In ski resorts with old and new accommodation, bear in mind that just because a new hotel might have the looks of a Peckham council block, it has been built with you, the skier in mind and may well offer a level of convenience your charming Tyrolean chalet does not. Conversely, don’t imagine it’s only the newer hotels that cater to newer demands for spas and pools. Older hotels are constantly extending their range of facilities as they upgrade.

It's all about Location

First consider the location. You may lose what you save by being on the fringes not the centre of a resort, by eating out rather than schlepping back to your hotel or apartment for lunch or dinner. Some resorts have traffic-free central areas where you literally ski from the door, like much of La Plagne, Val Thorens and Courcheval (when it snows of course) which works well for families. Unless you are in a resort famed for loud and lively apres-ski. Check also your hotel doesn’t have a thumping disco open until 2am.

Distances can be misleading. Look at lift locations. A high-speed quad lift connection between main resorts and small outlying villages means you can be on the Alpe d’Huez slopes just as easily when staying in somewhere with atmosphere and charm like Villard Reculas, as when staying closer to the centre.

Chalets

Once the bargain bucket of ski accommodation, most chalets are now in the moderate to deluxe range, architecturally stunning and well-serviced. Val d’Isere, Meribel and Verbier lead the way but the Alpine chalet style is also emerging across the pond, in Aspen and Whistler especially. The new breed for two or four are styled more along the lines of boutique hotels – some UK operators specialise in rooting them out: Scott Dunn for instance, and the cooks can actually cook. Larger resorts tend to have a batch of big chalets catering for groups of 24+ that can be rented in their entirety or in sections and shared with another group. Meals are cooked and provided three times a day (breakfast, tea, dinner) family-style.

Aparthotels and apartment complexes operate along similar more economic lines, allowing for independence plus the advantages of a hotel, like Residence La Ruitor in Les Arcs. The boom in the international property market has seen a massive growth in the number of privately-properties for rent – and the companies that vet and manage them, but standards vary widely. In Canada, rapid growth of resorts like Whistler has prompted a similar flurry of condo rentals, but there are also old-style, rustic cabins for rent clustered around the smaller ski areas to the east.

As chalets are to France, the motel is to the USA. If you’re looking for character, in fact anything other than a cheap sleep between days of skiing, you may want to move a notch up the budget scale. Many even middle-bracket US ski lodges have hot-tubs, saunas and outdoor pools and a comfort-level that would cost an arm, leg and bag of Euros in the Alps.   

So to hotels. Quick-rise hotel blocks (think Livigno and Pamporovo) are facing competition from ‘ski villages’ complete with orchestrated Alpine charm like Arc1950, Les Arcs, (or old Quebec style, at Tremblant, Canada) and more environmentally-friendly, more attractive hotels complete with spas, destination restaurants and a wide range of winter sports facilities, appealing to the stressed in need of a winter break, particularly in Austria. Space is at a premium and these more extensive hotel complexes tend not to be central but, again, usually well served by lifts and shuttles.

While Austria has chalets, the more traditional alternative is the pensions, small family-run hotels providing hearty home-cooked meals, Tyrolean architecture and loads of local information. In Italy, likewise, small, sumptuous but homely hotels are often centrally-located and offer more spirit of place than the many bigger, flashier options.

But if your aim is to ski, snowboard and spend as little time and money in and on your hotel, there are many bargains to be had mainly because of the need to cater for theyounger, budget market. Go for big, clean and central for your first trip, but perhaps move on – and out – for character and atmosphere on trip two.  Top

Credit: Les Saises / P Jacques