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Hoteliers from Aspen to Breckenridge are tuned in to what travelers want—and then some. They don’t stop at fluffy spa robes and turndown service. Next-level Colorado hospitality spans Roman bath rituals, private heli-skiing tours, in-room hot tubs and DJ booths, and a three-story ski concierge at your fingertips.
Grab a welcome flute of bubbly and make yourself at home at these wow-factor mountain town stays.
Jump Ahead:
W Aspen
- Town: Aspen
- Peak season rates: Holiday season starting at $2,400 a night, winter season (four-night minimum) $948 or $1,240 for a winter season single night
- Offseason rates: Starting at $700
- Must-try: The Extreme Wow suite
Aspen is all about the après ski scene, and W Aspen is prime party central. Carve down legendary Aspen Mountain’s steep front side and walk the quick block to W Aspen, thawing out among the hotel’s funky blend of Swiss chalet architecture and decadent retro designs—a not-so-subtle wink at Aspen’s hedonistic pleasure palace tendencies from the ’70s. The 93-room property includes four WOW suites and one Extreme WOW suite. The latter features a vintage living room fire pit, foosball tables, an indoor hot tub that opens to the retro hangout area, and a DJ booth in case you want to bring the party back to your place.
The coveted address is also home to the Rooftop, Aspen’s only year-round rooftop bar where guests can slip into a heated pool or hot tub and gather around fire pits to drink in 360-degree mountain views. Catch daily après ski soirees on the roof and stay for dinner at HaSalon, a Mediterranean pop-up concept by globally loved chef Eyal Shani; or sip on mezcal-focused cocktails at Hidalgo by Dushan Zarić, the mixology mind behind Employees Only bars. Bonus: If you need to run a quick errand, W Aspen has a couple of BMW X7 and X5 SUVs at the ready for guests to cruise around in.
Madeline Hotel & Residences
- Town: Telluride
- Peak season rates: Starting at $1095
- Offseason rates: Starting at $595
- Must-try: A private, guided excursion
The concierge team at this top-tier Telluride hotel is skilled at making sure you collapse happily exhausted into your plush suite at the end of the day. After your private ice-climbing lesson in Ouray, the staff can prepare an in-room signature bath ritual to rid you of any post-adventure aches and pains. (Yes, that means they will fill your suite’s tub with curated remedies like CBD salts and skin-silkening oils.)
Embrace Telluride’s European alpine aesthetic and head to Reflection Plaza in Mountain Village at 4 p.m. to catch Madeline Hotel general manager Bryan Woody and his Saint Bernard sounding the property’s custom-made alphorn (a long, wooden wind instrument), signaling the start of après celebrations. Follow your champagne toast with shareable bites in the buzzy Timber Room and then a lap or two around the adjacent ice skating rink.
The luxury hotel is surrounded on all sides by magnificent peaks, revered as some of Colorado’s top downhill terrain. Go big with a guided heliskiing experience. The hotel’s partnership with Helitrax provides a morning of safety orientation, a helicopter briefing and avalanche protocol, followed by six glorious powdery San Juan Mountain runs, giving you approximately 10,000 to 14,000 vertical feet of bragging rights.
Four Seasons Vail
- Town: Vail
- Peak season rates: Starting at $1,200
- Offseason rates: Starting at $445
- Must-try: A full Italian tastebud tour at Tavernetta Vail
Classic Vail luxury and pampered living is on full display at the Four Seasons. There are elegant rooms and executive suites splashed in local stone and wood. And then there’s the Poppyfields four-bedroom private residence, which sleeps eight adults and features an open kitchen, private balcony and roaring fireplace. Ask about the private chef and kitchen-stocking services or head downstairs to the newest Vail Valley hot spot, Tavernetta Vail. James Beard award–winning Frasca Hospitality Group’s winter 2024 concept draws inspo from its Denver flagship location, taking diners on a trot through Italy’s north, south, and alpine regions. Make your way around the all-Italian wine list while nibbling rustic handmade truffle gnocchi and other Tuscan and Sicilian bites.
Four Seasons Vail’s new-this-winter Chalet eliminates the logistical headaches that often come with a day on the slopes. The three-story building located near Gondola One provides guests with ski-in, ski-out ease: personal ski lockers, boot and glove dryers, and plenty of pillowed space to lounge over complimentary coffee, breakfast burritos, and pastries.
Grand Colorado on Peak Eight
- Town: Breckenridge
- Peak season rates: Starting at $433
- Offseason rates: Starting at $219
- Must-try: Infinity Spa’s oxygen infusion treatment
The Grand Colorado, or GC8 as the locals call it, boasts Breck’s ultimate slopeside address. Two high-speed chairlifts sit a snowball’s toss from the impressive multibuilding resort at Breckenridge Ski Resort’s bustling Peak Eight base. Chic hot tubs sit so close to the runs you can feel the spray of snow as skiers schuss by. Family trivia night, five private movie theaters, an escape room, and doorstep oxygen delivery make for max comfort and entertainment at 10,000 feet.
Grand Colorado was built with families in mind—hence the generously sized arcade, mini ice rink, and aquatics area complete with kiddie pool and water slides. But adults are not forgotten. Grown-ups can be found at beer and wine tastings in the lobby bar, people-watching from the outdoor deck’s fire table, and finding sanctuary with cold eucalyptus towels over their eyes in the adults-only grotto hot tub, cold plunge, and steam room. The attached Infinity Spa rolls out a divine wintertime treatment menu that includes a 50- or 80-minute oxygen infusion skin treatment designed to deliver moisture, vitamins, and antioxidants via a cooling topical hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
Eagle River Inn
- Town: Minturn
- Peak season rates: Starting at $299
- Offseason rates: Starting at $159
- Must-try: Ski the Minturn Mile
Fresh off a fall ribbon cutting, this boutique 13-room inn is giving tiny town Minturn some serious hotel cred. Eagle River Inn wears a mindful southwest-meets-mountains aesthetic with comforts around every corner. An outside lounge area is flanked in faux-fur blankets and fire pits that overlook the Eagle River. An adobe fireplace crackles while books on Vail Valley lore speckle the leather-doused parlor where guests rub morning sleep from their eyes over Rifle-based Mountain Town Coffee and a complimentary European-style continental breakfast.
Eagle River Inn is poised to be a worship-worthy homebase for skiing Vail and Beaver Creek or hitting hidden gem Holy Cross Wilderness cross-country and snowmobile trails. The biggest address perk? Skiing the off-piste Minturn Mile. If you pick it up from Vail Ski Resort’s Game Creek Bowl, it will spit you out at the inn’s front door. Rack your skis and boards, then mosey across the street to the Minturn Saloon for a stiff drink inside a piece of perfectly preserved Old West Colorado.
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa
- Town: Beaver Creek
- Peak season rates: Starting at $1,099
- Offseason rates: Starting at $399
- Must-try: Aqua Sanitas Roman baths
At the base of Beaver Creek’s pristine groomer runs sits the Park Hyatt’s living room and bar area, which received a facelift in 2020. Sip toddies by LED fireplaces and stare up at the dazzling centerpiece chandelier or gaze out the Brass Bear Bar’s floor-to-ceiling windows at layered peaks and glades. Even more enticing than the fireside s’mores, fully stocked library and game room, and iconic fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies (3 p.m. at the bottom of Lift Six; don’t be late) is the lavish Exhale Spa.
The tranquil 30,000-square-foot fitness center and treatment area wows with scented steam and sauna rooms, heated chairs, a couple’s relaxation lounge, tea and fresh fruit-infused mountain spring water, and the crowning Aqua Sanitas Roman baths. The five-step water ritual includes soothing herbal body wash, traditional thermae and ancient sea salt soaking pools, and a cooling rainfall shower. The whole experience, plus a body scrub followed by Prosecco and truffles, is worth dedicating a day to the spa.
When you’re ready to interact with other humans again, emerge from your bliss bubble and join the party at the Park Hyatt’s seasonal celebrations. December through February, guests commune over afternoon tea and holiday story time, snowflake cookie decorating, family bingo, and cozy movie screenings.
