2026/27 season
The 10 Ski Resorts With the Best-Rated Ski Shops
A good rental shop saves a ski trip, and a bad boot fit ruins one. These are the resorts where customers rate the local rental and gear shops highest, based on 187,742 public reviews.
Most resort rankings measure the mountain: vertical drop, snowfall, lift queues. This one measures something you deal with before the first run, which is the shop that fits your boots and hands you your skis. We grouped 970 ski and snowboard shops by the resort they serve and averaged their customer ratings.
The result favours smaller and less expensive resorts over the famous names. Crested Butte comes first with 4.87 out of 5. The gap to 63rd place is only 0.49 stars, so a low position is not a warning. A high one does mean a well-reviewed shop is easy to find.
- 1
Crested Butte
United States
- 4.87
- average rating
- 6
- rated shops
- 754
- reviews
All ski shops near Crested ButteA former mining town in Colorado's Elk Mountains, known for steep terrain and a compact, walkable centre.
Every one of its 6 rated shops scores 4.5 or higher. 3 of the 6 rated shops offer boot fitting, 3 do repairs and 3 wax and tune.
- 2
Bansko
Bulgaria
- 4.86
- average rating
- 24
- rated shops
- 7,546
- reviews
All ski shops near BanskoBulgaria's largest ski resort, at the foot of the Pirin Mountains, and long one of Europe's best-value destinations.
19 of its 24 rated shops score 4.5 or higher. 10 of the 24 rated shops also run lessons, 5 offer overnight storage and 4 do repairs.
- 3
Fernie
Canada
- 4.85
- average rating
- 9
- rated shops
- 977
- reviews
All ski shops near FernieA powder town in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, with a historic main street a short drive from the lifts.
Every one of its 9 rated shops scores 4.5 or higher. 4 of the 9 rated shops do repairs, 4 wax and tune and 1 offer boot fitting.
- 4
Revelstoke
Canada
- 4.83
- average rating
- 9
- rated shops
- 788
- reviews
All ski shops near RevelstokeHome to the biggest lift-served vertical drop in North America, in British Columbia's Selkirk Mountains.
Every one of its 9 rated shops scores 4.5 or higher. 3 of the 9 rated shops offer boot fitting, 2 do repairs and 1 wax and tune.
- 5
Lech
Austria
- 4.83
- average rating
- 8
- rated shops
- 625
- reviews
All ski shops near LechA village on Austria's Arlberg, part of the country's largest linked ski area.
7 of its 8 rated shops score 4.5 or higher. 4 of the 8 rated shops do repairs, 4 offer overnight storage and 3 offer boot fitting.
- 6
Furano
Japan
- 4.80
- average rating
- 7
- rated shops
- 636
- reviews
All ski shops near FuranoA resort in central Hokkaido, known for light, dry powder and a working town at its base.
6 of its 7 rated shops score 4.5 or higher. 2 of the 7 rated shops offer boot fitting and 1 also run lessons.
- 7
Tignes
France
- 4.77
- average rating
- 15
- rated shops
- 3,231
- reviews
All ski shops near TignesA high-altitude French resort sharing one ski area with Val d'Isère, with glacier skiing on the Grande Motte.
14 of its 15 rated shops score 4.5 or higher. 9 of the 15 rated shops do repairs, 5 offer overnight storage and 3 wax and tune.
- 8
Verbier
Switzerland
- 4.75
- average rating
- 6
- rated shops
- 555
- reviews
All ski shops near VerbierThe main resort of Switzerland's 4 Vallées, with a long-standing reputation for off-piste terrain.
4 of its 6 rated shops score 4.5 or higher. 4 of the 6 rated shops do repairs, 3 offer boot fitting and 1 offer overnight storage.
- 9
Poiana Brașov
Romania
- 4.75
- average rating
- 20
- rated shops
- 4,106
- reviews
All ski shops near Poiana BrașovRomania's best-known ski resort, in the Carpathians above the city of Brașov.
16 of its 20 rated shops score 4.5 or higher. 4 of the 20 rated shops do repairs, 3 sell used gear and 2 also run lessons.
- 10
Crans-Montana
Switzerland
- 4.74
- average rating
- 20
- rated shops
- 3,163
- reviews
All ski shops near Crans-MontanaA sunny plateau resort in the Swiss canton of Valais, high above the Rhône valley.
19 of its 20 rated shops score 4.5 or higher. 7 of the 20 rated shops offer boot fitting, 7 do repairs and 2 wax and tune.
The best resort in every region
Not travelling to the top ten? These are the highest-ranked resorts in each part of the world we cover.
Eastern Europe
area average 4.78North America
area average 4.64Pyrenees & Iberia
area average 4.64The Alps
area average 4.59Japan
area average 4.49Southern Hemisphere
area average 4.45Scandinavia
area average 4.41How the ranking works
Each shop counts once, for the nearest resort within 25 km, and only if it has at least 20 reviews. A resort's score is the average rating of those shops, weighted by review count with a cap so one very large store cannot dominate. Resorts need 5 rated shops and 500 reviews to be ranked, which 63 of the 82 resorts we cover achieve.
The scores summarise public customer reviews. They are not our own test of the shops, and resorts a few hundredths apart are effectively level. The full report has the complete table, the method in detail and a CSV download.
Going somewhere else?
Compare the shops near any of 82 resorts, or search by town.