If the credit crunch has put the slammers on your ski holiday plans this season, there is help at hand. We've asked the budget accommodation website, Hostelbookers.com, to let us in on the secret of an affordable skiing holiday. Here are five of their best-rated skiing hostels and affordable hotels, as rated by real skiers and holidaymakers.

1 CUBE SAVOGNIN, SAVOGNIN, SWITZERLAND

The Cube is so called because of its modern symmetrical exterior. The contemporary design continues inside. The bar serves drinks and snacks 24 hours a day, plus there's a restaurant, chill-out lounges on every floor and a relaxation area with sauna, steam bath, massage and fitness area. The hostel is 50m away from the cable car and has 266 beds in 76 rooms. Savognin has panoramic views from its 2,670m elevation and more than 80km of pistes, plus free-ride areas and 140km of mountain-bike trails.

Nearest airport: Zurich/Milan.

Price: From €38 half-board for a private room, including a one-day ski pass for Savognin per booked night.

2 Euro Youth Hotel, Bad Gastein, Austria

This hostel has 59 private rooms for between one and five people, all en suite with television. It has balconies with views of the mountains, and there's a bar, restaurant and a chill-out room with television, internet, pool, table football and darts. Bad Gastein is in the Gastein Valley, which has four ski areas, and is linked to Bad Hofgastein by lifts. The skiing suits strong intermediate skiers and there's off-piste for more advanced skiers on the Kreuzkogel. Boarders have access to a park and half-pipe, but numerous draglifts may be off-putting.

Nearest airport: Salzburg, Klagenfurt or Innsbruck. Trains run regularly to Bad Gastein, taking 1.5 hours from Salzburg. The hostel is 80m from the train station.

Price: From €15 per person per night for a shared room; €18 per person for a private room.

3 Hotel L'Ermita, Canillo, Andorra

This quiet hotel has 27 rooms with bathroom, telephone and television, plus a gym with sauna. It has internet and a games room with table tennis, pool, table football and computer games. The restaurant serves French and Spanish dishes and has mountain views. The hotel is close to Andorra la Vella and the skiing area of GrandValira, which has 110 runs and 66 lifts, plus an ice hotel and ice bar. There is also cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, dog-drawn sleighing, snowmobiling and paragliding.

Nearest airport: Andorra la Vella -- Canillo is 8km from the capital.

Price: From €20 per person per night for a private room

4 Fireside Inn, Breckenridge, Colorado, US

This family-owned inn offers B&B and hostel options, and is close to downtown Breckenridge and its shops, restaurants and nightlife. It's a 10-minute walk to the ski area, or a short journey on the free shuttle bus. The hostel offers free wireless internet, a hot tub, and a sitting room with a fireplace. There's also a ski lock-up and tune-up area and a hearty breakfast for €5.25.

Breckenridge offers downhill skiing, snowboarding, showshoeing and cross-country skiing. A shared lift pass includes Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Vail.

Nearest airport: Denver. The hostel shuttle takes around two hours.

Price: From €21 per person per night for a shared room; €25 per person for a private room, plus 11pc tax.

5 Hotel moravsko village, Bansko, Bulgaria

This family-run hotel is quiet and offers a babysitting service, petting zoo and farm area. The hotel prides itself on its authentic, and in some instances, organic Bulgarian cuisine, including herbal tea, honey, homemade jams, yogurt, cheese and butter. The hotel has a sauna, a barbecue area, fishing, horse and donkey riding, table tennis, and mountain biking. Breakfast is free, as is wireless internet, parking and a shuttle to the ski lifts at Bansko. The pistes are in two centres: Chalin Valog and Shiligarnika, which offer some of the world's cheapest skiing. Investment means there are at least seven fast lifts, ski cannons and a good range of pistes.

Nearest airport: Sofia is two and a half hours away.

Price: Rooms start at €11 per person per night for a triple room.

- Ginny McGrath