It’s easy to find glitzy ski resorts where lunch on the slopes costs as much as your weekly grocery bill. More challenging is to find charming Alpine resorts that combine reasonably-priced self-catering accommodation, sensible prices, accessibility and - of course - great skiing. 
Recommended tour operator: Peak Retreats
Peak Retreats says
We are an award-winning tour operator that specialises in the French Alps. We offer quality accommodation in 40 charming French resorts, giving holidaymakers the opportunity to experience the real Alpine France and discover unspoilt, traditional and welcoming mountain ski villages.
Peak Retreats features resorts that are not just cheaper and more pleasant to stay in than more famous resorts, but ones that also have queue-free, high-speed cable car links to the major ski areas so there is no compromise on skiing.
Accommodation choices include a range of self-catering chalets and apartments sleeping up to 20 - many with indoor pools - and great-value traditional family-run hotels on accommodation-only basis or with ferry/Eurotunnel packages.
We feature brand new 4* luxury accommodation in the resorts of Samoens and Les Carroz, part of the 265km Grand Massif/Flaine ski domain, both very close to the lifts. Private airport transfers from Geneva, Grenoble, Chambery, Lyon airports or train stations as well as ski extras such as ski insurance, ski school, lift passes and ski hire can be arranged as part of your package.
As a French Alps specialist, we also feature quality accommodation in 33 resorts in summer, including famous lake locations such as Annecy, Evian and summer skiing on the largest skiable glacier Europe in Les Deux Alpes.
Click here for prices and more information on skiing in the French Alps in winter.
