Prices in American ski resorts have slipped to unprecedented lows, with holidays in the Rocky Mountain resort of Vail now cheaper, like for like, than a trip to the Swiss resort of Verbier.

A week’s B&B next March in the three-star Lionshead Inn, in Vail (including transatlantic flights), came to £884pp when booked through Crystal Ski (0871 231 5659, crystalski.co.uk). The same week in the three-star Hôtel Ermitage, in Verbier, was priced at £904pp.

Research carried out by the Post Office shows that day-to-day costs in American resorts have tumbled too, with average prices down by 11% from last year. A sample selection of goods and services, including dining out, ski hire, passes and sundries such as sunblock, came to £370pp per week in Colorado, while the same basket in Switzerland, where prices have risen by 20% since last season, came to £422pp.

Switzerland’s apparent refusal to cut prices puts it at odds with its neighbours, which are desperate to stop skiers sloping off across the pond. Prices have been pegged at 2008 levels in Italy, and French resorts such as Courchevel and Méribel have cut the price of accommodation, ski hire and raclette suppers by as much as 24% in a bid to consign last season’s rip-off horror stories — such as the £16 croque-monsieur — to history.

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“France is really moving with the market,” said Lesley Benson, of Ski Dreams, which is currently offering Christmas week in a four-star hotel in Méribel for £955pp, “as opposed to the Swiss, who are being quite intransigent.” The problem, she says, is the small-business owners who are refusing to cut prices, in the belief that resorts such as Verbier are so popular that skiers will come whatever the price.

“Swiss rail prices haven’t increased, and hotel prices have stuck at 2008 rates, but the Swiss resorts seem to have less control over prices charged by shopkeepers and restaurants than their French competitors. The tip here is to avoid flagship resorts like Verbier and seek out hidden gems such as the Hotel Bella Tola, in St Luc.”

Better advice might be to hang on. With early bookers snapping up deals in more sympathetically priced resorts in France and Italy, there’s a good chance that this season’s first distressed-stock sales will be in Swiss resorts.

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