Torgon

The praise is for prices that are unusually low by Swiss standards and for slopes that stay largely empty: after a snowfall untracked powder survives longer here than in the busier corners of the Portes du Soleil. Visitors single out views over Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc on clear days, the family atmosphere, the patient instructors of the local ski school, the short transfer from Geneva and a mountain restaurant with a wood-fired oven.

What draws criticism is the link to the rest of the Portes du Soleil: the connection is dated and awkward, some of the lifts towards the wider domain have been shut, and reaching Morgins or Chatel becomes a test of patience. The piste map is called confusing. The resort sits low, so it closes for lack of snow early and late in the season, with little to do on those days, and the village is thin on bars, restaurants and nightlife.