All 'round one of the world's very best. I have skied in the USA, Canada, France, Austria, Italy many times as I ski 3 to 4 weeks per year. Verbier is now one of the very best and I have now settled for this resort for most of my ski trips, both with friends and family, especially after the recent investment in the lift Infrastructure with many fast new lifts and the new high speed lift linking up with the Bruson ski area. Many new mountain restaurants have recently opened and also most of the self-service restaurants within the lift stations have, in the last 2 years, received tasteful upgrades and are competing on price; lots of lunch options for £15ish and great sunny terraces with stunning views. The new La Vache restaurant with pasta and pizzas for £15 and a hearty soup just for £8. Of course you can bust the wallet like anywhere if you fancy the long boozy lunch in somewhere like Le Cristal; maybe a last day treat?
Just returned after New Year week and also 4 days before Christmas and Verbier pre-Christmas was one of the only resorts with snow due to a combination of recent investment in snow making equipment combined with plenty of high altitude runs. Skiers where being bussed in from Italy, France (Chamonix) etc as many of these resorts where closed; that would be a big disappointment. The village has also just had major investment. Pretty new block pedestrian pavements/lighting, lovely supermarkets new and upgraded shops, bars, restaurants and some super new hotels. The town is packed with features and compacted enough to easily walk around. The atmosphere is lovely as are the locals and the quality of food and service is always consistent. No issues with security, unlike Val d'Isere where, last year, I had my Soul 7 skis stolen from outside the Folie Douce. Apparently, many pairs are stolen each month and my ski pass was stolen from my ski jacket arm pocket in a bar. Big inconvenience when I arrived at the lift the next morning, not to mention the cost. (St Anton (ed: do you mean Verbier?) is always packed with loud groups of youths both on and off the piste, throwing beer all over you and cutting you up on crowded slopes.) Also Verbier caters well for non skiers and children, the ski schools have experienced and mature multilingual instructors and are consistently some of the best in Europe. My childrens learning curve was extremely fast and they really loved it, unlike Frances ESF (won’t comment on them?) Yes, some things can be a little more expensive, but that’s down to the individual and how you spend your money. The lift passes are around the same cost as other large resorts in Europe and the ski area is very large; some lovely runs both in the Verbier ski area and plenty more if you ski across into the other valleys of Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon. Take in Bruson and the easier Savoleyres area with lovely sweeping easy blues and reds. I hardly ever encounter lift queues. Sometimes a little during New Year week (can be worse if some runs are not open due to conditions, but to be expected) and half-term but nothing like the Trois vallees. And, of course, Verbier's famous amazing itinerarie runs plus Mont Fort and endless off-piste. Sorry, this all can't be beaten!!