The Ultimate Ski Edit: From Colorado to Val d’Isère

Best Ski-In/Ski-Out:Airelles Val d’Isère

Val d’Isère, France

Close to the Italian border sits one of the Alps’ great ski destinations: Val d’Isère, with access to 180 miles of pistes and a charming village of stone-and-timber chalets lining cobbled streets, with a 17th-century church at its heart. The skiing ranges from broad cruising pistes to demanding high-altitude terrain, with more than enough variety for even the most seasoned of skiers.

At the foot of it all, Airelles Val d’Isère offers a distinctly luxurious take on Alpine style, with 41 rooms and suites, five private apartments, and a chalet, all wrapped in richly detailed interiors.

180 Miles of pistes on your doorstep at Airelles Val d’Isère

Airelles Val d’Isère has a fabulous location on the Front de Neige with little effort required to get onto the pistes or into the village. The hotel’s Bernard Orcel Ski Room sits directly on the snow front, where valets prepare guests’ equipment before they hit the slopes, while hot drinks and crêpes await those returning from the cold.

Interiors are ornate with wooden staircases and roaring fireplaces, and every room is exquisite. But 360’s Travel Designers suggest the five private apartments at the top of the hotel, with open fireplaces, hand-picked antiques and floor-to-ceiling balcony doors framing the mountains.

Best Mountain Spa: The Chedi Andermatt

The Chedi Andermatt is set in the Urseren Valley at the heart of the Swiss Alps, where the historic Gotthard Pass threads between some of the country’s most dramatic mountain scenery. While undeniably chic, Andermatt oozes traditional character, with old stone-and-timber buildings and the peaks of Gemsstock and Nätschen rising around it. Skiing is eclectic, with the steep, freeride terrain of the Gemsstock and the groomed red and blue cruiser slopes around Nätschen, Gütsch and Oberalppass.

The Chedi Andermatt sits at the heart of all of this, an exquisitely beautiful hotel crafted from Alpine materials balanced by distinct Asian influences — from the spa to the Japanese-inspired bathrooms, while for food lovers, there’s a five-meter-high Cheese Tower in The Restaurant with dozens of Swiss cheeses to choose from.

Alpine Cosiness and Eastern Serenity at The Chedi Andermatt

The Chedi’s Spa & Health Club is extraordinary in scale, particularly for a mountain hotel, combining Alpine scenery with an Asian-inspired approach to wellness. Its centrepiece is a 35-metre indoor pool framed by huge windows overlooking the expanse of mountains, while outside, a heated 12-metre pool continues the experience with a side of Alpine air.

There is a full hydrotherapy circuit with Finnish and bio saunas, steam and brine steam rooms, and the European debut of Hong Kong’s Humansa, which takes a proactive approach to wellness, focusing on preventive healthcare and longevity.

Best For the Restaurants: Four Seasons Resort Megève

Megève, France

With its rustic alpine chalets, stylish hotels and world-renowned fine dining, Megève has long attracted the jetset and the epicurean crowds. Founded as a winter resort by the Rothschilds in the 1920s, Megève retains a magical old-world character, with stone-and-timber chalets and horse-drawn carriages trotting around a historic centre haloed by snowy mountaintops. The surrounding Mont d’Arbois and Rochebrune mountains open onto a fantastic ski area, while local restaurants range from traditional Savoyard chalets serving molten fondue and sizzling raclette to sophisticated modern addresses drawing on Haute-Savoie’s wonderful mountain produce.
Tucked up on the Mont d’Arbois slopes in the heart of the French Alps, Four Seasons Megève is a dazzling spot for Alpine adventure, blending French elegance with Savoyard aesthetics, alongside a wine cellar holding more than 17,000 bottles.

The Taste of the Alps at Four Seasons Resort Megève

The Four Seasons Resort Megève has a selection of excellent restaurants, but the highlight is L’Idéal 1850 perched on the Mont d’Arbois summit. Here, a sun-filled terrace overlooks the peaks and the unmistakable silhouette of Mont Blanc, with a menu drawing on the flavours of the mountains.

There’s also French cooking at Benjamin, Japanese-Peruvian dishes at Kaito, and a pop-up fondue restaurant inside a geodesic dome serving a delectable fondue of comté, beaufort, reblochon and parmesan. And for 2026/27, pastry chef Jonathan Chapuy’s Christmas Yule Log in the shape of the iconic red Rochebrune cable car returns with a new flavour profile incorporating jasmine, sesame and vanilla.

Best Mountain-View Suites: Aman Rosa Alpina

San Cassiano, Dolomites, Italy

Tucked beneath the dramatic peaks of the Alta Badia and surrounded by the UNESCO-protected landscapes of the Dolomites, San Cassiano is a captivating mountain village. San Cassiano has a distinctly Ladin character, with wooden farmhouses, stone-clad buildings and a handful of excellent restaurants and boutiques, while the wider Dolomiti Superski area opens up an extraordinary winter playground, with hundreds of kilometres of interconnected pistes

At the heart of San Cassiano, Aman Rosa Alpina has been transformed by architect Jean-Michel Gathy, bringing Aman’s pared-back luxe aesthetic to an iconic local address, through a unique partnership with the Pizzinini family, who have run the hotel since 1939.

The Dolomites Take Centre Stage at Aman Rosa Alpina

Your first encounter with Aman Rosa Alpina is a dramatic double‑height lounge with cinematic mountain views. There are 51 rooms and suites, including the Aman Suites and the private Zeno Suite, with its own garden, cinema room and hammam. The interiors have that highly polished Aman aesthetic: contemporary lines and modern finishes softened by timber, stone and view-framing windows.

For some of the best mountain views, 360’s Travel Designers suggest the top-floor Dolomites Suite, which boasts 360-degree panoramas of the Dolomites and the rooftops of the endearing San Cassiano village, alongside a Finnish outdoor sauna, fireplace, and dedicated lift access.

Best Après-Ski: Badrutt’s Palace

St Moritz, Switzerland

Few Alpine resorts have cultivated such a distinctive combination of skiing, timeless glamour and social life as St Moritz. Set high above the glitter of Lake St Moritz in the Engadin Valley, the resort pairs excellent skiing with boutiques, grand hotels and a deliciously decadent après-ski scene.

Badrutt’s Palace has been at the centre of it since 1896, its turreted façade overlooking the frozen lake and mountains beyond. Inside, the historic Grande Dame combines ornate public spaces and timeless Alpine glamour with an extraordinary collection of restaurants and bars.

The Art of Après-ski at Badrutt’s Palace

Badrutt’s Palace public spaces are palatial, with suites elevated by the ever-present view of the Swiss mountains. An impressive collection of restaurants offers classic Alpine fare, while a comprehensive range of spa treatments expertly tends to your needs after a day on the slopes.

Après-ski at Badrutt’s Palace is iconic. It begins on the mountain at Paradiso, the ski-in restaurant, where champagne and bubbling Engadin cheese fondue are served among sheepskin-draped benches and dazzling panoramas. The Palace has 11 restaurants and four bars, from the Japanese-Peruvian cuisine at La Coupole – Matsuhisa, to afternoon tea in the view-laden dining room at Le Grand Hall. Then there is King’s Social House — Switzerland’s oldest nightclub — where dinner gives way to dancing late into the night.

Best Private Ski Chalets and Residences: Eleven Scarp Ridge Lodge

Crested Butte, Colorado

A world away from the polished resort towns of Aspen and Vail, Eleven Scarp Ridge Lodge is set deep in Colorado’s Elk Mountains, a former mining town with Wild West charm and a cast of colourful historic buildings and independent restaurants. The town is renowned for its deep powder and challenging terrain, offering some of the most adventurous off-piste skiing in the Rockies.

Eleven Scarp Ridge Lodge sits in the historic centre, occupying a restored 1880s miners’ saloon whose original façade remains beautifully intact. Inside, reclaimed timber, antique furnishings, roaring fires and individually designed suites lend it the atmosphere of a private mountain home.

A Mountain Home of Your Own at Eleven Scarp Ridge Lodge

For winters at Eleven Scarp Ridge Lodge, you can buy out the entire property for up to 14 guests, giving families or groups the run of the lodge. The lodge has a wonderfully cosy wintertime feel, with convivial communal spaces, saltwater pool, sauna and rooftop hot tub. A dedicated experience team takes care of the mountain programme, from resort skiing to guided backcountry adventures and cat-skiing across more than 1,000 acres of private Irwin terrain, one of Colorado’s snowiest corners.

Best Multi-Generational Ski Hotel: Hotel Tennerhof

Kitzbühel, Austria

Medieval streets, painted façades and church towers punctuating mountain skylines, meet a world-class ski area and a famously lively winter social scene in Kitzbühel. The town’s historic centre has barely changed for centuries, while the surrounding Alps offer a wide network of pistes well-suited to all abilities, making it particularly appealing for families.

Above the town, Hotel Tennerhof has a history stretching back to 1416, when it was first documented as a Tyrolean farm, before becoming Kitzbühel’s first five-star hotel. Owned by the von Pasquali family, Hotel Tennerhof retains the atmosphere of a private country house, with crackling fireplaces, antique furniture from the family estate, and contemporary accommodations offset by traditional Tyrolean interiors.

A Tyrolean Retreat at Hotel Tennerhof

As though plucked from the pages of a winter fairytale, the Tennerhof Hotel rises from romantic gardens as a charming house of natural timber layered with snow in the winter. Original artworks, heirlooms and antiquities sit alongside the comforts of a modern hotel, while the award-winning spa provides a place to restore after a day in the mountains. Families might consider the Superior Chalet with 3 bedrooms, with a private SPA with sauna and steam bath, as well as a terrace with access to the gardens.

Speak to your Travel Designer to arrange a helicopter arrival, allowing for a sweeping first view of the stunning Tyrolean landscapes.