Slopes

TRYING to choose the right ski resort for the family – especially if you have beginners or young additions – can be tricky.

Thankfully, there are some great resorts depending on what different needs you have, as well as some great deals alongisde.

Crystal Ski Holidays has done the hard work and broken down some of the best in Europe.

Some don’t even have to break the bank, with a week-long trip including flights for just over £500 each.

So here are eight different resorts, based on younger skiers, new skiers, to those who want some cozy resorts or party resorts. 

Best for Little Ones

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Inside Stacey Solomon’s family ski holiday as she poses with Joe Swash and kids

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Hundfjället, Sweden 

Just a 15–20 minutes transfer from the airport, Hundfjället is easy to get to and simple to navigate.

The resort is designed with families in mind.

This means features such as Valle the Snowman and Trollskogen, an enchanting forest filled with wooden trolls and storybook creatures as children make their way down the slopes. 

And when having a break from skiing, children can enjoy tubing, mini snowmobiles, or relaxing at the hotel’s spa. 

Seven nights at SkiStar Lodge Hundfjället  with return flights, 20kg hold luggage and transfers from £1,233pp.

Best for Beginners

Soldeu, Andorra 

Soldeu offers calm, family-friendly skiing, with the main gondola taking visitors straight to nursery slopes and the ski school.

Wide green and blue runs through the trees make progression easy.

And younger kids can build confidence in the playful Baba Boom Circus area, complete with obstacles and fun features. 

Seven nights at Apartamentos Prat De Les Molleres with return flights, 23kg hold luggage and transfers from £1,615pp.

Rauris, Austria 

A peaceful, compact resort, Rauris is perfect for first-time skiers.

Everything is within walking distance – from family-run accommodation to the gondola and ski school.

Children can learn on the nursery slopes, progress to gentle blue runs with panoramic views, or have fun on the mini racetrack.

Off-slope activities include sleigh rides, ice climbing, and snowshoeing under the stars. 

Seven nights at Hotel Rauriserhof  with return flights, 20kg hold luggage and transfers from £997pp.

Best for Alpine Charm & Comfort

Obergurgl, Austria 

High in the Austrian Alps, Obergurgl combines alpine charm with family convenience.

Quiet slopes and excellent ski schools help children gain confidence quickly, while parents enjoy high-quality hotels, hearty Tyrolean cuisine, and stunning mountain views.

Family-friendly facilities like pools and playrooms add extra appeal, and reliable snow cover keeps everyone happy all season. 

Seven nights at Obergurgl, Austria with return flights, 20kg hold luggage and transfers from £1,967pp.

Flaine, France 

Flaine has both sunny slopes and reliable snow, ideal for beginners and families.

Kids can enjoy Crystal Childcare while exploring beginner areas, and there’s plenty to keep everyone entertained off the slopes – from ice skating and bowling to magical dog sled rides. 

And with accommodation near the lifts it ensures a smooth and comfortable stay. 

Seven nights at Dormio Resort Les Portes du Grand Massif with return flights, 20kg hold luggage and transfers from £1,770pp.

Best for Off-Slope Fun

Zell am See, Austria 

Set beside a pretty lake, Zell am See combines scenic beauty with family-friendly adventures.

Kids can ski in Schmidolin’s Dragon Park, with themed fun runs and a dragon mascot.

Families can also enjoy sleigh rides, an alpine rollercoaster, and explore the lively lakeside town.

It even has one of Austria’s largest ski schools, so the resort caters to all abilities. 

Seven nights Boutique Hotel Martha  with return flights, 23kg hold luggage and transfers from £1,164pp.

La Plagne, France 

La Plagne is perfect for families that want a more gentle terrain with beginner-friendly runs.

But there is lots to do off the slopes too including ice skating, igloo villages, and even an ice grotto on the glacier.

There is a huge variety of accommodation options and welcoming resorts ensure comfort for all ages. 

Seven nights at Premium Residence Les Hauts Bois, Plagne Aime 2000  with return flights, 20kg hold luggage and transfers from £507pp.

Best for Arctic Adventures

Ruka, Finland 

For an authentic winter wonderland, Ruka offers traditional log cabins and slope-side stays, so mornings with the kids are extra easy.

It is also just 20 minutes from the airport, so you don’t have to travel far.

Otherwise the resort has a number of gentle runs, family parks with magic carpets and fun obstacles.

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Don’t forget to go dog sledding and on reindeer safaris.

Seven nights at Aurinkorinne Apartments with with return flights, 20kg hold luggage and transfers from £1,348pp.

YOU’RE in the Alps for a ski holiday – you’ve got your gear, your lift pass and the optimism that you won’t wipe out on a blue run as kids whizz past you.

But what if skiing on a skiing holiday is optional?

What if there’s an Alpine world that doesn’t require you to throw yourself downhill at speed?

The wild and wonderful phenomenon of après-ski only gears up after the lifts stop — and the party gets going.

Après-ski is no small affair — this is not just drinks before dinner.

In the Three Valleys area of the French Alps, après is a daily festival and feels like a way of life.

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Picture this: a live band steps on stage ahead of a DJ surrounded by strobe lights, crowds are dancing on the tables (in ski boots) and bobble hats are thrown in the air.

This melee of strangers is swaying together, drinks in hand, as revellers sing at the top of their lungs.

This is a kind of Alpine Glastonbury, where people swap flower crowns and flags for puffer jackets and goggles.

And the best part? You don’t have to ski or snowboard to enjoy it.

The Three Valleys is known for some of the best slopes in the world, with almost 600km of pistes, as high as 3,000 metres, to pick from.

But interconnected Valleys resorts Méribel, Courchevel and Val Thorens also showcase thousands of music gigs.

The magic is thanks to London and Méribel-based agency Après Ski Bands, which books more than 3,500 such events per season across 130 venues.

These aren’t bog-standard cover bands — they’re high-energy pros, picked in X Factor-style auditions in the UK, who turn ski resorts into concert venues during winter.

In five days in the Alps, I saw nine superb acts without even trying — starting with party band Magnolia, ending with DJ and MC duo Rio & Rhymes and acts in between including emerging alt-rock talent Pattern Pusher and diverse après heroes The Wingmen.

For folk fans, there’s guitarist Chris Quinn, who opened for the Jools Holland Orchestra, and singer-songwriter Albert Jones, who appeared on BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend.

Performing in the Alps is hard graft, as musicians play up to 140 dates in a single season.

At Lodge Du Village in Méribel alone, there are 900 live gigs each winter — with Mondays to Wednesdays often wilder than Saturday nights (free shots for those who arrive early).

Le Rond Point — or Ronnie — in Méribel is one of those places where you show up for one drink and suddenly it’s four hours later, and you’re leading a conga line and wearing someone else’s unicorn onesie.

And let’s not forget ultra-Insta La Folie Douce, a venue likened to Ibiza in the snow. If it sounds like an attack on the senses, that’s because it is.

But if partying isn’t really your thing, there are other things on offer in the Valleys.

For a touch of luxury, hit a hotel spa or soak in your chalet’s outdoor hot tub with a glass of fizz, watching skiers from a distance.

If you want to be on the white stuff minus the face-planting, then snowshoeing or sled-dog walking are great for exploring at a gentle pace.

Then, of course, there is the ultimate Alpine sport — eating.

Food here is an attraction in itself, with Méribel’s Le Cro Magnon and La Terrasse du Village delivering everything from hearty Savoyard to refined French-British fusion.

If you come to the Alps and don’t eat fondue, tartiflette or raclette, did you even visit the Alps?

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And now it’s not just a winter thing, with resorts shifting towards year-round tourism, meaning the party doesn’t stop when the snow starts to melt in April.

Whether you’re dancing on tables, belting out rock anthems with a crowd of strangers, exploring snowy forests, or eating your bodyweight in cheese, you’ve made it down a black run to holiday heaven.