THE highest and the most prestigious of Courchevel’s four ski villages has traditionally lured A-list celebrities, cash-flashing Russian oligarchs, hedge fund managers and royals.

But since the financial crash, Courchevel 1850, France's blingiest alpine resort, has been reinventing itself as it attempts to shred its exclusive image and appeal to a wider client base.

Nevertheless, despite the collapse of the rouble, signs of conspicuous consumption remain hard to avoid in a resort with an above-average presence of fur-clad ladies with lap dogs and Raybans and, opposite my hotel, a nightclub where a plate of the best caviar cost €900.

But there is another side to Courchevel. Alongside the chic Michelin-starred restaurants, posh watch shops, high-end estate agencies and swanky branches of Prada, Bulgari and Chanel that line the town’s timbered high street, there are friendly boulangeries and affordable shops selling Savoyard food specialties.

Of course skiing rarely comes cheap and the plunge of sterling since the Brexit vote is likely to make the coming season the most expensive for British skiers for decades.

The good news is that, even in a swanky resort such as Courchevel, there are bargains to be had if you know where to look.

When it comes to accommodation, Courchevel 1850 (the numbers refer to its altitude) boasts more five-star hotels than Paris but there is a growing number of two and three starred hotels as well as plenty of affordable eateries dispensing French alpine classics such as tartiflette and raclette.

The Courchevel resorts form part of Les Trois Vallées ski area, which – with over 600km of pistes and 180 lifts – claims to be world’s largest lift-linked ski area.

Courchevel lies in the easternmost of the three valleys with Méribel in the centre and Val Thorens, Europe's hightest ski resort (at 2300m) – in the west.

The rule of thumb here is that the lower you go, the cheaper it becomes. As all four villages are connected by fast gondolas, you have access to the same slopes.

The advantage of being at 1850, if you don’t mind the bling, is the guarantee of snow, the ski-in ski-out accommodation and the fact that it is the main lift hub for the valley – as well as livelier après-ski options.

An attempt a few years back to stamp out altitude snobbism by rebranding the less glamorous lower Courchevel resorts (Courchevel 1650 was renamed Moriond, 1550 became Courchevel-Village and 1300 became Le Praz) appears to have been largely unsuccessful with most signposts still referring to the old names.

In one sense the size of the ski area is largely academic as, if you are only here for a week, you are unlikely to ski more than a small proportion of the pistes on offer. However, if long valley-to-valley expeditions are your thing, Les Trois Vallées is about as good as it gets.

Many never feel the need to leave the Courchevel valley and I was more than content to spend my stay exploring its 150km of impeccably groomed largely north-facing pistes, which include terrain to suit everyone from beginner to expert.

A particular highlight was getting an early bird pass that allows you to board the first cable car of the day, before the lifts open to the general public at 9am.

This took me up to the rocky peak of the Saulire – at 2738m, the highest lift in the Courchevel valley. The 45-minute head-start on everyone else allows you the pleasure of cutting the first tracks of the day on pristine and gloriously empty pistes.

From the steep cliffs of the summit there are, on a clear day, stunning views north to the Mont Blanc massif, east to the high peaks of the Swiss and Italian Alps and south into the protected expanse of the Vanoise National Park.

Looking down into the Courchevel valley, almost 1000m below, the private jets of the ultra-rich can be spotted landing at the altiport: the highest tarmacked runway in Europe, which featured in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. Its sharp incline, designed to rapidly decelerate landing planes, makes it look more like a ski jump than a landing strip.

The Saulire is also a good starting point for off-piste skiers, with a number of massive couloirs dropping off from its summit as well as the exhilarating Grand Couloir black run. Alternatively, for a longer trip, you could opt for one of the wide red and blue pistes that swoop down towards Méribel in the next-door valley.

Another highlight was having lunch at La Soucoupe, perched at 2250m at the top of the Col de la Loze lift. On a sunny day, enjoy the alpine views from a deckchair on the balcony outside (faux fur blankets are provided).

If it is cold and misty, La Soucoupe's interior is the perfect place to warm up beside the roaring log fire on which steaks and duck breasts sizzle. If that doesn’t appeal, you can sample squid cooked in its own ink or apples flambéed in Calvados.

On the subject of dining, it is a good idea at Courchevel to check prices before sitting down for lunch at one of the many piste-side eateries. On my first day, having plumped down in a comfortable inn, I was handed a menu that featured a €200 plate of fresh seafood as well as similarly overpriced lobster and foie gras with truffles.

Thankfully, another part of the restaurant was offering more basic fare for a 10th of the price, and the maître d’ was polite enough to pretend he hadn’t seen my less than dignified shift to one of the cheaper tables.

Les Trois Vallées is the UK’s favourite skiing destination so, if you like the idea of immersing yourself in another language and culture when abroad, you might as well forget it: with such a large number of Brits, British-run hotels, hire shops and even restaurants, you could easily spend an entire day without hearing a word of French.

But that’s only carping. The real draw of Courchevel is the sheer variety and quality of the skiing on offer – which remains the same whether you are staying in an £80,000-a-week butler-serviced chalet or in bed and breakfast accommodation.

With such an immense area of great skiing that it would take at least a month to do it justice, you may find, as I did, that one week in Courchevel was just enough to whet your appetite for more.

TRAVEL FACTS

Getting there: The best-served international airport, for flights from Scotland, is Geneva (135km, two hours drive from Courchevel) with Easyjet offering direct flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness and return prices starting at £25.98. Chambéry airport is closer (95km) but has no scheduled flights from Scotland, although there are weekly charter flights for those on package holidays. There are bus transfers to Courchevel from both airports while Madame Vacances charge €153 for a private return transfer (based on four sharing) from Geneva airport and €113 from Chambéry airport. www.mvtransport.fr/en.

A greener travel option is to take a direct overnight or day-time Eurostar train from London to Moûtiers station, just 25km from Courchevel (weekly during season).

Where to stay: The two-star Hotel Olympic in Courchevel 1850 charges £439 for a standard room for B&B for 7 days (£629 half-board), based on two sharing in low season. Prices rise to £829 B&B and £1009 half-board for high season weeks, so avoid if possible the Russian new year in early January, the French half-term week in February and Easter. Add around £50 per person for a superior room. www.madamevacances.co.uk

Tourist office: www.courchevel.com

Skiing information

Courchevel runs: 8 blacks (hard), 37 reds (intermediate), 31 blues (easy) and 19 greens (very easy).

Pistes: 150km over 95 runs plus 66km of groomed cross-country skiing track, 18km of snowshoe trails and a toboggan run which plunges 300m over its 2km length.

Lifts: 58 (9 free button lifts for beginners, including at least one in each resort village)

Lift pass: €60 a day, €294 for six days for the entire Trois Vallées ski area. You can save around €10 a day if you stick to the Courchevel valley but it does limit you.

5 things to do in Courchevel

Learn to ski at the ESF French Ski School, which charges €322 for five full-day group classes or €178 for five afternoon classes. The ski school also offers off-piste guiding. www.skischoolcourchevel.co.uk

Relax at Aquamotion, a vast €63m wellness complex which claims to be the largest mountain water park in Europe. The stunning building, complete with a sloping grass-covered roof, boasts indoor and outdoor swimming pools including one with an indoor surf wave, wild water rapids, jacuzzis, a salt water grotto, five saunas and steam rooms and an outside hot pot surrounded with snow-dusted pine trees.

Sample affordable haute cuisine in Le Chabotté. The town centre bistro shares its kitchen and well-stocked wine cellar with the two Michelin-starred restaurant of the adjoining Chabichou Hotel but prices are more reasonable (€31 for evening menu of the day). If you are after a real gastronomic treat and have a spare €100 to spend on dinner check out Le Chabichou itself.

Enjoy a quiet day away from the slopes the mountain guide office organises snow-shoe expeditions to local beauty spots and mountain tops. Half and full-day trips at various levels are on offer and the two-and-a-half hour excursion to the charming Lac de la Rosière is particularly recommended.

Try cross-country skiing. Courchevel is a good place to enjoy a day of skiing through quiet birch forests away from the crowds on the downhill runs. Over 60km of groomed track connect the various villages in the valley with Méribel and, unlike many other resorts, the loipe are free to use.