Aspen is the most visited place to see and be seen each winter, with the likes of the Kardashians, Kate Hudson and her family, and many others holding court. But for celebrities and executives looking to ski or snowboard in relative tranquility, these three other Colorado destinations beckon with enchanting mountains and new luxe après-ski offerings.
VAIL
Ahead of its 60th anniversary next season, the 4 x 7 mile home of the Epic Pass (and the state’s largest ski area) focuses on its history. Vail is refreshed Old cabin The warm-up area is where you can take a free themed mountain ski tour – one that features trail naming stories straight from the mouth of a seasoned old dog mountain innkeeper. New informational signs on the other side of the mountain — over 5,200 acres including legendary seven back bowls and remote terrain with a backcountry feel — also allow skiers to enjoy a self-guided version. And get a dose of cuteness at Henry’s Hut, named for Vail’s first avalanche rescue dog and the spot for impromptu visits from the furry crew.
the Avanti Skills Zone and Avanti Performance Center are brand new learning and training facilities with carving lanes; off track To ski and horseback riding; and bumps, berms and spikes.
The new Hythe Vail (From $699 per night), a Luxury Collection Resort, pays homage to the genesis of the resort, founded in 1962 by two World War II veterans of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, who drew inspiration from Europe’s ski towns during their tours seen. Opened in November, the 344-room hotel is a $41 million reimagining of a former Marriott that honors its past with its Colorado whiskey-focused 10th Mountain Bar and cozy chic Margie Haas Restaurant (named after a home cook who fed much of the 10th Mountain Division in her home after the start of World War II). The restaurant offers modern Alpine cuisine with a hearty German and Tyrolean touch.
The main lobby at Vail’s new The Hythe, a Luxury Collection resort that opened in November and features 344 rooms and suites.
Courtesy of The Hythe
Hythe’s partnership with Adventure IO includes extreme sports expeditions hosted by pro athletes, mushroom hunts and distillery tours, while the unmissable Well & Being Spa offers treatments alongside an oxygen bar, Himalayan salt lounge and a range of other invigorating DIY modalities offers in the recreation lounge.
The is also refreshed Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail (from $1,600 per night) which recently completed a renovation and added several new ones private apartments, each a sumptuous ski chalet with distinctive personality and plenty of original art, unlike most cookie cutter residences. Nowhere is it more coveted than around the property’s deck fire pits healing bar, perfect for après elixirs plus refueling.
A six bedroom residence at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail.
TELLURIDE
Despite having been a major film festival for almost 50 years, this mining town-turned-ski-region is far from the maddening crowd for most of the year, although Jewel, Jerry Seinfeld, Tom Cruise, Neil Young and Oprah Winfrey are among the current ones belong to former residents.
A real gem is the freshly reinvented Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection (from $1,099 per night), where Catt Sadler stayed last summer. The update moves between comfortable, elegant and Instagrammable, from public spaces like indoors and outdoors wooden room — where every guest should curl up at the bar at least once for a platter of venison and roast vegetables and spiced Old Fashioned — to the 83 guest rooms, redesigned by Rose Ink Workshop.
The Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection, in Telluride.
Auberge Resorts Collection
From January 21st to 23rd, the Madeline hosts one Athlete Adventure Weekend in partnership with Eventus Outdoors and Revelshine, including fireside chats and once-in-a-lifetime excursions – think ice climbing, snowshoeing, side-country skiing and heli-assisted tours – with pro athletes like climber Emily Harrington and snowboarder Jeremy Jones and skier Michelle Parker (all-inclusive -Prices go up to $12,000). Wellness is also the focus at Madeline, with a Free People Movement pop-up, anti-inflammatory CBD spa treatment, and guided in-room sleep meditations RESET TO DEFAULT, which is also launching a super high-end wellness and trekking retreat with accommodations at Madeline in May. (RESET retreats start at $10,000 per guest.)
There has been continued investment in snowmaking infrastructure on the mountain, and this season Grouse’s Glade opened, a new tree-skiing area at Chair 10. (A new high-speed chairlift will be added this summer.) For the more adventurous types, there’s heli – Skiing with HeliTrax and other outfitters.
In the city, Small house is a cool new eatery with a New Orleans vibe and Creole-inspired cuisine from the team behind Telluride’s The National Restaurant.
The Telluride Gondola flying past the Hotel Madeline.
Courtesy of The Telluride Mountain Village
BRECKENRIDGE
This season marks the 60th anniversary of Breckenridge Ski Resort, the first major ski area in Colorado to open its mountain to snowboarders and known for long seasons, usually leading up to Memorial Day. Sevens Restaurant in the charming town of Gold Rush is celebrating with a $60 Wagyu burger with foie gras and shaved truffles among other delicious offerings. There’s also a new Freedom SuperChair that unlocks wider, hilly terrain on Peak 7.
The burger at Sevens in Breckenridge.
Spence Linard
For fun and funky accommodations, gravity house Breckenridge is the city’s newest ski-in/ski-out boutique hideaway with a popular restaurant, Cabin Juice. This winter, they debuted three 16-foot snow cabanas on the hillside at the base of Peak 9 that can be reserved for après and dinner.
A Gravity House Breckenridge Snow Cabin.
F4D Studio
A version of this story first appeared in the January 12 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to login.
