When you’re planning your ski holiday, one of the most important parts is the accommodation. Finding a great base in your chosen ski resort can be the difference between a good and a great ski break. And when booking your accommodation, you’ll come to that age old dilemma: should you book a self-catered apartment, part catered hotel, or fully catered chalet?
There are of course in-between points in this, such as half board hotels, or self catered chalets, but that’s kinda the crux of it. Do you own cooking, get your catering part done, or enjoy the fully catered experience?
We’ve done all of the above in our time, so we’re going top share our thoughts as well as the pros and cons of each type of accommodation style. There will be a few affiliate links within this article too, just so you know. This just means that if you do click and buy via them, we may make a commission at no extra cost to you….
Self Catered Apartments
When it comes to the simplest ski accommodation, self catered apartments in your chosen ski resort might be one of the most reliable options. You will usually have all, or most of the benefits of a home from home including:
- Cooking facilities
- Fridge and food storage options
- Laundry facilities
- Dining room and/or living room area
In addition to this, self catering is often the cheapest option on your ski package holiday list, often significantly cheaper than an option including meals. This is because, of course, meals cost quite a bit to produce, manage, clean after etc – and that convenience comes at a cost.
However, some of the benefits of a self catered ski holiday are that you can create cost effective meals, potentially saving a lot of money whether you have a big group, or you’re just on your own or with friends. Pick up a bag of pasta, potatoes, veg, cheese and meat for the cost of one meal in a restaurant and you’ve got yourself all you need for the best part of a week. Especially when you consider the cost of eating out in a ski resort is often quite high…
So if you’re looking for the convenience of a home from home experience, you don’t mind cooking and washing up after yourself and you’re looking for the most economical version, self catered apartments could be your best option.
Some examples of self catering include our recent trip to Residences Alba Apartments in Andorra and in Crans Montana.
Best for:
- Usually the most economical in terms of price
- Great for convenience – no need to find a restaurant every night!
- Home from home experience
Where to find self catered apartments:
Most of the big ski holiday package providers offer self catered apartments as their standard offerings. For example, Snowtrex often have incredible deals on well placed ski apartments, including lift passes.
You’ll also find some great deals on quality self catered ski chalets on SkiWorld, as well as Erna Low and Ski France.
Erna Low usually offer high end apartments in popular ski resorts, which are ideal for those booking for families or groups of friends.
Ski France also offer good value ski chalets, often well priced and in great locations.
Bed and Breakfast
The classic B&B is another popular way to book your ski holiday. This will usually mean either a hotel or apartment complex, with breakfast laid on over a certain time frame in the mornings. And who doesn’t love a buffet breakfast? You’ll get to wake up, roll down to the breakfast area and fuel up for a busy day on the mountains with as much coffee, pastries, cheese, cold meats and fruit as you can get in…
There are a number of reasons why a bed and breakfast hotel or apartment could be the best option:
- No need to find somewhere for breakfast
- Buffet breakfast can be good value
- The hotel breakfast experience is quite fun too
You can also often find a bed and breakfast deal for not much more than self catering ski accommodation, especially in popular resorts.
But of course, bed and breakfast does come with a few drawbacks. This is usually that there will be limited food storage or preparation areas in your own room, meaning that you most likely won’t have options for making your own meals if you choose. You’ll need to pay for those extra meals in the resort, which can be expensive and a hassle to find, especially if you need to go out every night and find somewhere.
If you’re travelling with kids or in a large group, bed and breakfast might not be the most cost-effective option, and can also be a logistical hassle too.
We recently enjoyed a bed and breakfast stay in Chamonix.
Best for:
- Individuals, couples or small groups who like the convenience
- The breakfast buffet experience!
- Can be good value in some places
Where to find bed and breakfast ski deals:
If you want a ski package with lift passes and breakfast, Snowtrex offer some of the best deals on the internet. You can also run a search on sites such as Booking.com for B&B hotels in your chosen ski resort.
Catered Chalets or Apartments
Perhaps the Gold Standard in ski accommodation is the fully catered chalet or apartment. These are, as the name suggests, self-contained accommodation where meals are provided during the duration of your stay. This will usually mean a breakfast spread in the morning and an evening meal, often with alcoholic drinks included (although some might add a surcharge for booze). Some will even pack you a picnic lunch for the mountain too!
Catered ski chalets are obviously popular for a number of reasons, such as:
- Maximum convenience – all meals taken care of!
- Can be very cost effective, especially in larger groups
- No need to clean up either…
While catered ski accommodation often looks the most expensive option on paper, when you factor in the convenience and the avoidance of the logistical issues with finding somewhere to eat every night, it can actually be really good value. To add to this, you can usually be specific about dietary requirements, which can be a great help for those with allergies, or even just people with fussy kids.
Catered chalets and apartments can be a great experience, especially for families or larger groups. But they’re not always for everyone. Some people love the option to go out and explore every night, or try new local restaurants and might feel that if they’ve paid for fully catered they need to stay in. And as catered chalets are normally the most costly, at least on paper, they might not appeal to everyone.
Best for:
- Groups who want the fully managed catering experience
- Maximum convenience with minimum need for cleaning or cooking
- Often a premium or luxury experience
Where to find catered ski chalets:
There are obviously lots of really good options for catered ski chalets – SkiWorld being one of them. You’ll find options across most of the major French ski resorts, as well as some options in Italy too.
Try also Erna Low and Ski France who both offer catered ski chalet options,
Full Board, Half Board and All Inclusive
While catered ski chalets are one thing, the options for different board options are a slightly different experience. Full board, half board and all inclusive ski accommodation usually means that you’ll be in a hotel setting and that meals are served in the dining area within specific times on a buffet basis.
To sum up each of these:
- Half board: Breakfast and evening meals included
- Full board: Breakfast, lunch options and an evening meal included
- All inclusive: Breakfast, lunch options, evening meals and drinks included
As the names suggest, these board options take the strain off planning your dining options and do often mean you get good quality food in your accommodation, saving the hassle of going out to find a restaurant or spending more money on your ski trip. In fact, one of the main benefits of all of these board options is that you then have a very predictable price or budget for your entire ski holiday, as you’ll know that the biggest outlay (hotel and food) are taken care of.
And while this might sound great, for most, there are some downsides.You could find that you’re unhappy with the standard of catering, or you might find also that there are limited options that you enjoy, with some places serving the same dishes every evening, or in rotation. The best bet is to check the reviews of your chosen ski accommodation to see what others have said about the food and drinks options.
We enjoyed a fabulous all inclusive stay in Mayrhofen.
Best for:
- Pricing in your dining while on your ski break
- Great for convenience
- The buffet experience can be a pro or con for some people
Where to find ski holidays with different board options:
Search the popular ski package providers such as Snowtrex and SkiWorld for different package options including all inclusive and half board.
Room Only
While there are plenty of options for catering on your ski holiday, it’s worth pointing out that room only can often come up as an option. This will usually mean a hotel room with no catering facilities, and can also mean limited food storage options. Of course, you’ll need to make your own catering arrangements – but hotels will almost always offer options to pay extra for breakfast or dinner, and there’s usually a cafe, restaurant or local store around the corner.
The room only option is often the most economical option and can be useful if you’re looking for either a great hotel room, with no bells and whistles, or the cheapest possible accommodation for your ski break.
People might opt for room only at a premium hotel chain, getting access to the facilities and the location. But then go out for all their meals, or simply pay for breakfast or dinner on set days when they choose.
Best for:
- Getting the best price on hotel rooms
- When you’re happy to organise your own meals, or
- Paying ad-hoc for hotel meals if needed
You’ll find the best prices on hotel rooms across pretty much every ski resort with Booking.com. Whatever your price range, you can pick and choose and even find deals on breakfast included and more.
Summing Up
Booking your ski holiday package usually means making some tricky choices with your accommodation. Do you go fully catered, or cook your own meals? It can be a tricky one to decide.
We think that if budget isn’t a major issue then fully catered chalets, or at least half board, are a no brainer. It really does help to budget the whole trip and takes the strain out of finding food in the evenings.
If you’re working with a budget and you want the best bang for your Euro, self catering is probably the best choice. You can cook your own meals for a fraction of the costs of local restaurants…
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