Best Ski Hotels In Europe: Where To Stay This Season

By Gilly Hopper

Wondering where to ski in Europe this season? These hotels might swing your decision. With ski-in/ski-out facilities, gourmand eateries, and enviable spas, this edit is certain to keep your accommodation choices on piste for the 2023 season.

Le Fitz Roy’s (very) best trait? Its proximity to the slopes. With ski-in, ski-out facilities and links to 600 kilometres of snow-covered pistes, this mountain-set hotel proves particularly popular among powder-loving travellers with a head for heights. Elegant interiors nod to the Savoy region, melding wooden panelling and quality fabrics with delicate light fixtures and contemporary furniture in muted tones. Bedrooms (72 in all) are inspired by Les 3 Vallées—Europe’s highest ski resort—with leather chairs and ultra-fluffy beds serving as crash pads après ski. Shoe-horn-meets-icicle-inspired chandeliers hang overhead while framed artworks, inspired by local surrounds, flank the walls.

Creep downstairs to warm your bones at Le Roy Bar; the statement fireplace serves as the (literal) hearth of the bar space. Kick back with a cocktail in view of the Alps, engage in a game of pool, or perhaps even have an impromptu singsong, should someone take to the keys of the baby grand in the far corner. Other ways to relax post-slopes include a visit to the spa, complete with hammam and indoor pool. Sign up to a treatment in one of four cabins (including a double) to salve your weary limbs. The Alpine Muscle Ease Remedy is a 75-minute, full-body treatment that encourages deep relaxation through gentle stretches and soothing massage movements and rounds off with a Kalmar energy balancing face massage. Vis-à-vis its food credentials: fuel up on a menu devised by Executive Chef, Jonas Noël which focuses on seasonal, Alpine produce. At lunchtime, try grilled diot sausages or The Fitz Roy burger (with a side of chickpeas fries). Meanwhile, dinner ups the ante with popular dishes including the wood-grilled leek, Beaufort and truffle soufflé, and the catch of the day, presented in a pool of tangerine juice and burned grapefruit sauce. Le Fitz Roy

Alpina Dolomites pivots around nature. Set in the devilishly beautiful Dolomites, the eco-friendly hotel is composed of natural materials, namely wood, stone and glass. Light-bathed interiors are finished with intricate wooden sculptures and painterly artworks, while sleeping quarters are simple, comfortable, and elegant. All rooms follow a similar design format, the principal difference being larger terraces as you graduate up the building. With the Alpe di Siusi-Seiser Alm in your sightlines, take to the slopes via ski-in/ski-out access. There’s a ski rental space on level zero and ski passes can be purchased at reception on the day of arrival; life made easy. “Book a ski guide or instructor well in advance of your trip instead of waiting until you arrive on the slopes, as the best guides get booked up early,” advises Jenny, a ski specialist from Scott Dunn.

By V.F. London

By Gilly Hopper

Break for lunch at Alpina Chalet Restaurant, a stone and wood circular structure serving Italian lip-smackers (pizza and pasta galore) right by the slopes. Done with snow for the day? Head to the COMO Shambhala Retreat, complete with panoramic, indoor/outdoor pool. Superlative from start to finish, head for a classic Finnish sauna or a saline steam bath, then try a holistic treatment; the COMO Shambhala massage will have you feeling zen in 60 minutes flat, while the Alpina Scrub will polish you right up. Limber up at the yoga studio (check the hotel’s active programme for class times) or the gym. A wellness MO extends to the hotel’s menus—things are lighter and more sophisticated than that typically found on mountaintops. At Mountain Restaurant & Stuben, breakfast is a premium buffet where you can blend your own elixir at the juice station, order eggs anyway, gorge on a bounty of fresh fruit, and fill your own croissant (balance is important) with pistachio cream or a range of conserves. Come dinnertime, choose from a daily changing five-course tasting menu, or a local-centric à la carte. Enjoy a post-meal cognac and hand-rolled cigar (if that’s your mountain persona) at the Mountain Lounge and Bar, a space decorated with wraparound bar, piste facing chaises, and XL chess set. Alpina Dolomites

Scott Dunn offers a seven-night B&B itinerary to The Dolomites from £2,780 per person, including a stay at Gardena Grodnerhof and Alpina Dolomites, return flights from the UK and private transfers. scottdunn.com

Make a dash to Lime Wood’s Alpine sister hotel, Portetta, a 38-room chalet primely placed at the foot of Courchevel Moriond (1650). Part of The Three Valleys, the hotel also offers that all important ski-in/ski-out access, with wider slopes than those found at 1850. Portetta’s ski room service and ski shop are located just five minutes away for any rental/purchasing/servicing needs, so ne pas paniquer. Adventurists should book Portetta’s Backcountry Skiing package for the opportunity to explore the Vallée des Avals’ less-frequented patches, while non-skiers can make best use of the Bamford- and Oskia-stocked spa. To thine own self…

By V.F. London

By Gilly Hopper

Coaxing you back inside, the Angela Hartnett-helmed kitchen is suitably moreish and well suited to 1650, Courchevel’s most relaxed village. Offering an Italian twist on mountain fare, dishes range from pumpkin cappellacci to raclette and other French classics. Bedecked with reclaimed wood tables, stone floors, and richly hued banquettes, the restaurant is casual and relaxed; you can leave your Moon Boots on, dear. At Fire & Ice, it’s a different atmosphere again; be warmed by inviting, log-burning fires while feasting on wood-fired pizza washed down with ice shots. The perfect (somewhat low-key) après scene, non? Call it a night and retreat to your cosy, wood-clad, plaid pad or self-catering luxury loft, located on the top two floors of the hotel. The Piste View rooms, which look out onto Belvedere, the main slope into Courchevel Moriond, are always a popular choice. Portetta

A far cry from its ritzy neighbour, St. Moritz, Arosa has an understated, retro feel. New to town is Hotel Faern Arosa Altein, which opened in late December 2022 and is turning heads with its contemporary take on Alpine lodgings (note the Wes-Anderson inspired lobby on entry). For extra space, bed down in one of their corner rooms (among the hotel’s most covetable accommodations), while entry-level bedrooms, though compact, come with all you need (Smart TVs, hanging space, a decent size bathroom). The headline act: private balconies on the mountain-facing side of the hotel with valley known to spark many slopeside adventures.

By V.F. London

By Gilly Hopper

Arosa Lenzerheide offers 225km of pressed, Swiss Alpine powder to explore via skis, snowboard, or snowshoes (it’s a short walk from the hotel to the nearest lifts). Alternatively, get your day off to an invigorating start with an ice-bathing workshop by Eisbadi Arosa. Thaw out back at base in the spa’s sauna and steam room (basic, but effective) or float about in the red and blue-hued indoor pool. Then it’s Palomas all round at Alchemilla Parlour Bar, a cosy space comprising of bouclé chairs, vintage ski prints (some of which are by Slim Aarons), and retro artwork, stitched together by London-based interiors studio, Run for the Hills. Further vintage snow scenes await at Alpensand Panoramic Restaurant; tuck into an inventive menu paired with a DJ set and sprawling views. Come morning, the stucco ceilinged Zus Brasserie presents a pileup of pastries and other continental bites to see you in good stead for another day spent on the mountains. Faern Arosa Altein

The Austrian ski resort of Lech has long been synonymous with the decidedly upmarket—and The Arula Chalets is no exception. It’s one of the most exclusive chalet offerings in the region, formed of two adjoining properties with that all-important slope-side position and effortless piste access. Up in a private spot above the village of Lech, the views from the chalets are magnificent, but so too are the interiors by London-based designers Afs Mehrai and Amie Mercer. Soothing tones and subtle lighting blend beautifully with eclectic modern artwork—Slim Aarons meets pop surrealist Nick Sherratt via Austrian sculptor Sepp Auer—all set against pine panelling that’s elevated with mid-century furniture and the essential touch of traditional Austrian craftsmanship.

The chalets can be booked independently or together to host up to 30 guests across 13 ensuite bedrooms. With full catering and service that includes a 24-hour butler, daily housekeeping, a dedicated chauffeur, massage therapist and yoga instructor, all you need to do is strap on your ski boots (although there’s probably someone to do that for you too).—Jessica Burrell The Arula Chalets