Good for beginners
St Johann, Tyrol, Austria
Where Most people have heard of St Johann’s more famous neighbour, Kitzbühel. What they don’t know is that this Tyrolean town has a similar medieval centre, with frescoed buildings and old coaching inns, but lower prices. It has 43km of pistes and 17 lifts.
Why This is a good destination for beginners and intermediates, with nursery slopes on the gentle meadows behind the station. There’s a good choice of ski schools and those who fancy a day off the slopes can try hot-air-ballooning.
Book A week at Pension Mair costs £469pp B&B including flights from Gatwick: crystalski.co.uk.
Les Saisies, France
Where The village is in the beautiful Beaufortain valley, 30km from the town of Albertville. It has 192km of pistes and 81 lifts.
Why It’s known as a cross-country resort, but the downhill skiing is mainly gentle and ideal for beginners. This is a great place to find your legs on pistes that aren’t too steep and hairy.
Book Hameau du Beaufortain flats cost from £245pp based on six sharing: ernalow.co.uk.
Peyragudes, France
Where This purpose-built ski area in the Pyrenees is close to the Spanish border, with 60km of pistes and 17 lifts. It has an ultramodern lift system, comprising mostly fast chairlifts, with a few draglifts.
Why It’s a great place to learn because everything is geared to convenience, with lifts rather than steps from the car parks to the snow – a blessing when you’re getting to grips with clumping along in ski boots and carrying skis.
Book Le Hameau de Balestas costs from £108pp based on five sharing a two-bedroom flat, including Eurotunnel crossing: pyreneescollection.co.uk.
Good for families
Geilo, Norway
Where In the Hallingdal valley, north-west of Oslo, Norway’s oldest ski resort is reachable by train and shuttle bus from Bergen and Oslo airports.
Why The slopes are quiet and unintimidating, and the ski school is award-winning, making it a great place to learn, especially as all the ski instructors speak good English. Children will also love the off-slope options, from horse-sleigh rides to ice fishing to a new treetop walk.
Book From £555pp self-catering in Geilolia forest cabins, based on four sharing: skisafari.com.
Ardent, France
Where This small village of wooden chalets is two lifts away from Avoriaz and provides a back door into the Portes du Soleil area (372km of pistes, 194 lifts). You can ski back to the village, and the crèche is within a few minutes’ walk.
Why Avoriaz may have a bigger choice of ski schools and kindergartens but it doesn’t have the family-friendly ambience of Ardent.
Book Chalet Plagnat, a 200-year-old sole-use pad for 12 costs from £539pp (children £439) half-board, including transfers; flights are extra: familyski.co.uk.
Reberty 2000, France
Where The 1960s purpose-built resort of Les Menuires is no looker, so the newer, more traditional-style hamlet of Reberty is a welcome alternative. It’s 200m above its plainer neighbour in the Trois Vallées, so has links to one of the Alps’ biggest ski areas, which boasts 495km of pistes and 180 lifts.
Why It’s become a family-friendly enclave, complete with kindergarten. La Ferme de Reberty (+33 4 79 00 77 01) is where everyone heads for lunch.
Book Chalet Katie 1 sleeps 13 and costs from £829pp half-board: skifamille.co.uk.
Gressoney, Italy
Where Gressoney is part of a group of unsung resorts in the Aosta valley, sharing a ski area with Champoluc and Alagna. Gressoney-La-Trinité, with its cobbled streets and wooden chalets, provides the most convenient base from which to explore the linked Monterosa ski area, which has 150km of pistes and 44 lifts.
Why Families will love the quiet pistes and lack of queues, and little ones will wolf down the Italian food.
Book Chalet Hotel Valverde in Gressoney-La-Trinité costs £2,019 half-board for a family of four: espritski.com.
Arinsal, Andorra
Where In western Andorra, Arinsal is part of the Vallnord ski area, where your ski pass gives access also to the resorts of Arcalis and Pal.
Why Under-12s get free lift passes, and prices are lower than in the Alps. The ski school comes highly recommended and the safe, enclosed slopes are great for kids and first-time skiers.
Book Central Hotel Princesa Parc offers free childcare for 3-11-year-olds and also has a bowling alley. From £523pp half-board: crystalski.co.uk.
Good for off-piste
Solitude, Utah, US
Where Just 30 minutes from Salt Lake City, this attractive little village with 1,200 acres of slopes and eight lifts is a good place to escape the crowds.
Why Even during the busiest weeks, the lifts and slopes remain uncrowded, and there is a vast swathe of backcountry to explore. Honeycomb Ridge is where off-piste connoisseurs head for cliffs, hanging snowfields and gradients often exceeding 50 degrees. It’s easy to visit other Utah resorts from here, too.
Book A stay at the Inn at Solitude costs from £1,339pp room-only: ski-i.com.
Orelle, France
Where This charming little resort in the Maurienne valley is made up of 10 hamlets of slate-roofed stone houses, and has some of the area’s best-value accommodation.
Why The skiing is linked by lift over the Col de Rosael to Val Thorens, so you can enjoy the slopes of the Trois Vallées at a fraction of the price of staying there – and enjoy the off-piste opportunities around the quieter Maurienne area, too.
Book Residence Le Hameau des Eaux d’Orelle costs £485 for four people in a one-bedroom flat. Price includes Eurotunnel crossing, flights to Geneva extra: zenithholidays.co.uk.
Engelberg, Switzerland
Where It is the nearest resort to Lake Luzern, 1h20m from Zurich airport.
Why This is one of the first resorts in the Alps to get new snow from the north or north-west, so conditions are reliable. There’s a glacier and two world-class off-piste descents – the Laub and the Galtiburg – as well as 82km of pistes and 25 lifts. Prime Ski School has instructors on hand on the slopes, offering tips and video analysis (from about £7 a run).
Book A stay at Hotel Terrace costs from £399pp B&B (two sharing), flights extra: skiworld.co.uk.
Good for food
La Villa, Italy
Where You’ll find skiing for all levels in the Sella Ronda circuit, with one gorgeous little village leading to another on a network of runs. La Villa (310km of pistes, 179 lifts) is at the centre of the Alta Badia region and its focal point is an ancient castle.
Why Wherever you look there’s yet another enticing mountain eatery. Head for Moritzino (+39 0471 847 403), above the resort, for great fish and seafood.
Book At Chalet Hotel Al Pigher the half-board rate includes five-course dinners (confit duck leg with lentil and cassoulet, say, or mushroom and red pepper Wellington) with wine. A stay costs £850pp half-board: inghams.co.uk.
Madesimo, Italy
Where The small resort is close to the Swiss border and north of Lake Como.
Why Holidays here are some of the least expensive in the Italian Alps, so ideal for those on a budget, but it has lots of fabulous cuisine. Cosy restaurant Dogana Vegia (+39 0343 54082), inside the old customs house, has tasty first courses such as cappellacci pasta parcels with asparagus, gnocchi-like malfatti with mascarpone, followed by goulash or turkey with orange. The modern lift system (there’s 60km of pistes and 12 lifts) means hardly any queueing.
Book The restaurant at Hotel Andossi offers local specialities such as bresaola (air-dried beef) from nearby Valle Spluga, and hare stew with polenta. A stay costs £718pp half-board: momentumski.com
Serre Chevalier, France
Where This underrated resort on the edge of the Ecrins national park has excellent skiing (250km of pistes, 57 lifts), friendly locals and reasonable prices. Serre Che comprises a dozen villages, including Le Monêtier-les-Bains, a spa town since the 19th century.
Why It’s home to the sort of restaurants you hope to find (a tiny traditional chalet, hidden next to a chapel in the woods, log fire, wood-panelled walls, warm atmosphere) in a French ski resort but seldom do. They include Le Peyra Juana (+33 6 81 11 40 26), which serves delicious pasta, hearty mountain dishes and salads.
Book Chalet-hotel Charlotte is a former monastery in the centre of Le Monêtier and half-board means sumptuous three-course dinners (beef in orange and ginger, duck breast with berry sauce, pear frangipane tart) with proper vegetarian options and wine. A stay costs £656pp: skimiquelholidays.co.uk.
Good for nightlife
Sölden, Austria
Where This resort couldn’t be more different from smaller, quieter neighbour Obergurgl. The busy main street buzzes with bars, restaurants and shops. The two glaciers mean snow is pretty much guaranteed and the views are spectacular.
Why There are 40 places to eat in town and 30 up the mountain, but the star is glass-and-steel Ice Q (+43 664 96 09 368), which features in Spectre, the forthcoming Bond film. Après venues include the on-mountain Obstlerhütte and five nightclubs.
Book Chalet Hotel Hermann costs £721pp half-board including three days’ ski hosting: skitotal.com.
El Tarter, Andorra
Where The surprisingly good Grandvalira area (193km of pistes, 64 lifts), along with Soldeu and Pas de la Casa.
Why It’s a low-key resort with just a few bars, but busier Soldeu is just five minutes away, with hectic nightlife all season long. The best-known venue is Fat Alberts in a converted barn: it’s open till 3am, with live music most nights.
Book Hotel del Clos costs £493pp half-board including ski guiding/coaching: neilson.co.uk/ski.
Sierra Nevada resort, Spain
Where This surprising resort is Costa del Sol on snow, in that you really can swim and ski on the same day: the beach and the slopes are less than two hours apart, and there’s 95km of pistes, with 32 lifts.
Why The atmosphere during the week is quiet and laid-back, but gets lively at weekends when people come up from the coast and nearby Granada. Rebuilt after a fire, Hotel El Lodge is planning to be an après hub with its Suite Nevada Terrace, a branch of the fashionable Marbella Club, with DJ, fire pits and furry throws.
Book A week B&B in a double room at Hotel Ziryab (hotelziryab.com) costs £505. Flights extra.
Best for other activities
St Lary, France
Where This Pyrenean resort close to the Spanish border and is made up of three villages: Saint-Lary-Soulan is at the base of the slopes, with 100km of pistes and 29 lifts.
Why After exhilarating days on the slopes, weary skiers can head for the Thermes Sensoria spa, to wallow in canyons, waterfalls, geysers, whirlpools and underwater jet sprays.
Book A week in a one-bedroom flat sleeping four at Les Rives de L’Aure costs €371:
pierreetvacances.com. Flights extra.
Åre, Sweden
Where Scandinavia’s top resort is close to the Norwegian border and its 100km of pistes and 47 lifts are almost deserted midweek. The friendly locals speak fluent English and the views are spectacular.
Why The mainly intermediate skiing is good, but other activities set the resort apart. On and around the lake at Camp Åre are facilities for kite-boarding, ice-karting, zipwiring, ice-fishing and dog-sledding. There are also snowmobile tours across the lake and night-skiing on floodlit pistes.
Book Renen Hotel costs £629pp B&B, including lift pass: skisafari.com.
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