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Recharge Your Batteries at These Iconic Hotels

by Dan Giesin | January 28, 2020

There’s more to skiing and snowboarding than ripping up the hill.

You’ve got have a base camp, a place where you can recharge your batteries overnight so you can rinse and repeat the next day.

But you’re more discriminate than most, and just any old hotel-motel simply won’t do. You want a property that could, just maybe, surpass your experience on the hill.

Well, you’ve come to the right place. The following are 10 hotels across Ski Country North America that will give you a little something extra on your next winter holiday.

Banff Springs Hotel

“The Castle in the Rockies” (pictured above) is one of the cornerstones of Banff National Park in Alberta. The 132-year-old edifice stands 15 stories and overlooks the Bow River Valley with an outstanding view of the 4,278-foot profile of Mt. Rundle, one of Canada’s most photographed mountains. With 757 rooms and suites, 12 restaurants, a locally sourced market and full spa facility, you’ll be able fully rebound from a day at nearby Sunshine Village and Mt. Norquay resorts.

Chateau Lake Louise

 Hard by the shore of its eponymous lake, Banff Springs’ sister hotel an hour or so upvalley has sweeping views of the Victoria Glacier and the overtowering Rocky Mountain crest. The 120-year-old hotel also has 539 rooms, seven restaurants and a wellness spa for recharging purposes. It’s also a short shuttle bus ride across the valley to the Lake Louise ski resort.

Compass Rose

Nestled in the valley that separates Snowbasin and Powder Mountain resorts, Compass Rose is a smallish boutique hotel (just 15 rooms) that has the most expansive view anywhere. The on-property Huntsville Astronomic and Lunar Observatory has an 8-inch telescope and a 16-inch telescope that allow guests to gaze into the cosmos. There’s also the famed Shooting Star saloon, the oldest drinking establishment in Utah, just down the street.

The Little Nell

Colorado’s first Five Star and Five Diamond hotel, The Little Nell, with its 92 rooms and suites, is Aspen’s only ski-in, ski-out luxury hotel. Amenities include two restaurants, three bars, a 20,000-bottle wine cellar, Aspen Mountain’s first tracks program, snowcat powder tours and the chance to participate in a late afternoon sweep of the ski resort with the ski patrol.

Madeline Hotel

With its ski-in, ski-out capability at the Mountain Village at Telluride, the Madeline dubs itself as “Your Basecamp on the Mountain.” The boutique hotel has 83 hotel rooms and 71 suites and residences, two dining options, the fabulous Black Iron bar, spa and ice skating rink.

The Mount Washington Hotel

This 118-year-old property might be the only U.S. Historic Landmark that is haunted (by the widow of the hotel’s founder/builder, so the story goes). The Mount Washington, a retreat for presidents, poets and celebrities, has 200 rooms and suites, five dining options and stunning views of the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, including the selfsame Mount Washington, the highest point in New England. It also serves a basecamp for Bretton Woods, New Hampshire’s largest ski resort.

Park Hyatt

Located a few steps from Beaver Creek’s signature Centennial lift, the Park Hyatt has 190 rooms and suites, three dining options and the Allegria Spa with its 23 treatment rooms and three couples suites. There’s also the option of booking a day of heli-skiing in the San Juan range and the Helitrax outfit’s chopper will pick you up right at the hotel.

Stein Eriksen Lodge

If skiing the perfectly groomed slopes of Deer Valley isn’t enough, how about an 18,000-bottle wine cellar or a spa that offers ski-specific treatments? The Stein Eriksen Lodge has that plus four dining options and 65 guest units (ranging from 3,000 square-foot grand suites to 375 square-foot deluxe bedrooms).

Sun Valley Lodge

The resort that put skiing on the map in the late 1930s (thank you Sun Valley Serenade), the Sun Valley Lodge has 108 rooms and suites, a massive, circular outdoor pool with views of Mt. Baldy, a skating rink (Sonia Henie!) and a 20,000 square-foot full service spa.

Timberline Lodge

Situated on a shoulder of Oregon’s Mt. Hood, the 55,000 square-foot Timberline Lodge serves as a ski-in, ski-out option for the Timberline resort, which is America’s only 12-month-long ski hill. The lodge also served as the exterior model for the haunted hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s classic The Shining.

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