Why merely vacation in your favourite ski resort when you may embrace high-end mountain dwelling and make it a house? Emma Reynolds experiences
Megève, France | Megève Sotheby’s Worldwide Realty
With ski season formally underway for 2026, winter sports activities lovers are scattering to mountain locations throughout the globe for excellent pistes, picturesque views and an array of out of doors recreation choices. Canada and the U.S., Japan, the European Alps and, more and more, Jap Europe, are simply a few of the areas the place ski lovers can be making their snowy escapes.
And whereas there are dozens of five-star lodges and chalets through which to spend a winter trip, luxurious consumers are more and more discovering the advantages of buying property in a ski-focused locale. “Final entry to the outside is without doubt one of the most significant advantages of proudly owning a house in these locations,” says Austin DePree, co-founder of the structure agency Northworks, with places of work throughout the U.S, together with Aspen, Colorado.
“These houses turn out to be greater than someplace to relaxation,” DePree provides. “They’re locations to assemble, to convey family and friends into an expertise, and to share a way of life that’s deeply tied to panorama. Proudly owning a house removes the strain of attempting to maximise each second throughout a brief keep and permits you to be extra current.”
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy | Italy Sotheby’s Worldwide Realty
This yr, the 2026 Winter Video games will happen from February 6-22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, which additionally hosted the occasion in 1956. Sometimes called the “Pearl of the Dolomites,” the Northern Italian resort of Cortina is a part of the Dolomiti Superski space. Season after season, jet-setters descend in town for its upscale life-style and nostalgic European glamor (suppose Slim Aarons pictures from the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies).
Identified for its alpine-style chalets and midcentury-modern design, Cortina has aptitude in abundance. A 1950-built house in one of many space’s most unique pockets is located in a big personal park that contributes to its quiet and refined attraction. The property has 11 bedrooms and 9 loos, cozy but refined interiors, a panoramic terrace, indoor pool, health room and huge storage with a heated snow avenue.
“We’re seeing an elevated emphasis on consolation, sturdiness and wellness-driven facilities,” says DePree of mountain-based builds. “Radiant heating all through the house, together with garages, mudrooms and first loos, has turn out to be almost important. Saunas, steam showers, chilly plunge rooms and health areas are more and more frequent, reflecting how intently these houses are tied to energetic existence.”
Megève, France | Megève Sotheby’s Worldwide Realty
Chalet Ischia, within the high-end ski spot of Megève within the French Alps, is a living proof. In addition to its seven bedrooms and 7 loos, this conventional chalet house has a devoted wellness space with a hammam, ample area for train tools, and an indoor pool that opens to the outside with floor-to-ceiling home windows sustaining the connection to nature. Megève, in the meantime, blends aristocratic heritage and an old-world really feel with Michelin-starred eating places and designer boutiques.
Materiality performs a key function in at this time’s luxurious ski properties, says DePree, with many consumers gravitating towards pure, tactile supplies impressed by a property’s location. At Chalet Ischia, uncovered wooden beams, reclaimed wood floors and partitions, and customized stonework all contribute to the genuine aesthetic. Most significantly of all, the property is positioned proper on the slopes of La Princesse with direct ski entry.
Donnelly, Idaho | Group One Sotheby’s Worldwide Realty
Ski-in/ski-out properties are extremely sought-after regardless of the placement, and in Donnelly, Idaho, an 8,000 sq ft property delivers. The sprawling mountainside house throughout the resort of Tamarack is located on a peak named Sugar Loaf with direct entry to one of many space’s most difficult slopes. A recent five-bedroom home designed by award-winning architect Dale Jones-Evans, it contains an 800-bottle wine cellar, built-in sound system, sauna and outside hearth.
Such properties promote wellness past their luxurious facilities, says DePree—they provide the chance to unplug from city routines right into a more healthy, extra intentional life-style. “These environments naturally encourage motion, time exterior and a more in-depth relationship with daylight, climate and seasonality,” he explains. “There’s a psychological readability that comes from dwelling in locations the place the constructed setting feels secondary to the panorama. These houses function a retreat that helps each exercise and relaxation.”
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