Home Runs

UTAH

Stein Eriksen Residences in Deer Valley

The Forbes Five-Star Stein Eriksen Lodge has been one of the most famous luxury ski hotels on earth for more than 35 years—and deservedly so. Which is why when the owners built a nearby residential enclave, located a mile away in the same mid-mountain Deer Valley locale, they skimped on nothing, giving owners and renters a self-contained hotel-style experience. The 15 mountain homes (from $4,800) and 39 condominiums (from $2,000)—all ski-in/ski-out—have their own complete luxury spa; the 7880 Club restaurant, bar, and lounge; a gorgeous indoor/outdoor infinity pool deck with hot tubs and fire pits; a state-of-the-art fitness center; and locker rooms with a ski shop and ski valet. Homes range from 5,400 to 7,800 square feet with garages, game or fitness rooms, outdoor hot tubs, grills, and fire pits, while condos span from 2,100 to 5,000 feet; all residences boast elaborate gourmet kitchens, steam showers, and fireplaces. There are also three hotel-style rooms (from $627). A handful of units are still for sale, with condos from $3.2 million and homes from $6.7 million. steinres.com

Washington School House in Park City

Located steps from Park City’s historic Main Street, this 13-room landmark building, constructed in 1889, has the décor, ambience, and service to make one feel like it’s their own private home—albeit fully staffed with an executive chef who will prepare personally curated dinners upon request. A design-driven renovation took place in December 2011, keeping intact the original quarried limestone exterior and historic living space with 16-foot ceilings. A heated pool terraced in the hillside features a fire pit made from the Olympic torch from the 2002 Games, and a secret back entrance off the slopes offers ski-in access when guests are done for the day. Alternatively, ski valet pickup and drop-off to Park City’s main Town Lift chair a block away are at guests’ beck and call, with boots, skis, and helmets dried and stored for the next day. Après-ski is a civilized affair by a cozy fire with cheese, charcuterie, crackers, fruits, and nuts, and of course hot chocolate refills. From $450; washingtonschoolhouse.com

Snowpine Lodge in Alta

Considered a game-changer for the Alta ski area, the original 1941 Snowpine Lodge was restored from the ground up and reopened January 2019 on the site of the oldest building in Little Cottonwood Canyon, which dates back to the silver rush of the 1800s. It features 54 rooms and suites and 14 traditional, dorm-style bunk rooms. Its lively bar, The Gulch Pub, is a casual eatery offering craft cocktails and the place to be and be seen after a day on the mountain. The lodge’s main dining room, Swen’s Restaurant, features an open kitchen serving regionally sourced American cuisine. But the best feature is the hidden grotto turned into a unique extension of the full-service spa’s steam room and sauna offerings. This season, the lodge is partnering with Alta to host a four-night, three-day Alta Performance Ski Camp (from $4,259) February 23–27, 2020, that will include instruction by the experts at the adjacent Alf Engen Ski School, lodging, daily breakfast and dinner at the hotel, lift passes, and demo ski rentals. After a full-day session, guests can soothe sore muscles in the lodge’s slopeside heated pool and hot tubs while admiring the steep runs they just conquered. From $329; snowpine.com

COLORADO

One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge

Breckenridge’s shortage of deluxe lodging is excused with One Ski Hill Place, which anchors the 2010 redevelopment of the Peak 8 base area. Sixty-six residential units from studios to four-bedrooms feature stone fireplaces, balconies or patios, full kitchens with Bosch appliances, laundry rooms, and sleeper sofas. But it’s the more unique hotel amenities that standout, like the two-lane bowling alley that guests can reserve for free, two high-tech cinema rooms for private screenings, state-of-the-art fitness center, aquatic center, spa, and wildly popular slopeside après-ski spot T-Bar. One Ski Hill Place offers one of the best ski-in/ski-out locations in the country and sits just steps from the pedestrian gondola to and from downtown Breckenridge. A renovation in 2017 updated many features and added an Oxygen Bar, handy since the hotel sits at nearly 10,000 feet. From $225; rockresorts.com

The Residences at The Little Nell in Aspen

Next door to Aspen’s only true ski-in/ski-out luxury property—and one of just three Forbes Five-Star ski hotels in the world—the Residences take everything that’s great about the iconic Little Nell up a notch. There are just 26 fractionally owned, three- or four-bedroom residences (2,800–3,800 square feet, from $8,825) and eight hotel-style rooms (from $890), all dog-friendly and all renovated in 2016. The apartments feature custom furnishings, fine art, balconies, laundry rooms, jetted tubs, steam showers, and gourmet kitchens. Residences are available for nightly rentals, and guests have their own rooftop pool complex, gym, yoga studio, and complimentary area transportation, plus all the amenities of the luxury hotel and its world-class ski concierge. thelittlenell.com

Lumière in Telluride

An intimate, European-inspired residential hotel with just 18 residences, Lumière partnered last year with luxury destination club Inspirato and took on a top-to-bottom renovation. The residences range from one to five bedrooms and feature gourmet, commercial-style kitchens with Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, gas fireplaces, decks, and oversize bathrooms with soaking tubs and walk-in showers. All one-bedroom and larger units have steam showers and laundry rooms. The hotel sits in Mountain Village, with a ski-in/ski-out location near the base of Lift 4, and a full-service ski valet run by rental delivery specialists Black Tie, who can equip guests with performance gear in the comfort of their residences. In-room spa treatments are available, along with a fitness center, outdoor hot tub, sauna, warm and cold plunge pools, and an intimate lounge-style bar that serves complimentary breakfast daily and wine, small plates, and fresh-baked goods for afternoon après-ski. An optional private chef program can be booked, and the hotel remains exceptionally pet-friendly with bowls, blankets, and natural treats from Colorado’s Enchanted Biscuit. From $900; lumierewithinspirato.com

River Run Townhomes in Keystone

With a convenient, pedestrian-friendly base village putting amenities at guests’ fingertips and a wide range of residential ski-in/ski-out lodging suited to larger clans, Keystone is famously family-friendly. Data-driven ski site Zrankings crunched the numbers and gave Keystone a 98 out of 100 “Family Score,” tops among every major North American mountain. Free resort-wide, on-demand vans shuttle guests wherever they want to go, the Camp Keystone children’s ski school has its own lift and clubhouse, and the mountain boasts the most night skiing in Colorado. But the terrain here is not just for children: Keystone has 135 trails for all abilities, with 20 lifts serving over 3,000 acres. While the lack of a name-brand deluxe hotel has kept it off the high-end travel radar, Keystone now offers top-shelf lodging in its new luxury townhomes at River Run Village. As the resort’s epicenter, River Run has shops, restaurants, outdoor fire pits, and the main gondola. The smallest townhome is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and all have private garages, balconies, laundry rooms, fireplaces, and open floor plans with first-rate furnishings and full kitchens, including wine fridges. From $359; keystoneresort.com

Trappers Cabin in Beaver Creek

One of the most unique accommodations in American skiing, Trappers Cabin is ski-in/ski-out lodging located 9,500 feet up the mountain. It is hidden in a mini-forest of birch trees near the top of the Bachelor Gulch Express chair, and after the lifts stop running, guests get the mountain to themselves, sipping cocktails in the outdoor hot tub or exploring a loop of mountaintop trails using the cabin’s snowshoes. A private ski instructor is included in the Trappers Cabin Reserve package and lessons start in the morning with first tracks. The four-bedroom log cabin sleeps up to 10 and is rented only to a single party nightly and managed by Beaver Creek’s lodging division, along with the Osprey hotel, which handles check-in and chauffeuring guests up by snow cat. Features include a large deck with an outdoor hot tub and magnificent views of the Gore Mountain Range, a billiard room, stone fireplace, home theater/media room, and gourmet kitchen. The Premium package adds daily breakfasts and dinners cooked by a private chef; a scenic, private snow cat tour; and a Champagne welcome reception. In-cabin massages, spa treatments, and ski and boot rental fittings are also available. From $1,855; beavercreek.com

Snowmass Base Village in Snowmass

Ten years ago the Viceroy hotel kicked off a $600 million transformation of a sleepy base area into the vibrant Snowmass Base Village. That vision has now been fully realized with the opening of the ski-in/ski-out Limelight Hotel Snowmass, featuring 99 rooms (some pet-friendly), 11 two- or three-bedroom residences, and unique amenities including a five-story indoor climbing wall and complimentary shuttles to and from the Aspen Airport and ski shuttles to sister ski resorts Aspen, Aspen Highlands, and Buttermilk. Outdoor spa pools have cabanas and fire pits, and a loaner Audi e-tron SUV is available for up to two hours (from $732; limelighthotels.com). Next door sits the attached private Snowmass Mountain Club (snowmassmountainclub.com), with valet parking, lockers, ski concierge services, a lounge, and on-mountain lunch dining for members (who also get access to the Limelight’s aquatic and fitness facilities). Just 228 family memberships will be sold. Other new additions to the Village include a public ice-skating rink, mountain coaster, art gallery, yoga studio, and Mix6, a new eatery by the chef-owner of Aspen’s Pyramid Bistro. Celebrating its 10th birthday, the Viceroy Snowmass (from $305; viceroyhotelsandresorts.com) recently completed a total renovation of its 168 rooms; added a slopeside, ski-in/ski-out, European-style bar; and imported Snowmass’ first celebrity chef, Richard Sandoval, with a branch of his popular pan-Latin restaurant Toro Kitchen & Lounge.

CALIFORNIA

The Landing Lake Tahoe Resort & Spa in South Lake Tahoe

Straddling the California and Nevada border, Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe has three base lodges and tons of skiing but no lodging of its own. The Landing Resort & Spa is a boutique lakefront property just a few blocks from the main Heavenly gondola plaza, with on-demand shuttle service. It features understated luxury with a residential, homey feel featuring lots of handpicked art and fresh flowers, exposed wood and stonework. In the 82 rooms find vintage European ski posters on the walls, curated shelves of leather-bound books, gas fireplaces, and wet bars. Most have terraces with lake views and large bathrooms with jetted tubs, oversize walk-in steam showers, adjustable radiant-heated floors, and heated toilets. There is a full spa and one of the best restaurants in town, Jimmy’s—an upscale eatery featuring mountain-chic cuisine, comfort food, a deep wine list, and a popular après-ski happy hour. The bar patio with fire pits overlooks the lake and guests receive complimentary access to the hotel’s private beach. Because of the lake’s summer appeal, winter is off-season here. From $239; thelandingtahoe.com

NEW YORK

Lake Placid Lodge in Lake Placid
In the 19th century, robber barons like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers built rural mansions known as Great Camps throughout the Adirondacks. One of these, from 1882, became the highly awarded Lake Placid Lodge. A throwback to the Gilded Age, the hotel sits on the banks of its namesake lake within sight of Whiteface Mountain. The skiing there is a 30-minute drive away; Whiteface has the highest vertical of any ski resort on the Eastern seaboard and hosted the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. 

The lodge was totally destroyed by fire in 2005 and has since been painstakingly rebuilt into one of the country’s top luxury resorts, a jaw-dropping stone and timber castle of sorts with 50 fireplaces and just 30 accommodations, each completely unique and adorned with art, antiques, and handmade Adirondack furniture. Thirteen rooms are in the main lodge, and 17 cabins line the lakefront. The 11 distinct public areas have a museum-like quality, filled with antiques, Adirondack crafts, locally hand-built furniture, and collectible paintings from the Hudson River School of landscape art. The lakeside restaurant, Artisans, is considered one of the best in upstate New York. From $399; lakeplacidlodge.com

CANADA

Post Hotel in Lake Louise, Alberta

Brothers Andre and George Schwarz came from Switzerland to teach skiing, and in 1978 bought the Post Hotel, located in one of the most naturally beautiful spots in Canada. After a successful first season, George reinvested all their profits in wine, and for 17 years the Post has received Wine Spectator’s highest Grand Award of Excellence, with more than 25,000 bottles. Beyond the wine, the Post’s mountain alpine architecture boasts a European ambiance that features cozy goose down duvets and excellent service. In addition to the 89 oversize rooms are five freestanding cabins along a river behind the hotel.

But the brothers are why many loyal fans come back every year, taking a ski run or two with winter regulars and roaming the dining room at breakfast and dinner to shake hands and ensure perfect service. Besides fine dining, the Post has a casual and traditional Swiss fondue stubli, and a pub with the area’s best après scene. There is an elaborate spa, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a Roman-style saltwater pool, whirlpool baths, and a steam room. A private shuttle takes guests three minutes to the Lake Louise Ski Resort, with 139 trails across 4,200 skiable acres. The Post has its own skating rink surrounded by 120 miles of cross-country ski trails. It sits in the middle of Banff National Park (Canada’s first and oldest), a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is even more popular in summer than winter—meaning rates for skiing are off-season. From $380; posthotel.com