Paradiso.
Photo: Courtesy of Badrutt’s Palace Hotel
7 Après-ski Destinations with Spectacular Views
From superb restaurants tucked away in a principality in the Pyrenees to slopeside institutions in the French Alps, these spots know how to bring both the views and the vibes
After a long morning on the slopes, après-ski serves as both a ritual and a reward—as essential during a ski trip as a jacuzzi soak. While some mountaintop locales require a moderate level of skiing ability to reach (or descend from), others are a leisurely gondola or snowcat ride up the slopes.
Après-ski culture may have stemmed from high-alpine spots around Europe, but the afternoon fête is now embraced everywhere from St. Moritz to Ski Portillo in Chile, where you can live an endless winter continuing the slopeside soirée in South America. From the world’s highest cabaret to remote chalets and rustic rifugi, Galerie has narrowed down the list of the world’s most scenic places for après-ski so all you have to do is grab your gear and head for the mountains.
Eleven212. Photo: Hal Williams
1. Eleven212 | Aspen, Colorado
Aspen Mountain’s former AspenX Beach Club with Gray Malin has been rechristened as Eleven212, a mountaintop après-ski scene that infuses Aspen’s indulgent spirit with more local, laid-back touches like fireside Adirondack chairs, open-air cabins, and an A-framed DJ booth. From the 11,212-foot-high peak towering over downtown Aspen—reachable by foot or skis—you’ll have sweeping, 360-degree views over Elk Mountain as electric acts and live musicians like The Knocks, PINEO & LOEB, and LowDown Brass Band keep the crowd dancing in their ski boots.
Interior of Paradiso. Photo: Courtesy of Badrutt’s Palace Hotel
2. Paradiso | St. Moritz, Switzerland
The swanky Swiss resort town of St. Moritz has no shortage of après-ski spots both on and off the slopes, but one that continually tops the list of world’s best is Badrutt’s Palace Hotel’s Paradiso. The 6,000-foot-high, slopeside mountain club is accessible only by foot, skis, snowshoe, or vintage chairlift (cozy blanket included), with tiered decks that place views of the Engadin Valley’s snow-capped peaks on full display. Renowned DJs spin on the open-air Music Deck, as the stylish, Fusalp ski suit-clad team pours magnums of champagne, and High Altitude Brasserie serves up decadent spins on alpine favorites, like black truffle croque fondue with local mountain cheese and porchetta.
La Folie Douce. Photo: Courtesy of La Folie Douce
La Folie Douce. Photo: Louis Raux-Defossez
3. La Folie Douce | Val d’Isère, France
Credited as the highest cabaret in the world, the original La Folie Douce sprawls along the slopes of Val d’Isère in the French Alps, in Savoie, with aerialist artists, DJs, and costumed perfumers strutting on the 360-degree stage at the top of the La Daille gondola. The “pioneer of high-altitude clubbing” practically created the playbook for European après-ski, capitalizing on views of the surrounding, snowy peaks with the ultimate day party entertainment. You’ll want to whip out your neon wigs and furry hats and join the crowd at the open air après-ski, or sit back and enjoy the party from the comfort of the panoramic, winter garden-inspired VIP space, La Véranda.
Rifugio Sponata. Photo: Courtesy of Rifugio Sponata
4. Rifugio Sponata | Alta Badia, Italian Dolomites
Rifugio Sponata sits on the namesake slope in the heart of Alta Badia, in the Dolomites, where a team of local hospitality entrepreneurs converted a traditional alpine hut near the ski lift into a minimalist-chic retreat overlooking the chiseled Sas dla Crusc mountain. Accessible solely by skis, the high-altitude restaurant and terrace lives up to the Dolomites’ growing gastronomic reputation with a highly curated cellar of wines from lauded producers like Gaja in Piedmont and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy, as well as dishes like flame-kissed lamb chops and caper leaf-topped vitello tonnato.
L’Apogée. Photo: Courtesy of L’Apogée
5. L’Apogée | Courchevel, France
The sister spot to French Riviera icon Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc sits in Les 3 Valées in the French Alps, crowned the “ski capital of the world.” The jetset favorite claims one of the buzziest al fresco terraces for live music in the evening, Le Bar de L’Apogée, but this season, the haute hotel debuted a dining under the stars experience dubbed Chalet at the Heights. The hidden refuge sits a 30-minute snowmobile or groomer ride away, and après here is tailored to embrace the tranquility of the surrounding slopes—expect Petrossian House caviar tastings, Ruinart Blanc de Blancs champagne, and gourmet light bites before gliding back to the hotel.
L’Ovella Negra.
Interior of L’Ovella Negra. Photo: Courtesy of L’Ovella Negra
6. L’Ovella Negra | Andorra
Cradled in a valley carved by trekking trails, L’Ovella Negra is as off-grid as it gets—and can only be reached by snowcat, snowshoe, or skis in the winter. Off-piste here in an understatement—rugged, ungroomed slopes spill down to the rustic-chic, four-room lodge and its seasonal Winter Shack pop-up, the Pyrenees version of the Dolomites’s wooden rifugi (mountain huts). A duo of communal tables frame the fireplace, where you can warm up with hearty escudella, an Andorran meat, vegetable, and pasta stew. At the outdoor firepits, sip negronis or champagne on sheepskin-strewn benches while sloshing back freshly shucked French Gillardeau oysters as live musicians serenade skiers.
Tio Bob's. Photo: Tamara Susa
7. Tío Bob’s | Ski Portillo, Chile
Extend ski season into North American summer heading down to the Southern Hemisphere for pisco sours under the sun at Ski Portillo in Chile, about two hours northeast of Santiago. Located near the Plateau ski lift, Tío Bob’s shows off 360-degree, panoramic views of some of the best ski terrain in the Andes. The ski resort is the only on the continent to have hosted the World Ski Championships, but despite its mix of nightly groomed beginner and intermediate slopes and expert terrain (the destination is a favorite for heli-skiers), Portillo is intimate—there’s no town, and the sole hotel fits up to 450 people at a time. Après-ski here is less about the party, more about soaking up the views from the high alpine restaurant’s 9,450-foot-high deck and stone cabin, suspended over the Inca Lake.
Cover: Paradiso.
Photo: Courtesy of Badrutt’s Palace Hotel
