Advice

Ever heard of Jasná (pronounced Yaznah)? Most people haven’t, but as Slovakia’s biggest ski resort, it’s well worth considering by intermediates – and off-piste aficionados, if snow conditions are good. It’s very convenient for short breaks if Luton airport is an option. Low-cost airline Wizz Air has two flights a week between Luton and Poprad-Tatry

Jasná’s hotels are strung out along the road from the town of Liptovský Mikuláš to the head of the valley 17km away. There isn’t a resort centre as such, but the hub of Jasna is at the foot of the lifts at Biela Pút near the end of the valley, where there’s a couple of

The original La Rosière resort (now known as La Rosière Centre) was developed in the 1960s and 70s at the start of the road to the Petit St Bernard pass to Italy, which is closed in winter. More recent development has been concentrated at Les Eucherts, around one kilometre away and linked by a pretty, snow-covered

Sölden is not as well-known on the British market as it deserves, partly because it’s not on the books of many UK tour operators. Intermediate-friendly and with much livelier nightlife-wise than nearby Obergurgl, which is more familiar to Britons, it also has reliable snow – as shown by the fact the first Alpine World Cup races

The gorgeous little, traffic-free village of Saas-Fee looks a bit like a small Zermatt with its dark wooden chalets, and it is surrounded by magnificent glaciers and mountain peaks, including the Dom – the highest mountain located entirely within Switzerland.  Saas-Fee’s ski area is one of the highest in the Alps, popular for summer skiing

Most of the accommodation in Saas-Fee is in hotels, including some smart options to suit guests with deep pockets. However, families and visitors on modest budgets can find apartments and catered chalets in the resort’s traffic-free centre and within easy reach of the lifts. For further Saas-Fee inspiration, see our guides to the resort’s best

Sitting on a sunny shelf, Wengen shares a ski area with Grindelwald, and most of the slopes are above its neighbour, under the towering north face of the Eiger. Until the early 20th century, Wengen was an Alpine farming community, and had been for centuries. Then intrepid British visitors started skiing here and persuaded the locals to keep

Wengen is a charming village set on a shelf overlooking the Lauterbrunnen valley. For a resort that is so famous for the annual Lauberhorn World Cup downhill race, which takes place every January, it is remarkably small. The focus is a short main street lined by shops and several large Victorian-style hotels.  There are surprisingly

The majority of visitors to Wengen stay in hotels, mostly three- and four-star and varying a lot in character. The main street is by far the most convenient place to stay – some accommodation, including most of the rental apartments, is up or down steep hills from the centre and the lifts. If splendid isolation

As well as being a ski resort, Morzine is a proper little Alpine town that has a year-round life stretching far beyond having fun on the mountains that surround it. That said, winter sports enthusiasts from France and other countries – Britain in particular – have been coming here since Edwardian times. They spent their

Traditional foot-stomping après-ski might be falling out of favour for some, but for the majority of skiers and snowboarders hitting the slopes is only part of the joy of going on a ski holiday. Getting the most conducive après-ski scene is often almost as important as finding the right slopes. While spas, ice skating, ziplining

In recent years, older buildings in La Croisette, the original resort centre, have been revamped and reclad, while the modern largely ski-in/ski-out satellites of Reberty and Le Bruyères have wisely been constructed in a much more sympathetic chalet style. The majority of accommodation here is in self-catering apartments and catered chalets. However, the four-star Ours

After it was founded in 1964, for the first 40 years of its existence, Les Menuires was always dubbed the ugly duckling of European ski resorts. Now celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023/24, and while never a swan, it has matured into a pretty presentable drake. What is more, it’s become a mainstream player as

Spread along Mount Bonvin’s broad slopes, a towering massif rising to nearly 3,000m, Crans-Montana, in the Swiss canton of Valais, lies quietly under the radar when it comes to British visitors. The ski area is extensive and varied, especially suiting intermediate-level visitors. There are runs with long, panoramic views, as well as some sheltered wooded slopes, and it is

All hotels have been independently reviewed and selected. We will earn a commission if you book via the links below, but this never affects our rating. Our expert writers are usually hosted on a complimentary basis in order to gain the first-hand experience necessary for their review. For those with a desire to experience something

Few months spark a yearning for somewhere brighter and hotter than December. And with the UK in the midst of a wintry spell, it is once again time to start dreaming of swaying palm trees and whooshing waves to ring in the new year.  Enter the Caribbean, clad in its best high-season apparel, and offering

Cortina is one of the oldest ski resorts in Europe, in Italy’s north-eastern corner, with grand hotels dating from Victorian times, and is set among the stunning scenery of the Dolomites. It is also one of the few resorts in the Dolomites with an entirely Italian atmosphere, and almost none of the Germanic and Austrian

Want to try a cruise but not sure it’s for you? It’s a bit of a ­gamble, after all. What if, after a few days, you decide you’re not keen – but still have to stick out a week or more on-board, and possibly 3,000 miles from home? It’s a tricky conundrum for prospective cruisers

All hotels have been independently reviewed and selected. We will earn a commission if you book via the links below, but this never affects our rating. Our expert writers are usually hosted on a complimentary basis in order to gain the first-hand experience necessary for their review. If there’s one thing Edinburgh isn’t short of,

All hotels have been independently reviewed and selected. We will earn a commission if you book via the links below, but this never affects our rating. Our expert writers are usually hosted on a complimentary basis in order to gain the first-hand experience necessary for their review. With their dazzling volcanic beaches, wildly contrasting landscapes