The high life: mountain travel trends transforming the property market

Changing climates and changing habits are reshaping the mountain holiday.

The allure of snow-capped mountains remains strong, despite challenging conditions, both financial and climatic.

Taking one ski holiday per season is increasingly a thing of the past. Less reliable snow and multi-resort passes are leading skiers to take multiple breaks, according to recent research by the UK’s Mountain Trade Network.

The profile of visitors is changing too, with many now flying long-haul. High-end mountain travel company Leo Trippi says most bookings for luxury ski trips in January 2027 are made by Australians and Americans.

Tom Avery, owner of chalet company Verbier Exclusive, has noted the trend. “Already for the 2026/27 season our North American and Australian guests are up... compared with last season. People come for the skiing but return for the whole experience.”

Beyond the snow: the modern mountain escape

Mental and physical wellbeing, design, food and a sense of place are becoming a bigger part of the mountain holiday experience.

Felix Hemsley, general manager of luxury ski company Oxford Ski, notes how wellness is now a key component of mountain travel for his customers. He also says the era of “heavily themed Alpine interiors” has passed, replaced by a more pared-back aesthetic.

That shift is evident in this winter’s new openings. In Morzine, Les Airelles reopens as Garance, a “contemporary Alpine retreat” with Nordic spa. In Crans-Montana, the four-star Hotel L’Uciole opens this winter with the strapline “Alpine, Not Rustic”. And in Gstaad, Four Seasons is renovating The Park, set to reopen in summer 2027 with seven restaurants and lounges, and a spa.

Les Trois Vallées’ notable openings include a new Fahrenheit in Les Menuires and Bârma Courchevel in La Tania, featuring “classic with a twist” interiors by Atelier Giffon. A restaurant, gourmet grocery store, and fleet of Mercedes V-Class and hybrid Vito vehicles are available to guests.

Further up, a “retreat” by Maisons Pariente is due to be unveiled in Courchevel 1850. The Saint Roch is designed to feel like a collector’s home, with a spa and Tata Harper treatments. In the resort’s exclusive Triangle d’Or, the new five-star Bourbon Hotel promises the “amber-lit atmosphere of an English club”, with a cocktail and vinyl bar, and a spa. In Verbier, the new Ski Lodge comes with a spa, fitness studio and restaurant led by Peruvian-born chef Mario Paiva.

Ski resorts move to year-round destinations

It’s the broadening of the mountain experience beyond winter that’s perhaps the most significant trend.

Across the board, mountain destinations are reporting strong visitor numbers in all seasons. Walking, trail running, mountain biking and spas are helping transform the mountains into year-round destinations, while hotels, restaurants and bars increasingly operate throughout the year.

Nowhere more so than Zermatt in Switzerland, which in September 2026 reported record earnings for the third year running. Here, luxury resort CERVO has launched a year-round trail running club, along with a series of running retreats.

In the Portes du Soleil on the Franco-Swiss border, the revamped mountain refuge Cabane du Col de Cou will reopen in autumn 2026, serving walkers, mountaineers and ski tourers year-round.