This year, some of the world’s best ski resorts are introducing a flurry of on-mountain improvements and luxurious slope-side retreats. We’ve rounded up the most exciting offerings for the 2017-2018 season and broken them down into personality-based recommendations, with input from Bloomberg’s enthusiastic ski experts and Ski.com executive Dan Sherman. The goal? To make sure you can maximize whatever time you’re planning to spend on the slopes—by heading to the destination that’s perfect for you.
If you still need help deciding where to book, take our ski quiz to find the trip that’s right for you.
Best for Luxury Seekers: Megève, France
The French resort has always been a bastion of Old World luxury, laden with fur coats and hand-painted, horse-drawn carriages in the shadow of Mont Blanc. On the heels of a 300 million euro ($354 million) investment, the town is getting a 21st century update. High-speed gondolas will now connect its disparate peaks, making a day-long adventure all the more thrilling. And the longest toboggan run in the Haute-Savoie has just opened, along with two dedicated “fun zones” for kids and the largest indoor wellness complex in the Alps—with therapeutic pools to help you recover from a day on the slopes. December will mark the debut of the 69-room Four Seasons, built in collaboration with Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild, whose family helped establish Megève as a tony winter playground. The hotel has big ambitions: It has imported the general manager from the Hotel George V in Paris, along with the two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Le 1920, formerly on the Rothschild estate. Can’t get in? Among the clusters of independently owned châteaux on the mountain is one design-centric gem, Les Fermes de Marie, where traditional alpine woodworking gets updated with white shag pillows, eccentrically upholstered headboards, and a Japanese-style spa.
Who you’ll see: Old money and French aristocrats
Where to eat: Le Hibou Blanc, a new brasserie from Saint Tropez’s beloved Sénéquier team
Cost of a lift ticket: 46.50 euros per day
Stuck stateside? Try Deer Valley, Utah, at which resort staff will dispatch strapping young men to carry your skis to the lift, or a private mountain in Vermont, where you’ll share the slopes only with your 99 closest friends.
Best for Family Skiers: Lech, Austria
Given the unpredictability of snowfall in recent winters, the greater Lech area has a considerable advantage: The resort in western Austria consistently ranks among the snowiest places in Europe. And now that a panoramic tram system is connecting Lech with six neighboring Arlberg peaks, including St. Anton and Zürs, its contiguous skiable terrain is among the largest in the world.