Thinking about buying a ski chalet?

Most people, when buying a ski chalet, have a vaguely similar checklist of attributes they want it to have. That list will usually cover three main areas; proximity to an airport, ski in/ski out availability and whether the resort is snowsure.

It can also cover everything, from the quality and variety of the skiing, the type of resort you’re looking for (traditional village or party town?) and whether the resort is dual season. So, to make things easy for you, we take a look at where you can find what.

Proximity to an Airport

If we’re taking “close to an airport” to mean within an hour and a half of the resort, then there are a number of options available. Chamonix is only an hour away from Geneva, as are La Clusaz and Megeve, while the resorts in the Portes du Soleil and the Grand Massif are within an hour and an hour and a half away.

All of these are great choices for those looking for a property that’s perfect for weekend visits. In Switzerland, Villars is also within an hour and a half of Geneva, while Lenzerheide-Arosa is the same distance from Zurich.

Ski in / Ski out

This section is a little more scattered, because not all resorts in a certain area will have ski in/ski out access; properties with good access to the slopes are always incredibly popular, so they come around rarely.

Les Collons, Nendaz and La Tzoumaz in the Four Valleys all have some developments with good access, while Les Arcs, Les Menuires in the Trois Vallees, Chatel in the Portes du Soleil and Flaine in the Grand Massif all have ski in / ski out available.Grindelwald and Wengen share a ski area, and both have some great slopeside properties, while Crans-Montana, Saas Fee and Sainte Foy also have some properties with great ski access.

Snowsure

Now, this is where it gets tricky. There aren't many ski areas that are 100% Snowsure, and they certainly don’t all have the sort of pisted ski areas that draw so many people to Zermatt and Verbier. Both the Espace Killy ski area, which encompasses Val d’Isere and Tignes, and Courchevel 1850 and Val Thorens in the Trois Vallees are snowsure, along with Les Arcs, Saas Fee and Chamonix.

Go in with an Open Mind

Of the resorts I have mentioned in this piece, only Chamonix, Saas Fee and the Grand Massif appear in more than one of the lists; all of which offer different atmospheres in the resort, from lively town to purpose built convenience and classic Swiss village. You’re not always going to tick every box on your list, and if you go in with a concrete list of attributes every resort must have, you’ll probably end up disappointed.

Go in knowing which resorts fit your criteria, and the whole process will go much smoother. You don't know which resort might take your fancy, be it the classic mountain village La Clusaz, sprawling Morzine or mini-Zermatt, Saas Fee. Happy hunting everybody.