Why luxe French ski resort Courchevel should be on your bucket list: from hotels such as Aman Le Mélézin and 13 Michelin-starred restaurants, to shopping at Chanel, Hermès, Fendi and Celine

Laurent, my ski instructor – a supremely jovial man with a complexion befitting someone who has worked in the mountains of France’s Les Trois Vallées for some 25 years – wants me to relax.

“Allez! Let’s go! Relax, Annie, too much energy in holding on!” he enthuses as I try – mightily – to stop being quite so tense.

The thing about skiing, as with life, is that it’s much easier if you allow yourself to go with the flow. The problem in both cases is that this is difficult to do when you are stood on the edge of a seeming precipice.

In any case, Laurent really did improve my skiing. And for this particular holiday in Courchevel – where the craggy beauty of snow-capped mountains and snow-dusted fir trees is matched by unparalleled snow-accented bougieness – probably my marriage.

As any couple with, ahem, mismatched skiing ability could attest, a trip to the snow can be a source of tension. My husband is an incredibly elegant skier who first learned when he was four and skis every year. I learned as an adult – fully cognisant of the risks of hurtling down a slope. Over the years there have been tears and dramatic throwing of poles when I feel he’s taken me down a mountain too steep because he hasn’t realised that skiing really isn’t like riding a bike for everyone.

Laurent first guided my husband on more challenging slopes, then gave me a private lesson which had me veritably glowing in his praise. Later, as my husband and I cruised about together, it was actually fun. Finally, I could let go.

Courchevel – part of the Les Trois Vallées – is about a 2.5 hour drive from the Geneva airport, 4.5 hours on the train from Paris (plus a distressingly winding transfer), or you can chopper or private plane into the tiny Courchevel airport. It is the largest connected ski area in the world and thus there are runs to suit every kind of skier. For instance, the long, wide ones I prefer, and the steeper, narrower, more hectic ones favoured by my husband.

Famously, Courchevel was once the haunt of Russian oligarchs, though as Air Mail just noted, the third largest group of visitors after the French and the English are now from the Persian Gulf. In any case, it allows for all levels of holiday. Stay in the villages at Courchevel 1550 and 1650 (they have names but are often referred to by their altitude in metres) for a more relaxed vibe. Or set up in glittering Courchevel 1850, where the shops offer Chanel’s Coco Neige collection and you can buy Jacquemus snow shoes and exclusive Fendi Baguettes. Note that here, the unofficial uniform includes Moonboots, a Hermès Birkin bag, Celine goggles and a Moncler beanie.

At Courchevel, the après ski options – in my mind the best part of any ski holiday – are numerous and, particularly at 1850, undoubtedly decadent. This includes a branch of the chichi Parisian institution Lou Lou; and two of the restaurants on offer at the Cheval Blanc: Le Grill Alpin and a five table degustation at Le 1947, Courchevel’s only three-Michelin-star venue. Don’t fret if you can’t get a booking – the area has 13 Michelin-starred eateries.