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From Times Online

February 19, 2008

Ask our expert: gourmet ski and spa in Italy

Ruth Fielding wants an Italian ski resort where she can indulge her passion for food and spas, as well as hitting the slopes

Septieme Ciel has a rooftop hot tub and is set in its own grounds on a mountainside overlooking Verbier.

Kate Whittaker

We always book our holidays with a timesonline recommendation and we haven't been disappointed yet! This year my husband and I would like to go ski-ing with two friends in early March. Three of us have skied before - but about 20 years ago - and my husband has never skied before.

I quite fancy Italy because I like the idea of nice Italian food and wine in the evening. We want to be able to access the slopes directly from the hotel on foot and would like somewhere we can go to ski-school in the morning and then ski or perhaps do other snow sports in the afternoon.

A must is the spa facilities for aching bones in the evening. It would be great to be bed and breakfast and be in a small town with a variety of different restaurants to try in the evening as well as staying at the hotel for food if we wanted to. Any recommendations would be gratefully received. Ruth Fielding, London

A response from Times Online ski expert, Kate Whittaker: Italy is an ideal destination for balancing skiing with other joys such as fantastic cuisine and luxury spas.

Courmayeur, a village in the Aosta Valley, is a resort that caters as well for its non-skiers as it does for powder hounds. For a wide choice of accommodation and to have ski lessons, passes and equipment taken care of for you, book with Courmayeur specialists Momentum Ski.

Although Courmayeur isn’t ski in, ski out, if you hire your skis on the mountain, you can leave them there each evening. In the afternoons, you’ll be spoilt for choice with 100 shops and boutiques in the village, scenic mountain cable cars running up Mont Blanc and snowshoe tours out into the backcountry.

Don’t miss a visit to the healing waters of the nearby Pré-Saint-Didier spa to wash away any aches and pains. For a rustic lunch on the mountain, Maison Vieille does the most amazing gnocchi whilst down in the village, Cadran Solaire on Via Roma (+39 0165 844609) makes for an special meal out.

Kate is founder of ski guides Mad Dog Ski and a former chalet girl. Mad Dog Ski launches its new Courmayeur book on 22 February, priced £6