Verbier — Hotel in Val de Bagnes

Verbier is one of the best ski resorts of the Alps. Let me go through my favourite things about this place where I have been skiing for the past 15 years. First, IMVHO it is one of the two top places in the Alps where to ski (the other being Cham) thanks to huge variety of slopes and to access to a great number of offpiste itineraries. A number of mountain guides are available to show you these (I recommend those from Bureau des Guides de Verbier). You can ski from the 3300m of MontFort to the baby lift in town. Second, despite the massive development over the years it has preserved a certain character and enjoys a great position in front of Grand Combin and with the Mt. Blanc in the distance. Third , the Verbier crowd is international and sporty. People do not go there to show off their furs but to ski. And to ski in a serious way: try to take the lift after a big dump. Fourth, Verbier hosts a lot of events : starting from the final event of Freeride World Tour (the event that normally decides the champion) to a Summer music festival, to the famous skialp competition Patrouille des Glacier. Fifth, the town offers good restaurants and bars. Verbier...

I'm not sure if it is due to the fact that there is hardly any snow this season (Feb 2017), but Verbier is definitely not amongst the best ski resorts I've visited. The views are stunning, but from a skiing perspective, there are only a handful of runs and you quite easily ski them all in a day. In addition, for those that enjoy shopping, you'll be spoilt for choice, however Verbier is not cheap and you could find the majority of items online for far less. From a lodging perspective, many of the accommodations are south facing so you get amazing sunshine on your balconies in the afternoon and it's great place to relax after a full morning of skiing. So, beautiful views, lovely sun kissed balconies and coffee shops, lots of over priced shopping, limited choice when it comes to ski runs and only 2 marked hiking routes...

Having pretty much no money means I haven't had the full, tourist-Verbier experience.

However, I do have a friend here, and I make friends easily, so instead I've seen the seedy underbelly of the town and what a seedy underbelly it is!

Verbier is staffed by foreigners, mainly the French, and it is fuelled by sex, drugs and rock and roll. Cool people, with big hearts and very hospitable. It was normal, on the free days that I was here, for everyone to ask me separately, if I had already eaten. They would often insist that I should have some of whatever they were about to eat, and a few times, I'd eat a meal a couple of times, first with one person, and then when someone else would come to have the same meal.

Not sure I could handle living here, but an amazing...