A world-wide survey carried out over last ski season has revealed that Courchevel (in France), Lech (in Austria) and St Moritz (in Switzerland) were the priciest resorts for hotel accommodation – based on their average rate for a double room in January.  However, several of the top-rated properties are ‘suites only’ with no double rooms, which may have distorted the statistics somewhat. 

Eight of the ten most expensive hotels were in these three resorts.  The other two spots were taken by hotels in Deer Valley (Utah) and Aspen (Colorado) in the USA. 

Top of the pile was the Suites de la Potiniere in Courchevel, with an average room rate of €1,546 (approx £1,245/$1,996) per night.

The survey was conducted by Luxury-Hotels.com, who revealed the following as their top five:

1 Les Suites de la Pointiere, Courchevel $1996

2 Aurelio Lech, Lech-Arlberg $1423

3 Carlton Hotel, St Moritz $1256

4 Almhof Schneider (Lech-Arlberg) $1185

5 Suvretta House (St Moritz) $1121

It also backs up the findings of luxury chalet specialists the Oxford Skiing Company which compiles an annual list of their 20 best ski chalets in the world (www.luxurychaletcollection.com), although not necessarily the most expensive. 

They also found that luxury 9-bedroomed chalet Ormello in Courchevel charged a staggering €200,000 for its most expensive week – over New Year.  That’s almost double the cost of Richard Branson’s extortionate ‘The Lodge’ in Verbier.  Admittedly, Ormello does offer a private cinema, indoor swimming pool, hot tub, and fitness and massage rooms, but that’s not dissimilar to the amenities of other deluxe chalets, who charge much less. 

This means Courchevel takes the gold medal for price in both the hotel and chalet categories, and demonstrates how, at the top-end of the market, accommodation in France can outstrip even Swiss prices, despite the strength of the Swiss Franc!

It will be interesting to see who comes out top of the pile this season!