There are plenty of great places to eat, drink and stay in the Alps, whether you're part of the champagne ski set or a boarder on a budget. And wherever you slope off to, the best thing about après-ski is the recovery rate: there's nothing like mountain air and mogul fields to cure a hangover. So here are the top five resorts for après-ski action this winter.
Verbier
Switzerland
Verbier, spiritually located somewhere between Zurich and the Fulham Road, has always been exclusive. Set on a sunny shelf above the Rhône Valley, it boasts guaranteed snow on the Mont Fort glacier at 3,300m, guaranteed knee-crunching on the infamous Tortin moguls and guaranteed fur in the legendary bars and nightclubs. But this is also snowboarding territory and if you know where to look, there's plenty of fun to be had - Swiss bank account or no Swiss bank account.
Budget
A stiff drink is a priority to loosen up for Verbier's legendary nightlife. Best place to start is the Offshore Café (00 45 27 771 5444) - you can't miss it, as there's a pink VW Beetle parked inside. After a couple of beers, head over to the cosy Fer à Cheval (027 771 2669) for snails and fondue, or the cavernous Pub Mont Fort (027 771 4898) if you're still thirsty. Be warned, though, this unreconstructed beer hall will be swimming with Brits. To avoid them, head to the Swiss-dominated Nelson Pub (027 771 3151), or choose a different resort.
Finally, for a cheap sleep, roll down the hill to the Bunker (027 771 6602; thebunker.ch), in the Verbier Sports Centre. A former atomic bomb shelter, it carries the warning: 'No windows and daylight - not recommended for guests suffering claustrophobia.' And with 132 beds in five dorms this is no understatement. But from SFr45 (£20) half-board, this is a backpacking boarder's dream.
Blowout
Frittering away your francs in Switzerland's chalet capital is an easy task. If you're really looking to impress your Fulham friends, hire Chalet Septième Ciel for a week over New Year (020 7384 3854, descent.co.uk). The cost is a high-altitude £35,500 for 12 people, but you do get heated boot racks and six staff.
After a sauna and Jacuzzi at the chalet, hop in the chauffeured 4x4 and head over to the King's Hotel (027 775 2010) for martinis, followed by dinner at gourmet temple Pierroz (027 771 6323), with menus around the £90 mark and 50,000 bottles of wine in the cellar. After dinner, join the fancy furs at the seriously swanky Farm Club (027 77142 77), where a bottle of vodka costs almost as much as a week's lift pass.
St Anton
Austria
St Anton, a snowball's throw from the German border, sits at the bottom of the Arlberg Pass and is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Austrian skiing scene, with long runs and late nights available in equally large measures. Stretched out along a narrow valley and hemmed in by major road and rail routes, the resort is more pick'n'mix than a chocolate box, but the legacy of the 2001 World Championships has improved the look of the place.
Budget
The infamous Krazy Kangaruh (00 43 5446 2633) started up some 40 years ago and is still the quintessential downhill drinking den, where ski boots and schnapps meet happily from early afternoon. Safely back down the mountain, St Anton's main street is the perfect spot for an antipodean bar crawl. Start off with nachos, potato wedges and a free schnapps with every drink between 4pm and 7pm at Underground (owned by Aussie Joan, 05446 2000), before moving on to Platzl (05446 2169) for live music from 10pm (run by Aussie Brendan), or Piccadilly (05446 22130) where resident Aussie singer Andy performs most nights. Next up is the Funky Chicken (05446 30201), where 11pm heralds the start of the Funky Margarita Hour. If you're still standing, Kandahar (05446 30260) keeps throbbing until 7am, which gives you an hour or so for breakfast before the lifts open.
Blowout
If you're looking for the luxury life, there's only one place to stay, the 13th-century Arlberg Hospiz (05446 2611, hospiz.com) in nearby St Christoph. A former monastery and travellers' refuge on the Arlberg Pass, it's now the poshest place to stay in the area and costs up to €2,000 per person for a room, but you do get a natty pair of terry towelling slippers to take home with you.
A suitably grand dinner is on hand - carpaccio of young-deer venison with an orange and juniper berry marinade, anyone?
But if you fancy a trip into St Anton, then head for Ben Venuto (05446 30203), in the smart new Well.com sports centre, where Italian and Asian cuisine fuse together in a modern minimalist setting a thousand miles from the Krazy Kangaruh.
Val D'isèRe
France
Linked with ugly sister Tignes, Val has one of the biggest, highest, most snowsure ski areas in Europe, some of the best lift-served off-piste in the world and one of the liveliest nightlife scenes this side of Austria. And now, having won its bid to host the 2009 World Skiing Championships, its star is set to rise still further. If you don't mind rubbing shoulders with your fellow countrymen (who make up a third of all visitors), then Val is probably France's finest.
Budget
Val is a serious party town, helped by the overwhelming numbers of young English and Scandinavian visitors roaming the streets in search of après action. Straight off the slopes, Bananas (00 33 4 79 06 04 23) is the place to drink in (or out of) your ski boots, before the crowd moves downtown. Join the Scandinavians for a pint of Red Erik in Le Petit Danois (04 79 06 27 97) or, if it's short-term romance you're after, then Dick's Tea Bar (04 79 06 14 87) promotes itself as the 'number one bar in the Alps for pulling'. Food-wise, Café Fats (no phone) is a decent option for cheap(ish) comfort food and live sports.
Blowout
Val has plenty of smart options among the loud Brit bars, and the best place to start is by booking into Eagle's Nest (0208 682 5050, scottdunn.com) - 2003 Chalet of the Year and a seriously stylish place to lay your head.
After soothing aching limbs in the indoor pool, head for dinner at the Chalet du Crêt (04 79 06 20 77), a 300-year-old farmhouse on the outskirts of Val and the best restaurant in town with treats such as cassoulet of monkfish, scallops and prawns. If you can still move after dinner, then stop in at Dick's Tea Bar on the way home for some dirty dancing and overpriced cocktails, safe in the knowledge that if you do get lucky, you can ask them back to the smartest pad in town.
Zermatt
Switzerland
Mont Blanc may be the highest mountain in the Alps, but the Matterhorn wins the beauty contest hands down. Perched nearly 3,000m below its summit is the classic car-free resort of Zermatt, a mix of challenging pistes, grand hotels, gourmet grub, views to die for and prices that could nearly kill you. With lifts up to a breathless 3,820m and some of the best mountain eateries in the world, this is about as perfect as a ski holiday gets.
Budget
Not much comes cheap in Zermatt, but one thing that costs nothing at all is the view of the Matterhorn, which adorns every postcard in the tat shops in Bahnhofstrasse. When you've soaked up the setting, head to the Hotel Post complex, which covers every off-slope activity, with five bars, four restaurants and 21 rooms.
Start in the Pöstli Bar (00 45 27 967 1931), with cheapish beer, live music and snacks. For something a little more substantial, head up the road to Restaurant du Pont (027 967 4343), a basic chalet-style eaterie serving fondue and rösti at low-altitude prices. After dinner, it's back to the Post for barrel dancing and Teutonic tunes in the Broken Disco (027 967 1931). Budget beds are as rare as yetis, but the Matterhorn Hostel (027 968 1919; matterhornhostel.com) offers double and dorm-style rooms in a handsome old chalet (from about £13 per person) with views of the mountain.
Blowout
From the Monte Rosa Hotel, where Edward Whymper and six others gathered before conquering the Matterhorn in 1865, to the climbers' cemetery which holds so many of his fellow adventurers, history is everywhere in Zermatt. One of the most historical hangouts in town is wood-panelled Elsie's Bar (027 967 24 31), spiritual home to oysters, snails and mountains of champagne. Bring plenty of francs.
After a glass or two of bubbly, slip on your fur coat and take a horse-drawn sleigh along to Gornergrat station for the ultimate in social climbing - a trip on the Hornby-sized Gornergrat railway up to the five-star Riffelalp Resort (027 966 05 55, riffelalp.com), which sits on a plateau facing the Matterhorn at 2,200m. There's no need to rush dinner as the last train back leaves after 11pm, but if you fancy being first on the slopes in the morning, then ask the waiter to book you into one of the 63 rooms and bring over another bottle of port at the same time.
St Moritz
Switzerland
St Moritz's tag line is 'top of the world' and, from Badrutt's Palace to the Cresta Run, this is a resort where skiing has always played second fiddle to showing off. But the balance is changing, and budget boarders are now almost as welcome as Bulgari-clad baronesses, from late-night ski parties and snowboard parks to tapas bars and boutique hotels. With 322 days of sunshine a year, three ski areas up to 3,000m and 350km of piste, St Moritz is great, whoever you are.
Budget
If you're here on a Friday, the first place to head is Corvatsch for the Friday-night ski party, when the mountain is lit up like a Christmas tree and the pistes (and mountain bars) stay open till the early hours. One of the best spots is the Hossa Bar (00 45 81 828 9644), with thumping music, fur-lined benches and friendly staff. Back down in town, Bobby's Bar serves pints and pinball rather than champagne cocktails. For a bite to eat, head up to Secondo (081 834 9990), a packed but relaxed eaterie serving up tasty tapas, good music and funky cocktails.
Sleep-wise Julier Palace (081 828 9644, julierpalace.com), in the nearby Silvaplana, is the place to get some hip with your kip - pick from 'noisy', 'nice' or 'deluxe' rooms.
Blowout
This is one place where the posh do like to push. If you want to keep up, stay at Badrutt's Palace (081 837 10 00, badruttspalace.com), a lakeside pile of Gothic extravagance. Straight off the slopes, drink at the Roo Bar (081 837 5050), in the main square.
Once you've changed into your furs, such infamous haunts as the members-only Dracula Club and wealthy-only King's Club (081 837 28 33) beckon. The possibilities for stretching stomach and wallet are legion, but for the finest table of all head out of town to Jöhri's Talvo (081 833 4455), a 17th- century farmhouse in the village of Champfer with exceptional food and prices to match.
