Can’t ski, won’t ski? These magical winter escapes offer the peak of perfection when it comes to off-piste partying and pampering.
While the sight of a snowy mountainscape will have skiers and boarders reaching for their helmets, it can leave the less enthusiastic a little… cold. But it’s not all downhill, as many winter retreats offer first-class après-ski to suit all ages and tastes.
So while family and friends hit the slopes, non-skiers or those that ‘socially ski’ can get their buzz elsewhere, whether that’s embracing lower-impact sports or chilling in a five-star spa. If you’re more into swish than swoosh, look no further than these wintry wonderlands.
1. Experimental Chalet Verbier
@experimentalchalet
Best for: high times and highballs
(Image: Mr Trippier)
Can there be a better place to make merry in the mountains than Experimental Chalet Verbier? The French hospitality brand – founded in 2007 with a cocktail spot in Paris – is known for the joie de vivre it fosters across its boutique hotels, restaurants and bars. And this 39-room retreat knows how to serve up serious fun. All-day restaurant Frenchie Verbier is all about decadence, with the likes of bacon scones with Gruyere cream, roasted duck and banoffee pie on the menu. But the first-floor Experimental Cocktail Club is where you want to be. Nestle at one of the wooden tables for Winter Cups (fruity spirit, sherry, lemon and bitters) and Apricot Frappés (gin, dry vermouth, abricotine), before heading downstairs to the legendary Farm Club discotheque, where everyone from David Bowie to Diana Ross has danced the night away.
2. Montage Big Sky, Montana
@montagebigsky
Best for: frosty family fun
Ski-in, ski-out it may be but when little legs tire – or it’s just too cold to venture out – this mighty Montana lodge has all the bells and whistles. There’s an ice-rink, tubing hill and family-friendly heated outdoor pool, while back at the ranch there’s an indoor bowling alley and movie screenings. As dusk falls, gather round the campfire for s’mores sessions hosted by the in-house ‘marshmallowgist’. For more grown-up vibes, outdoorsy activities might include snowshoe treks, a winter wildlife safari in nearby Yellowstone National Park or snowmobiling amongst the towering pines. Restore weary muscles in the expansive Spa Montage, which offers everything from CBD massages to chakra balancing and cupping.
3. Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, Abuta-gun
@hyatt
Best for: a post-snow singalong
(Image: Aaron Jamieson)
Japan may be one of the world’s most exciting ski destinations (the snowfall is abundant and the topography bewitching) – but the après isn’t too shabby either. Not least at Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, a mountain retreat overlooking the Annupuri ranges and Mount Yotei. While your loved ones are slicing their way through Niseko’s famed powder snow, you can yield to every culinary whim at the hotel’s multiple restaurants, lounges and bars. Will it be afternoon tea courtesy of acclaimed French pastry chef Pierre Hermé? Spicy Sichuan flavours at China Kitchen? Or maybe fresh seafood cooked robatayaki-style. Afterwards, step up to the mic and sing your heart out in one of the two karaoke rooms.
4. Rote Wand Gourmet Hotel, Lech
@rotewandgourmet
Best for: bon vivants and bonhomie
(Image: Dominic Kummer)
Anything that’s called a Gourmet Hotel is sure to tantalise foodie tastebuds, and Rote Wand delivers. The centuries-old inn is in the resort town of Lech, with a Heidi-appropriate exterior (think dark wood, shuttered windows, and overhanging eaves) and contemporary-cool interiors. But you’re here to eat. For this, we recommend you cross the road to the former schoolhouse, now converted into the hotel’s world-renowned Chef’s Table. Here, Julian Stieger and his team bring a whole new meaning to haute cuisine, preparing each course in front of you using ultra-local, traditional ingredients. Meanwhile, Rote Wand’s other restaurants do bistro-style fare, and fondue every which way. Guests can sweat lunch out in the outdoor Finnish sauna or brine steam grotto, while the more energetic can take the cross-country ski trail from Lech to Älpele, wending their way through Narnia-esque forests as they go.
5. Badrutt’s Palace, St. Moritz
@badruttspalace
Best for: the height of luxury
(Image: Paul Thuysbaert)
When St. Moritz hosted the first official Winter Olympics in 1928, Vogue proclaimed it the chicest resort in the world. The snow-glam crowd no doubt stayed at Badrutt’s Palace, a fairytale five-star that’s been welcoming guests since the late 19th century. The neo-Gothic hotel continues to set the bar in old-school opulence, from its chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce Phantom (once owned by Queen Elizabeth II) to the white tuxedoed waiters. While away the hours in the standard-setting spa before retoxing in the six on-site restaurants, bars or Switzerland’s oldest nightclub, King’s Social House. If you want to join the skiers at lunchtime, you’ll be whisked up to Paradiso, Badrutt’s slopeside restaurant, for black truffle fondue and champagne.
6. Rosewood Matakauri, Queenstown
@rosewoodmatakauri
Best for: all-round alpine adventure
(Image: Miz Watanabe)
You may not be into practicing your parallel turns, but who says you need to strap into skis to soak up the scenery? Rosewood Matakauri is just the place to enjoy New Zealand’s wild wintry beauty, a 12-room boutique hotel set deep in a private forest-clad enclave on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, outside Queenstown on the South Island. Those uninterrupted views of the glacial lake and snow-hooded mountains beyond will never tire, best enjoyed from your own private terrace, in the glass-fronted restaurant or at the cosseting spa. For total nature immersion, head for the hills, where you can wallow in steamy hot springs, stride out on a guided ice walk or up your BPM on a heli-hike.
7. Cheval Blanc Courchevel
@chevalblanccourchevel
Best for: peak chic
(Image: Oliver Fly)
Luxury goods company LVMH knows a thing or two about indulgence, and this can most definitely be said of Cheval Blanc Courchevel –a 36-room property in the group’s prestigious hotel portfolio. It’s set in a quintessential alpine chalet, all gently sloping roofs, wooden balconies and ski-in, ski-out access to Les 3 Vallées; that said, the sumptuous furnishings and crackling fires will entice you to luxuriate indoors. This could be in the Guerlain spa, with its mirrored infinity-edge pool and exclusive pampering rituals; or around a table at Le 1947 – the only three-star Michelin restaurant in Courchevel 1850 – overseen by French chef Yannick Alléno, whose innovative menu caters to curious palates. Need some fresh air? The resort, with its twinkling designer stores and cosy bars, is a short stroll away.
8. Fairmont Chateau Whistler
@fairmonthotels
Best for: the feelgood factor
(Image: Mitchell Winton)
Whistler Blackcomb is a winter wonderland on a vast scale. The 8,000-acre-plus resort (said to be the largest in North America) caters to every level of skier, boarder and cold weather daredevil, with 200 marked runs, 16 alpine bowls and a trio of glaciers. At its snowy heart lies Fairmont Chateau Whistler, a slopeside grande dame with 519 rooms and suites. If you don't fancy skiing but want to feel the wind on your cheeks, leave it to the hotel’s Whistler Experience Guides, who’ll take you starlit snowshoeing, skating and more. Longing for the warmth? There’s a spa, swimming pools and copious restaurants and bars to choose from. Feast on schnitzel and rosti in the cosy Chalet, before unleashing your inner mixologist at a cocktail masterclass or hunkering down in the Mallard Lounge for an evening of toe-tapping live music.
Discover more fantastic hotels, restaurants and bars with 50 Best Discovery, and start planning your next adventure.
