It’s no secret that ski holidays can be rough on the wallet. All those elements – accommodation, lift tickets, ski rentals, lessons, ski hire, breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, activities – quickly add up to leave you scratching your head wondering how you spent a mortgage’s worth of cash on hot chocolates in a week.
That’s what all-inclusives are for. No longer reserved for beach holidays, all-inclusive ski lodges have been popping up all over the world, offering package deals that can save you a dollar or two when it comes to your next holiday.
We’ve rounded up some of the best on offer below.
1. The Hotel St Bernard at Taos Ski Valley
The St Bernard ski lodge is right on the slopes of Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico. Choose one of the “ski weeks” on offer and enjoy everything that comes with it – including seven nights of accommodation, three gourmet meals per day and six group morning ski lessons.
The lodge offers up après-ski yoga, stretch classes, a kids club and even nightly entertainment featuring everything from live bands to ski movies. With its European lodge feel, the French food on offer and the fresh flowers in your room, you’ll feel like a million bucks – but it won’t cost you nearly that much.
Packages start from US$2500 per adult based on double occupancy.
2. Portillo, Chile
Portillo offers up “ski weeks” (seven nights accommodation) or “mini weeks” (four or three nights accommodation). Choose an option, depending on how much time you have, book in and then relax from there.
The all-inclusive pricing includes your lodging, along with four meals per day, seven days worth of lift tickets and access to all the lodge facilities, which include a pool, hot tub, weight room, gymnasium, yoga classes, cinema, games room, piano bar and nightclub.
There’s a variety of accommodation on offer, including suites, chalets and family apartments. Plus, Portillo limits the number of lift tickets sold daily – meaning you’ll rarely stand in a lift line. Packages start from US$1200 per adult.
3. CMH Heli Skiing lodges
CMH offer a huge variety of all-inclusive heli-skiing ski holidays across different lodges across the Selkirks, Monashees and Cariboos mountain ranges. Choose from remote backcountry locations or easy-to-access spots that are close to towns such as Revelstoke, then go from there.
All holidays include accommodation, food, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, transportation from nearby airports, heli-skiing guides, skis and poles, avalanche transceiver training and a CMH Guest Pack that includes a shovel and probe.
They make it nice and easy so that you can focus on the important things, i.e. the insane amount of powder you’ll be shredding every day. Packages start from CAD$4250 per adult.
4. Club Med, Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland
This 1920s Club Med ski lodge is like something out of a fairytale. When you’re tired of looking at the view over the Alps, enjoy everything that’s included in your Club Med package – including accommodation, all-day dining, drinks from the open bar, lift passes, group ski lessons and the kids club.
Ski and snowboard across 35 ski lifts and over 100km of terrain, then head on back to the ski lodge to enjoy evening entertainment. Club Med is famous for their ability to pull together an all-inclusive holiday, and if Switzerland’s not quite your cup of tea, you can also choose from ski lodges in Italy, France, Japan and China. Packages start from AUD$1909 per adult.
5. Viking Heliskiing, Iceland
Heli-skiing in Iceland might just be the ultimate bucket list item to tick off. Viking Heliskiing offers a variety of all-inclusive packages ranging from two day trips to seven day trips. Prices include heliskiing, accommodation, all meals, guiding, safety gear, K2 skis or snowboards, ground transportation and – the best part – Icelandic activities.
Go whale-watching, sea angling or scuba diving on their 28ft boat, explore the natural baths and meet an Icelandic horse at a nearby horse farm. Packages start from AUD$6900 per adult.
