Whatever you are looking for from a ski holiday, we know a resort for you. Whether you are looking for something a little different, like a good thrill or are travelling with the kids then take a look at our choices and pick which one suits your style.
For aprés head to St Anton, Austria
A cable car away from Lech and Zürs you find St. Anton, a resort which shakes off the inhibitions of typical exclusivity to open up a world of outrageous fun. Rated the Telegraph’s number one resort in 2018, St. Anton boasts over 340km of pistes, and two legendary après bars. Nestled either side of a blue run, only a few hundred meters from town, are the Mooserwirt and Krazy Kanguruh. The two places which revolutionised après ski from the genteel to the debauched. It is local legend that the Mooserwirt sells more beer per square meter than anywhere else in Austria, and anyone who visits can see why. People cram every inch of floor inside and out, and the tables are specially reinforced to cope with excessive ski boot stomping. Full of people from ski-schoolers to ski-veterans, the après of St. Anton doesn’t take itself too seriously, unlike much of its French equivalent. But, if this gets a bit too much, you can always end your ski day in one of Lech’s champagne bars before catching the shuttle bus home.
Young families should visit Alpbach, Austria
Known as Austria’s prettiest village, Alpbach is small, quiet and traditional – the perfect place to give young children the skiing bug. When one pictures a ski resort, Alpbach is it. Timeless in quality, it remains a working farming village, and farmhouses dot the tree lined slopes. The resort is comprised solely of traditional buildings, especially protected by a law introduced in the 1970’s preventing any out of character constructions. The timelessness of the village is taken quite literally by its inhabitants, and with a uniquely relaxed pace of life many skiers start late and head home early, making Alpbach the perfect place for young families. This sense of ease is also catered for logistically, with the nursery slopes being located right by the centre of the village on a sunny plateau, on which little ones won’t get cold as they learn. This is also convenient for ski school drop off, and with the ski schools themselves being good quality and fun for kids, the morning school run promises to be a world away to that of home.
For a holiday centred around the slopes, but not the skis head to St. Moritz, Switzerland
How better to truly enjoy alpine luxury than at a resort which considers ones every need. St. Mortiz fulfils impossible task of providing a winter holiday for the whole family, and the hub of St Moritz is just as much the flat expanse of the frozen lake as the mountain slopes. From January 25th to the 27th the lake will be transformed into a polo field, for the only high goal polo tournament played on snow. Come a little later, and on three Sundays in February the lake is instead a racecourse, with flat, hurdles and the one of a kind skikjöring races, where men on skis are pulled at up to 50km/h by unsaddled thoroughbreds. Both these equestrian activities are complimented by fine food, plenty of champagne and entertainment from live music to art exhibitions. When you have finished either exploring St. Moritz’ 88 pistes, or cheering on your chosen horse, you can relax some of the best spas in Alps.
Go to Zermatt, Switzerland, if you want a heli-skiing holiday
Not many accomplished skiers can resist lure of fresh tracks on untouched powder. Zermatt has plenty of easy access off-piste, such as the back bowls of Triftji, and if you get up early enough to beat the crowds, you can often make fresh tracks. But this wouldn’t be a holiday. Instead, avoid the morning resort rush altogether and allow a helicopter to become the cable car of your dreams, and take you to far out peaks of virgin snow. The panoramic views dominated by the Matterhorn make Zermatt the perfect place to venture beyond the resort, and add some adrenaline to your holiday.
