Luxury Ski Resorts

Les Trois Vallées, France · December to April

The most opulent address in the Alps. Courchevel 1850 sits at the top of the world's largest linked ski area, Les Trois Vallées, with more than 600 kilometres of pistes and guaranteed snowmaking cover. The resort is famous for Palace-rated hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and chalets that rent for six figures a week. It is not subtle, but it is unrivalled for combined skiing scale and après-ski theatre.

Colorado, USA · November to April

Four mountains — Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass — make up one of the most complete ski destinations in North America. The town itself is the draw: Victorian architecture, art galleries, restaurants and a social scene that peaks during the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Food & Wine Classic. Best for skiers who want powder mornings and polished evenings in the same day.

Engadine, Switzerland · December to April

The birthplace of winter tourism. St. Moritz hosted the Winter Olympics twice and still sets the standard for Alpine glamour: frozen lake polo, horse racing on ice and the Cresta Run. The skiing is high, sunny and reliable, with Corviglia offering wide cruisers above the tree line. Kulm, Badrutt's Palace and the Kempinski define the hotel side of the experience.

Valais, Switzerland · November to May

Zermatt is watched over by the Matterhorn and linked to Cervinia in Italy, creating one of the most dramatic ski circuits in the world. The village is car-free, the vertical drop is enormous and the season runs almost year-round on the glacier. Luxury here is quieter than in Courchevel — fewer fur coats, more serious mountain people — but the hotels, notably the Mont Cervin Palace and Omnia, are exceptional.

Bernese Oberland, Switzerland · December to March

Gstaad trades on discretion rather than vertical drop. The skiing is modest compared to the mega-resorts, but the village is one of the most beautiful in the Alps, with a car-free centre and a clientele that values privacy. The Alpina Gstaad and The Park Gstaad, a Four Seasons Hotel, anchor the accommodation scene. Best for long lunches, winter walks and the sense of being somewhere that has not changed in decades.

Arlberg, Austria · December to April

Lech shares the Ski Arlberg circuit with Zürs, St. Anton and Warth, giving it access to more than 300 kilometres of linked slopes. The village has retained its chalet character better than most, and the Arlberg reputation for deep snow is well earned. The Gasthof Post and Arlberg Hospiz are institutions, and the skiing suits confident intermediates who want long, cruising runs rather than steep couloirs.

Wyoming, USA · November to April

Jackson Hole is the choice for skiers who measure a resort by its terrain rather than its champagne list. Corbet's Couloir and the backcountry gates off Rendezvous Bowl are legendary, but the resort has also invested in intermediate grooming and a world-class tram. The town of Jackson retains a frontier character, and the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole sits right at the base of the mountain.

Utah, USA · December to March

Deer Valley was one of the first North American resorts to ban snowboarding and insist on groomed, courteous skiing. The result is predictable, immaculate corduroy and a service culture that treats lift lines as a failure. Stein Eriksen Lodge and the St. Regis Deer Valley set the lodging standard. It is smaller than Aspen or Jackson, but the consistency of experience is hard to beat.