Which ski resorts offer fun for all the family?

In December 2015, an impressive indoor water park and sports complex opened in Courchevel, in the French Alps. Built at a cost of €63 million (£54 million), Aquamotion was an immediate success: it is now a year-round family favourite with a colourful array of waterslides, diving boards and wild surf rides. Upstairs, there’s a calm adults-only section with massage jets, indoor-outdoor pools and treatment rooms. The complex demonstrates how a multigenerational appeal can pay dividends even in the most exclusive Alpine resorts, replete with five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants.

“All major ski resorts aspire to be multigenerational – somewhere that suits young children through to grandparents, whether skiers or not,” says Jeremy Rollason, head of Savills Ski. “Some do it much better than others. Aquamotion proved that even in a resort with the most expansive ski area in the world, the authorities are not standing still. Substantial investment continues.”

Multigenerational ski holidays are on the rise: luxury tour operator Scott Dunn says the number of mixed-generation groups travelling with it doubled between 2021 and 2023. So, although resorts are already under pressure to tick a multitude of boxes – strong snow record, dual seasonality, swift airport access, high-end shops and restaurants – they must provide something for all ages, from toddlers to octogenarians, if they’re to stay ahead of the game.

La Tania, a lower-level resort in the Three Valleys, is a good example of a location that has mastered multigenerational skiing, with easy access to the slopes for beginners and those happy to cruise blue and green pistes. The vast Monterosa ski area in Italy’s Aosta Valley has several intimate, charming resorts with the added advantage of spectacular hiking trails.

“Monterosa covers three valleys, with a top height close to 3,000 metres and an extensive, often challenging, ski area,” says Rollason. “It includes the pretty villages of Gressoney and Champoluc, which both sit at the top of wooded valleys, with wonderful nursery slopes and lengthy intermediate runs.”

In the Portes du Soleil ski area, which spans Switzerland and France, Morzine and Les Gets have a significant permanent population, ensuring year-round life and a busy calendar of events. “In Morzine recently, I watched a series of well-organised ski races for under-16s,” says Rollason. “The village had a great buzz as parents, instructors from the ski school and locals turned out to encourage the teenagers. It was wonderfully inclusive – a great demonstration of what a successful community ski resort looks like.”

Multigenerational groups heading to the slopes generally include a mix of ardent skiers determined to maximise their on-piste hours and non-skiers looking for alternative entertainment. The Swiss resort of Andermatt offers swimming pools, spas, a concert hall, an ice rink and lengthy sledding runs. Courchevel has built on the success of Aquamotion with Moriond Racing, an exhilarating 3km toboggan run that zips through tunnels and over bridges.

The Savills Ski Report Winter 2023/24 reveals that the US ski resort of Aspen has the highest number of permanent luxury stores – including Balenciaga, Dior and Louis Vuitton – followed by Courchevel 1850, St Moritz and Gstaad. Banks have joined in too, opening satellite branches in the mountains. “With strong pent-up demand for the luxury ski lifestyle, it seems that setting up shop in an elite ski resort remains highly desirable,” says Hickey.

Property developers in the Alps are also reacting to the multigenerational trend, adding yoga rooms, gyms, hot tubs and plunge pools to their building projects. “We see it in apartment schemes in Morzine and chalets in Champoluc,” says Rollason. “The aim is to avoid excluding any generation – because, as fans of the Alps understand, skiing or not, the mountains are a wonderful place to be.”

Pictures from top: cross-country skiing in Andermatt, Switzerland (Getty); the heated outdoor pool at Aquamotion in Courchevel; skiing with the family (Alamy); and the Aqualudique slide at Aquamotion