My forecast for Verbier? Sunny, snowy and chilled
ILAST visited Verbier in 2004 and that trip has always stood out from my more recent skiing holidays. A pretty Alpine village, it’s one of the few resorts with scenic, tree-lined and more gentle slopes – ideal for skiers like me.
Going away in a group – in this case, eight girls – was ambitious but Tom at holiday company Ski Armadillo made it painless. He proved to be invaluable with his planning and suggestions, and handled our last-minute changes.
Due to work commitments, we arrived at different times but our transfers all worked out well.
There was a huge dump of snow a couple of days before we arrived, but the first girls to arrive were unable to ski due to whiteout conditions and poor visibility.
Tom arranged a guide, Emma, to lead us around the slopes according to our ability. She gave us advice about our technique and arranged lessons for those who wanted them.
On our first day we skied nearly 48km. Emma’s insider knowledge was brilliant. One day she took us to La Dahu for alfresco dining at 2,200m. We also ventured to Le Vache – owned by singer James Blunt, former rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio and world superbikes champion Carl Fogarty – which had a contemporary, chilled-out vibe.
Verbier has more apres-ski spots than you can shake a ski pole at. We went from standing by an open fire pit with a mug of hot chocolate with Cointreau to sampling cheese and wine in a refined deli.
At the other end of the scale, Le Rouge was probably one of the most popular places we visited. It is con-
veniently based at the base of the slopes and was a blur of giant bottles of rosé on a busy terrace. By contrast, our chalet was the most comfortable place to rest. A five-minute walk from the village, it had comfy sofas and an open-plan sitting room with lots of space. Each of the four bedrooms was en-suite with heated floors and White Company bath oils.
We were always ravenous after getting back to our accommodation, so we scoffed the afternoon spread of tea and home-made cake, breads and jam within seconds. We felt spoilt by our chalet hosts. They were awesome at providing canapes and a MasterChef-style three-course dinner every evening. After eating some evenings we went back into town, and as the weekend approached the bars got busier. Farinet is a Verbier institution. One side has live music and dancing on tables. The other side is a swankier lounge bar, with leather sofas, a DJ booth and waitress service.
One evening, we were lucky enough to grab a massive corner sofa overlooking the bar, have a couple of glasses of champagne and some nibbles.
The following night we returned a little later than we planned and discovered that Prince William and his friends had poached our favourite spot. You snooze, you lose…
The Farm Club, one of the resort’s oldest bars, has been going strong since the 1970s and is a sight to behold and experience – if only for the clientele and punchy bar prices. It’s a Euro melting pot – quite literally, as it gets so hot and crowded. It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted.
It was impossible not to stop off at the hidden bakery (hole in the wall) around the corner for midnight snacks of ham and cheese croissants.
One morning, when the weather did not look so appealing, a couple of us ventured to the new W hotel to use the spa and revive our aching limbs. We pretty much had the place to ourselves – a steam room, sauna and an indoor/outdoor pool.
By lunchtime, the skies had cleared and we got back on the slopes for the most beautiful, sunny afternoon.
Verbier has grown since my last visit more than a decade ago, but has managed to retain its traditional charm.
The resort has lowered the rating of some of its more challenging slopes to attract skiers of all abilities. I quite liked this fact – we were possibly dipping into black runs thinking they were easier reds.
From this winter, instead of a two-hour transfer time from Geneva, skiers can reach Verbier in 45 minutes if they fly to the lesser-known airport at Sion instead.
If that makes Verbier an even more popular resort for shorter hops, you can count me in!