When you are booking a vacation rental property in a ski resort there is an indisputable magic to the phrase ski-in, ski-out. It conjures up images of a loving restored log cabin on the edge of an immaculately groomed piste, of watching fellow skiers carve elegant turns from your living room window, with the occasional spray of snow against the window pane. It suggests stepping out of your front door, clicking on your skis and gliding down the slopes to the lift. You may anticipate avoiding the crush of people waiting for a lukewarm and soggy pizza in the mountain restaurant by using your own chalet as a mountain restaurant. And, perhaps best of all, you may look forward to skiing back to your own front door at the end of the afternoon and forgetting about trudging along paths and the indignity of crowded shuttle buses.
The reality may be very different. Knowing the power of the term ski-in, ski-out, vacation rental providers are quick to use it to cover a myriad of different arrangements and a range of proximity to the slopes. Here are a few things to watch out for:
1. The ski-in ski-out home that is really hiking distance to the slopes. The...