Luxury Ski Hotels Tips

Switzerland Luxury Ski Hotel

The Riffelalp Resort is the highest alpine resort in Europe. The hotel has 65 double rooms, five suites, plus two apartments. Most rooms have a balcony and offer breathtaking views of the Matterhorn. In-house ski-rental and a ski teacher, plus helicopter trips and heli-skiing are options.

Dining: There's the Alexandre, with set menus, à la carte dishes, weekly buffets and soirees set against a spectacular view or the Walliser Keller, with just 35 seats, for those seeking an intimate atmosphere.

Spa: There's an indoor and out door pool at St.-Trop Alp. Treatments available include whole-body massage, sport massage, reflexology, lymph drainage, Thalassotherapy, and much more. Soak in a steam bath or relax in the Finnish sauna.

Deluxe Touch: Check out the Sch önbiel cave with steam bath. Temperatures in this steam bath are around 104-122°F, with a lot of radiated heat, as from an open fireplace. At regular intervals, guests can enjoy the spectacular site of the basket of stones being lifted out of the boiler, swung through 180° and then plunged into a water bath, generating a huge cloud of steam.

Details
2222M Ch 3920
Zermatt, Switzerland
Tel: ++41 27 966 05 55

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Vail Luxury Ski Hotel

The Lodge at Vail, a AAA Four-Diamond Award-winning hotel at the base of Vail Mountain, is in the center of Vail Village. The main ski lift is outside; shopping and restaurants are close by.

Dining: The Wildflower's menu is offers creative American cuisine. The restaurant offers one of the area's only tasting menus, which changes daily. It's the only restaurant in the Vail Valley to be awarded both the AAA Four Diamond Award & Wine Spectator's "Best of Award of Excellence

Spa: The new RockResorts Spa is set to open in November 2007. The 8,846-square-foot spa will feature 11 treatment rooms, a couples' room with a soaking tub for two, a wet treatment room, two facial rooms, seven massage rooms and a separate women's relaxation lounge.

Deluxe Touch: Book the Game Creek Chalet, located 2,000 feet above Vail Village. The ski-in/ski-out, four-bedroom, five-bath, European-style retreat features a fireplace, outdoor hot tub, private chef and breathtaking views of the Vail Valley.

Details
174 East Gore Creek Drive
Vail, CO 81657
Tel: 877-LAV-ROCK or 970-476-5011

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Aspen Luxury Ski Hotel

The only ski-in, ski-out resort in Aspen, Little Nell, a small boutique hotel with 92 rooms, has a ski concierge and gas-burning fireplaces in every room. Located at the base of Aspen Mountain, next to the Silver Queen Gondola, it is in an ideal location.

Dining: Montagna is a well-known hot spot for locals. Master Sommelier Richard Betts oversees a 15,000 bottle private wine cellar to compliment your dinner. Montagna is the recipient of Wine Spectator's Grand Award.

Spa: The Little Nell Health Center has a fitness center, steam rooms and three massage rooms.

Deluxe Touch: The most popular hotel amenity is the ski concierge who provides full slope service, including boot warming, ski and snowboard storage, ski and snowboard tune-ups, inter-mountain ski transfer (Buttermilk, Highlands, Snowmass) and more.

Details
675 East Durant Avenue
Aspen, CO 81611
Tel: 970-920-4600

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Luxury Ski Hotel Tips

The Five Star Alliance, an online travel agency for the world's best hotels, has a good list of ski resorts that they recommend. As they say, “Dealing only with luxury hotels, we know a thing or two about luxury ski resorts. Luxury ski resorts offer not only world-class skiing -- after leaving the slopes you'll return to the lap of luxury to warm those aching bones.” The agency has been reviewed favorably by USA Today and the New York Times.

Of course, many other organizations and magazine rate luxury ski resorts too, such as Forbes, Travel + Leisure and many others. Make sure you review what is on offer. Do you want free lift tickets, lessons, meals? Do you want in-room massages available after those tough days on the slopes? Do you want to go to a remote ski-in resort or one more accessible? All this and more are available.

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