How to have an extraordinary ski holiday in Italy on an ordinary budget

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It was 12 minutes of total exhilaration that ended, Succession-style, with a landing at the Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc right in front of the huge glass windows where guests were eating their breakfast. The helicopter ride is part of the new “Fly The Alps” package offered by Italian hotel group R Collections, whisking guests between the five-star Montana Lodge & Spa in La Thuile to the five-star Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc. open image in gallery Fiona revels in five-star facilities on a budget The hotel really came alive after the lifts shut at 4.30pm and the hotel’s new spa centre turned into a buzzy social hub, complete with an indoor pool with massage jets, a Finnish sauna, Turkish bath, bio sauna and an ice station. Courmayeur is much more of a party and posing town, and the Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc is a bigger, more glamorous 70-room resort hotel with lovely granite and wood rooms, a spa and a two levels of restaurant with mountain views.