Hassle-free ski holidays: the 10 best ski-in/ski-out resorts

Hassle-free ski holidays: the 10 best ski-in/ski-out resorts

What could be better than stepping out of a ski chalet or hotel and sliding off down the mountain, returning right to the door at the end of the day? No need to walk a long way wearing heavy boots while carrying skis or snowboard, or chivvy everyone on to a crowded bus.

While many ski resorts have some slope-side places to stay, it's usually those that are purpose-built high in the mountains for easy access to the snow that can truly be considered ski-in/ski-out. And while other countries may boast a few such places, France is their spiritual home.

Many purpose-built French resorts were constructed in the Sixties, with austere-looking buildings intended, it's said, to reflect their rocky surroundings. Often designed by famed architects of the time – most of Flaine by the Hungarian-born modernist Marcel Breuer for example, and Avoriaz by a trio of French innovators lead by Jacques Labro – their look fell out of favour in the following decades.

Recently, however, new and equally convenient villages of chalet-style apartments have grown up in purpose-built resorts such as Tignes, Flaine and Les Menuires, and some of the old blocks – such as Labro's Dromonts hotel in Avoriaz and Breuer's Totem