100 Elbert Lane, Snowmass Village, CO 81615, 800-837-4255,
Rates: Start at $390 for a slopeview room with king-size bed or two queens per night. Overnight parking $28, a one-time fee for up to a week. Free shuttle to Aspen Airport. Charge for Wi-Fi ($9.99). Pets are welcome ($25 fee).
Stay here if you: are looking for a casual ski-in/ski-out spot in Snowmass (they actually trademarked the phrase “Colorado’s Ski-In, Ski-Out Hotel”) that’s good for kids and big groups. A few of the rooms are literally ski-out, as in just open the door.
It’s close to: Fanny Hill, with the Assay Lift at the bottom, and Snowmass Village, which sits a short walk away down a flight of steps. Aspen is 15 minutes away.
The rooms are: simple but spacious, decorated with Snowmass Rodeo posters and other local art, and have been updated with flat-screen TVs and comfier beds. Some rooms come with a wet bar, whirlpool bathtub, extra living space, or an oversized balcony. There are a few sets of connecting rooms, a plus for families. All of the rooms come with their trademark adorable towel animals (elephants, bears), which the staff learns to do immediately upon being hired and puts on the beds during turn-down service.
They put all of the money into: maintaining and updating a property that has been here since Snowmass ski area opened in 1967. There are multiple buildings, with space for conferences and banquets, as well as a small but appealing fitness center with top-notch equipment and a terrific view of the ski hill. There’s a tiny but inviting spa where you can get a massage. Two heated pools and hot tubs keep the kids happy, and the ski valet with ski shop is staffed by knowledgeable folks. Also, be sure to wander all the way to the bottom floor to check out the “jazz club,” a multitiered cabaret with round dining tables, a stage and dance floor where the likes of Wilson Pickett, Patti LaBelle and, believe it or not, George Thorogood have played.
The bottom line: This is a laid-back hotel with a charming fireplace in the lobby for sipping a glass of wine or mug of hot chocolate and a motivated concierge desk. It isn’t fancy, but it is friendly. On Friday- Sunday evenings it features live music (recently the “Heart of the Rockies” band with Mike Taylor, who wrote “Rocky Mountain High” with John Denver, played to a packed lobby lounge). The Village Steakhouse restaurant offers a fresh soup-and-salad bar (which you can get solo for $18, or it comes with your meal) and one of the better steaks you’re going to have anywhere (the fantastic rib-eye is $35 and comes with a perfect bearnaise sauce and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes).
Kyle Wagner
