Save your cash... then make a big splash
SNOW-LOVERS have had their mountain plans dashed – so all the more reason to beg, borrow or save to make a hedonistic splash next winter. How about testing your endurance at two of the biggest interlinked ski areas in the Alps, or losing yourself in a blend of Japanese ski and culture?
SCHEFFAU is one of nine Tyrolean villages in Austria’s vast SkiWelt region where a fortnight’s holiday is a discerning choice to comfortably explore the 150 miles of groomed trails, soak up the area’s Kneipp hydrotherapy facilities, and perhaps visit the baroque church, opposite your four-star Land Hotel Alpin.
During a normal snow season, guests ski direct from the hotel to the Bergbahn gondola, or else the ski bus stop is right outside.
Departing January 8, 2022, 14 nights on a half-board basis costs £1,585pp, based on two sharing and including return flights, transfers, the use of an indoor pool, sauna and hammam, and unlimited soft or alcoholic drinks at dinner. Visit crystalski.co.uk for details.
Be that eager bird to catch a good deal and the early-season snow in the French Three Valleys region, which boasts 380 miles of pistes. At 5,750ft, the recently renovated Hotel Le Mottaret is perfectly located, with doorstep skiing from the top of the Meribel Valley, and its private hot-tub terrace is the ideal spot to mountain-gaze with a flute of fizz in hand.
Seven nights’ B&B from December 3, 2021, costs £336.50pp, based on two sharing, representing a 36 per cent discount (skifrance. co.uk). Flights are not included.
In Hokkaido, Japan, it can snow every day in winter. The Tomamu resort boasts an exciting range of pistes, a giant pool with wave machine, and an ice village which, when lit up, resembles scenes from Snow White.
Go early next February to catch Sapporo’s Snow Festival and a Tokyo cultural explosion. A tennight trip departing February 1, 2022, with five nights at Risonare Tomamu, where suites have jet baths with mountain views, costs £4,567pp based on two sharing (hoshinoresorts.com). The price includes two nights in Sapporo and three in Tokyo with one guided day. Visit insidejapantours.com.