Does the word 'bunkhouse' put you off? Because it shouldn't

The humble skiers’ dorm may not quite fit with the perception of skiing as the preserve of the celebrity-and-CEO set, where the de rigueur dwelling is the luxury chalet, the preferred form of transport the chopper. But in reality, a bunkhouse stay will work very well for most skiers and boarders.

After all, the great thing about the mountains in winter is, well − the mountains in winter. Not the thread count of your sheets or your chef’s CV. Where you sleep doesn’t really matter. If the heating works, the showers are hot and you’re close to the slopes, you’ll be fine.

Here are the best I know. None of them is a fleapit, and all are guaranteed to send the cost of your trip plummeting . . .

Zermatt Youth Hostel, Switzerland
Refurbished three years ago, this is one of the best youth hostels in the country: you can even see the Matterhorn from the bedroom windows. Most of the rooms sleep four, and some have private showers.

Zermatt is a great place for scooting about on-piste while gawping at the scenery. Once you cross the border into the Italian resort of Cervinia (it shares its lift pass with Zermatt), things get more serious, thanks to one of the world’s finest intermediate tracks, ‘Red 7’.

The details: from £20pp, half-board, in an eight-bed dorm with shared bathroom; non-members pay a £2.50 surcharge. Contact 00 41 44 360 1414, www.youthhostel.ch, which runs hostels in several other resorts, including Davos, Grindelwald and St Moritz.

Fly to Geneva with EasyJet www.easyjet.com; returns from £51), Swiss (0845 601 0956, www.swiss.com), Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com) and others. Then take the train (www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm). The fare is cheaper, £57 return, if you book in the UK (00800 1002 0030, www.myswitzerland.com/rail).

Riders Palace, Laax, Switzerland
This was the first place to add a smidgen of class to the simple skiers’ dorm, and the trend is beginning to spread. Each room has five bunks and a private bathroom; downstairs you’ll find one of the coolest bars in the Alps, and in the basement a cavernous nightclub.

Laax is home to a red-hot freestyle scene, with acrobatic displays in the half-pipe every weekend. It’s a good freeride spot after fresh snow, too.

The details: from £15pp, room-only; 00 41 81 927 9700, www.riderspalace.ch. Fly to Zurich with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com; returns from £68), Swiss (0845 601 0956, www.swiss.com) or Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com), and take the train (www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm). Tickets are cheaper if bought in Switzerland, at £49 return.

The Bunker, Verbier, Switzerland
Don’t even think about staying here if you’re claustrophobic. This is an old atomic shelter that has been turned into five big, noisy dorms (12-36 beds in each — earplugs essential), and none of them has windows. Conditions are basic, but if all you want to do is ski hard by day and party hard at night, the Bunker does the job.

And, oh, the skiing. Outside your concrete dungeon lies the world’s finest freeride terrain. Off-pisters will have a ball.

The details: £11pp, B&B, if you bring your own sleeping bag. Contact 00 41 27 771 6602, www.thebunker.ch. Fly to Geneva (see Zermatt, above) and take the train. An ordinary ticket to Verbier (£42 return), bought in Switzerland, is cheaper than the special Swiss Transfer ticket on sale in the UK.© The Times, London