckchairs outside.
Where to stay: Le Coucou is part of the incredibly chic Maisons Pariente collection, whose other stays include Lou Pinet in Saint-Tropez and the new Le Grand Mazarin in Le Marais. Along with a Beefbar outpost – where the mashed potatoes are famously made with a 50:50 ratio of potato to butter – the hotel is home to a Tata Harper spa. It is set right on the slopes, with ski-in, ski-out access straight to the powder. Be sure to make it back from the piste in time for afternoon tea at 4pm, when treats await on the counter and a pancake trolley does the rounds.
Best for dramatic scenery: Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole is situated just south of Yellowstone, in an equally photogenic national park, Grand Teton. Celebrity residents include Harrison Ford, who has a ranch here and has occasionally helped out with the search and rescue service. It’s a playground for the great outdoors, where you can go fly-fishing, paragliding, hiking and rafting – but skiing is a great place to start.
The resort, which spans two mountains and 2,500 acres, has pistes that are suited to all levels of skiers and snowboarders, though much of the land is more geared to those with intermediate and advanced skills.
Where to stay: Amangani, elevated at the edge of town, has superb views of the Tetons, best enjoyed from the top of the staircase as you enter and through the restaurant’s ginormous windows. Outdoors, there’s a pool and hot tub for more glimpses of the mountains, whatever the time of day. And if you’ve overdone it on the slopes, a signature, temple-like Aman spa awaits for soothing treatments.
Best for the après-ski: Val d’Isère, France
Val d’Isère is a timeless European ski destination and a resort for those who are as much about the après as they are the ski. This was the setting of the first La Folie Douce, which opened its doors back in 1980, after all. Thanks to its charming Alpine architecture, Val d’Isère is also known for being an especially attractive resort. Top of your list of runs should be the Bellevarde and its OK piste, and La Face, both of which have seen their fair share of competitive-skiing action, including the men’s downhill in the annual ski World Cup.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy the slopes of neighboring resort Tignes, which is good news for athletic skiers – the two are connected via a chairlift and link up 185 miles of runs with one pass. For the extreme adrenaline junkies in search of alternative winter activities, Tignes has frozen-over lakes to dive into and frozen waterfalls to climb.
Where to stay: To experience some of Val d’Isère’s traditional chalet charms for yourself, book a stay at La Mourra, in a slate, stone and wood building in the centre of the village. Rooms include a handful of suites and a series of luxury chalets that connect.
Best for cross-country skiing and heli-skiing: Troll Peninsula, Iceland
If chartered pistes are not for you and you’re in search of some serious off-grid adventure, make your way to Iceland’s Troll Peninsula and try heli-skiing instead. The landscape features mountains, fjords, valleys, meadows and natural hot pools to gaze upon, and you can also take on scenic walking trails and driving routes, plus whale-watching. Siglufjordur is the peninsula’s biggest town and Iceland’s most northernly.
The snow here stays well into the spring, thanks to the proximity to the Arctic, and it’s also an excellent choice for anyone in search of crowd-free skiing and pristine powder. The heli season runs from March to June.
Where to stay: Deplar Farm is part of the Eleven Experience portfolio of stellar stays, which are located in far-flung places such as Patagonia and Alaska. This remote smallholding, in the Troll Peninsula’s Fljot Valley, has floor-to-ceiling windows to ensure the spectacular surroundings are always on show. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll be in with a good chance of spotting the Northern Lights. As well as guided heli-skiing during the season, you’ll be able to go whale-watching in the fjords, cycling in the valley and stargazing.
Best for glitz and glamour: Courchevel 1850
Another amazingly flashy Euro resort, Courchevel is within France’s Les Trois Vallées – a mammoth area of runs, next door to Méribel and Val Thorens. It’s easy to reach: it’s a two-hour drive from Geneva and a little over an hour away from Chambéry. The resort has a modern lift system and 600 kilometres of slopes, peaking at an altitude of 3,200 metres. Many of the runs in this area are north-facing and so enjoy some of the best snow.
There are four base resorts within Courchevel: Le Praz, the lowest, which used to be known as 1300; 1500, also referred to as Courchevel Village; 1650, or Courchevel Moriond; and 1850, the biggest and most famous. For the most glamour, head up to the highest of the four, 1850.
To satisfy its discerning clientele, Courchevel has excellent restaurants and lively aprés-ski – try La Cave des Creux and enjoy the views of Mont Blanc from its firepit-enhanced terrace.
Where to stay: Finding a natural home up at Courchevel 1850, Aman Le Mélézin has an incredible position on the Bellecôte piste. Many of the rooms overlook the mountains – for an unforgettable experience, book one with an outdoor hot tub.
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