Verbier is tricky when it comes to hotels: there just aren’t that many of them, and you may find they won’t accept bookings for less than seven days in season. Many places close in the April–May and October–November between-seasons. Accommodation is least expensive in the handful of private rooms on offer through the tourist office, or in any of the thousands of chalets, which must be booked months in advance. Note that there is no central parking garage.

Hôtel Les Touristes (Phone & fax 027/771 21 47; a) offers one of the best ways to duck beneath Verbier’s high prices and uninspiring anonymity: it’s on a street corner in Verbier-Village, linked to the lifts by a bus, with spartan, shared-bath rooms. Its quiet restaurant and chic-free atmosphere are a breath of fresh air. Otherwise, you’re looking at through-the-roof prices for the winter high season (summer and between-season prices can be up to a third cheaper). The least expensive hotel in the resort open year-round is the Mont-Gelé (027/771 30 53, fax 771 13 16; c), beside the Médran lift station, with just fifteen comfortable, balconied rooms. The basic rooms in the Rosablanche (027/771 55 55, fax 771 70 55; a) are only available June to October, booked out all winter by a tour operator. A good, quiet place for skiers willing to skip resort nightlife is Le Relais de Pachou (027/771 63 49, fax 771 77 34, www.thealps.com; c), 1.5km west of Place Centrale, at the end station of one of the resort bus routes. The central Garbo, midway between Place Centrale and the Médran lifts (027/771 62 72, fax 771 62 71, www.garbo.ch; e), represents OK value, except around the New Year and in February, when it tacks an outrageous Fr.100 onto its double-room prices. Rois Mages is a modern choice by the church (027/771 63 64, fax 771 33 19; e), while the Ermitage, on Place Centrale (027/771 64 77, fax 771 52 64; d), is well run and very convenient, delivering unexpected value for money. The Bristol (027/771 65 77, fax 771 51 50; e) is friendly, cosy and quiet, and very central, but watch out for that peak-time price hike.