Ski Through Economic Storm Guilt-Free

Bansko, Bulgaria
Place to be: Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena
Guilt-free fact: Bulgaria? Such ski modesty will be applauded by even your most frugal friends.

While most people can't even locate it on the map, Bulgaria is currently the hottest ski destination in Europe. With a new hotel and shiny new ski facilities, Bansko is currently the hottest ski town in Bulgaria. Its ski seasons run longer than most in Europe, starting in mid-December through May. The town of Bansko is just 100 miles from the capital city of Sofia, along a terrifying road of meter-deep holes and poor paving. Bansko arrives like a hillside Metropolis that's the ski version of Dubai with super hotels and spectacular Doppelmayr Gondola lift.

It could just as easily be in Verbier, this Alpine-inspired luxury hotel operated by Europe's Kempinski Hotels. The site offers an ideal base at the footsteps of the Pirin Mountains next to the gondola station that connects the village to the ski slopes and snowboard park. A stylish design palette of beiges and creams mix leather cubist furnishings atop industrial-grade bases. Spend the money for the suite, with its upgraded furnishing and private check-in area exempt from the town's notoriously slow and inefficient service.