6 min readThere are two types of people in the world: those who dread winter, and those who can’t wait for it. If you fall into the latter camp, there’s a good chance you’re in the midst of planning your upcoming ski season right now—and this year, there is a lot to consider.
According to new research from Ski.com, Americans are chasing the snow farther afield than ever: bookings to Europe are up a staggering 72 percent year over year, with Italy alone surging more than 500 percent thanks to the Milano-Cortina Olympics fever. Canada is having a moment too, up nearly 65 percent, prized for its international flavor and advantageous exchange rate. And Japan is roaring with bookings up 40 percent. Closer to home, skiers are trading marquee names like Aspen and Vail for smaller, soulful outposts with better bragging rights—because the best trips are the ones where you’re the first in the group chat to say where you’ve been.
If chasing the season’s top trending ski destinations is for you, here are the spots to have on your radar for this winter.
Sundance Resort, Utah
A discreet gem enters a new era
For 56 years, Sundance was the insider’s ski resort with no real hotel—you stayed in a cottage, mountain home, or you didn’t go at all. All the big, luxurious hotels popped up at the state’s other ski resorts, like the decadent Montage or Goldener Hirsch up in Deer Valley.
That changes this year, however, now that the Inn at Sundance has finally opened: 63 ski-in, ski-out rooms at the base of the Outlaw Express lift. Design firm Fettle integrated nods to the canyon’s layered past—Ute heritage, Scottish homesteaders, even the shaggy 1970s energy of the resort’s founder Robert Redford. And it already holds a Michelin Key. Translation: the most elegant, intimate resort in Utah finally has accommodations that match its reputation. Go now before everyone else catches on.
Courchevel, France
The pinnacle of French Alps perfection
No address in the Alps works harder to make skiing look so damn good than Courchevel 1850, the village-within-a-village where Europe’s most elegant skiers base themselves. The gondolas have been known to be sponsored by the likes of Chanel and Moncler. Trop chic.
The hospitality scene is on fire right now, too. Rosewood made a splashy arrival there last year, but L’Apogée—built into the old Olympic ski jump site in the ultra-exclusive Jardin Alpin area—is still the one to beat. Its 55 suites, designed by India Mahdavi and Joseph Durand, are the roomiest in town, and Kelly Wearstler just completed an overhaul of the hotel’s dining spaces. Keep an eye on the destination as the competition is fierce: iconic St-Tropez hotel Lily of the Valley will make its mountain debut there next year, and Raffles Courchevel touches down in 2028. Best plan multiple trips so you can sample them all.
The Dolomites, Italy
La dolce vita, mountain style
Interest hasn’t cooled since Cortina’s Olympic close-up last year. Ski.com says Italy bookings are up more than 500 percent this season, and the Dolomites are why. COMO Alpina Dolomites, perched on the Alpe di Siusi (Europe’s largest high-alpine meadow) offers plenty of reasons to visit this season: the opportunity to ski with World Cup athletes from December 16 to 20; a special wellness-focused week, “The Summit Within” from January 24 to 30; and a ski carving workshop from February 22 to 27.
They’re not the only buzzy hotel in the Dolomites right now, either. Aman Rosa Alpina opened last year to much fanfare, and the region is also home to a number of stunning boutique hotels, like the Hotel Hubertus with its gravity-defying cantilevered pool, and Castel Badia, a luxury hotel set in an 11th-century castle. Glittering Cortina d’Ampezzo is the center of the action when it comes to shopping and après-ski scenes, and is home to a number of new and newly refurbished hotels, including Le Graal, The First Cortina, and Hotel Ancora, which is owned by Diesel founder Renzo Rosso. Book any of those and you’ll be treated to fantastic access to the slopes and some of the best carbs in the Alps.
Big Sky, Montana
The go-to spot for your favorite insider’s favorite insider
Big Sky’s tony Yellowstone Club is still the ultimate velvet rope in American skiing, but the biggest story out of Montana this year is its new neighbor, One&Only Moonlight Basin, which opened last season as the brand’s first U.S. property and its first ever in the mountains. Star architecture firm Olson Kundig designed the 73-room lodge on the flank of Lone Peak, and a sprawling spa that does probably the best facials and full-body treatments in the state.
For something a little less floor-to-ceiling glass and more luxe cowboy, check out Lone Mountain Ranch, 26 freestanding log cabins strung along North Fork Creek. If you can’t score an invite to the Yellowstone Club, booking one of those cabins grants you access to one of Big Sky’s other top insider spots: Auric Room, a members-only supper club hidden behind an unmarked door.
St. Moritz, Switzerland
Snow polo and so much more
The thing about St. Moritz is that it literally created winter tourism back in 1864, when Johannes Badrutt invited his London society friends to the Engadin Valley with the promise that Alpine winters were incredibly pleasant and sunny. Since then, not much has changed, yet everything has changed: Badrutt’s Palace is still the alpha and omega of Alpine luxury resorts, and just expanded with its modern Serlas Wing; a collection of international galleries give this tiny mountain town real relevance on the global art scene; and the Snow Polo World Cup, now more than 40 years running, is still the ultimate spectating event that many around the world try to copy. This is a town that does après-ski exceedingly well, too, whether that’s a glamorous slopeside lunch at Langosteria or Paradiso Mountain Club, or shopping at Prada and Loro Piana.
St. Moritz has evolved into a capital of all things champagne and caviar, but there are pockets of discretion, too. The historic Suvretta House—tucked gloriously high on the mountainside, away from the din of downtown—remains the hotel of choice for discreet old-money types. It’s a classic, but it just did a gut renovation on its spa, so it feels as relevant to the St. Moritz experience as ever. Pack your diamonds.
Telluride, Colorado
A different take on the Rockies
If Vail is too vast and you’re tired of running into Hailey Bieber on coffee runs in Aspen, set your sights on Telluride—a former mining town boxed into a canyon by peaks that clear 14,000 feet. It attracts an A-list crowd, but feels decidedly more private and low-key: there’s a reason Oprah Winfrey and Ralph Lauren both own massive ranches in the area. This year, Mountain Lodge Telluride—slopeside in Mountain Village, a free gondola ride from downtown—just wrapped a full refresh and debuted Alloy Kitchen, chef Lonnie Shepard’s globally minded, Colorado-leaning restaurant, all stone fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling views of the San Juans.
Hokkaido, Japan
Because nothing beats Japanese powder
After a disappointing ski season at home, American interest in Japanese powder is spiking again: bookings are up more than 40 percent. Marriott just planted its flag with Moxy Niseko Village, a 310-room, design-forward hotel with ski-in, ski-out access off the Niseko Village gondola, timed to a new eight-person lift arriving this December that will double the mountain’s uphill capacity. United just launched direct routes from Chicago and San Francisco to Hokkaido, too, making the long trip feel much easier. The insider move? Hire a guide who can track snowfall across resorts and drive you to wherever it’s dumping that day, and save plenty of room for an après-ski bowl of steaming hot ramen.
Whistler, British Columbia
Don’t sleep on our neighbor to the north
For Americans who want the rush of dusting off the old passport for a ski trip without the hassle of leaving the continent, Whistler is the answer, and Canada bookings are up nearly 65 percent this season to prove it. The resort opens on November 20 this year, so you can even go for Thanksgiving if you like. There’s a new quad chairlift replacing the old Showcase T-bar, better access to the Horstman and Blackcomb Glaciers, and, as always, a vibrant and ever-changing lineup of dining in the village. The draw isn’t just the terrain here—it’s the people. Guests and staff alike are pulled from the U.K., Australia, and beyond, making for a surprisingly vibrant and cosmopolitan experience, just a seamless two-hour drive north of Vancouver. Oh, and did we mention there’s a great exchange rate with the Canadian dollar right now, too?