From here the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. There's a massive array of skiing throughout the area, with unlimited off-piste and great black runs for advanced skiers. There is also a specialist park for boarders. Tuition for better skiers is of the highest order, while the lift system has been constantly upgraded since 1994.

The resort itself offers an excellent variety of restaurants, extremely lively nightlife and plenty for non-skiers to do. Any disadvantages? The skiing lower down can be poor as a result of the sun. There can often be considerable queues. Prices are high, even for Switzerland. The accommodation won't be winning architectural awards any time soon. Verbier is a superb resort, particularly for better skiers, but as the list of faults confirms, it isn't quite in the same league as some other domains - Whistler, the Trois Vallées and Val d'Isère/Tignes are all a head or more above.

Nonetheless, this is a seriously good skiing venue and the views are among the best in the world. New this season is the Nord chair-lift, a new 6-seat detachable chairlift which allows you to return comfortably to Savoleyres. Also new are the 4 new cabins which have been added to the FuniSpace facility, increasing the passenger flow flow 25%.