SKI CENTRAL WHITE
SKI CENTRAL WHITE WONDERLAND Spectacular snow and views from Mount Norquay in Banff. giant has always lacked quality lodging but is debuting the 31-room boutique Humbird Hotel (schweitzer.com), a ski-in/ ski-out property designed by Portland’s Skylab Architecture, a contemporary take on the chalet-style with soaring glass walls and exposed heavy wood timbers. The nation’s most popular ski resort also has a deluxe hotel opening. The Hythe Vail (thehythevail.com) is located in the town’s pedestrianized Lionshead Village, and part of Marriott’s top-tier brand, The Luxury Collection. It will feature 344 rooms, 22 suites, 16 luxurious residences, and four new restaurants. At the opposite end of the size spectrum, the Aspen Street Lodge (aspenstreetlodge.com) is Aspen’s first new boutique property in a quarter of a century, with just nine rooms and a two-bedroom duplex rooftop apartment. The lodge is geared towards singlegroup buyouts, and offers residential accommodations in the heart of downtown, near many of Aspen’s best eateries. The U.S.’s largest ski resort, Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort, offers 7,300-plus acres of widely varied terrain but has never had enough ski-in/out lodging. That’s why the Pendry Park City (pendry.com; opening January 2022) is big news. A modernist take on a traditional alpine lodge, it features 153 guest rooms, suites and residences, with interiors by internationally known Meyer Davis Studio and Kara Smith of KES Studio. Highlights include Park City’s only rooftop pool and bar, three restaurants, a spa, Pinwheel Kids Club, and rental shop. Element 29 (element29hotel.com) is a significant addition to the large pedestrianized base village at Colorado’s Copper Mountain. Known as a top training spot for Olympians and pros, Copper is also beloved by families for its user-friendly layout, easily navigated slopes, and walkable village. But among many condos, the 127-room Element 29 is the first hotel at Copper, with a prime ski-in/out location. TOP TABLES America’s ski resorts have always had plenty of top-notch dining, but while high-end steakhouses, elevated Western mountain fare, and sushi have long dominated the gourmet scene, European influences have slowly but surely been gaining a foothold. More resorts in recent years have imported the beloved dining of the Alps, and that trend continues this winter with the Alpin Room (970-923-8636), a new fine dining on-mountain option at Snowmass, by far the largest of the four ski mountains comprising the Aspen/Snowmass resort. Expect traditional mountain region dishes of the French, Swiss, and Austrian Alps, from tartiflette to schnitzel to spaetzle with duck confit. Likewise, the top culinary offering at the new Montage Big Sky is Cortina, reflecting the Northern Italian cuisine of its namesake ski town in the Dolomites (and 2026 Winter Olympics host), showcasing house-made pastas and a deep, Italian-centric wine list. Jackson Hole has long been a beef and bison lover’s destination, but the biggest food news this winter is Francophile. The region’s top restaurant operator, Fine Dining Group, acclaimed for Il Villaggio Osteria, Bin22, and several others, just opened its latest eatery, The Bistro (thebistrojacksonhole.com), right in the heart of town a few steps off the historic central square. Parisian brasserie-style dining is taken seriously, from the Burgundian escargot to goose rillettes to house-made boudin blanc sausage, certainly a Jackson first. But local western specialties still have their place in American skiing, and Utah’s most notable addition is Lakehouse at Deer Creek (thelakehousedeercreek.com), located conveniently between Park City, Sundance, and the adjacent Solitude/Brighton ski resorts. Chef/owner Tamara Stanger competed on the show “Chopped” and was acclaimed for her Phoenix restaurants before returning to her native Utah. She honors the indigenous people with a gourmet “multi-sensory” takes on intensely local ingredients including foraged mushrooms, native squashes and corns, and, of course, wild game. Timber Room (aubergeresorts. com) at the Madeline is the crown jewel in a multi-million renovation of Telluride’s Auberge Resorts property, offering another local approach with a Colorado Rockies take on upscale tapas and loaded “feast boards.” Expect small plates such as local elk tartare, Colorado cheeses and charcuterie, and offbeat choices like buttermilk fried rabbit. CALGARY AIRPORT TO BANFF: 87 miles; BOZEMAN YELLOWSTONE AIRPORT TO BIG SKY: 46 miles; EAGLE COUNTY AIRPORT TO BEAVER CREEK: 28 miles; TELLURIDE REGIONAL AIRPORT TO TELLURIDE: 6 miles; EAGLE COUNTY AIRPORT TO COPPER MOUNTAIN: 55 miles; LAKE TAHOE AIRPORT TO PALISADES TAHOE: 36 miles; EAGLE COUNTY AIRPORT TO VAIL: 35 miles; EAGLE COUNTY AIRPORT TO BRECKENRIDGE: 72 miles; EAGLE COUNTY AIRPORT TO KEYSTONE: 73 miles; JACKSON HOLE AIRPORT TO JACKSON: 9 miles; RUTLAND AIRPORT TO OKEMO: 15 miles; SANDPOINT AIRPORT TO SCHWEITZER: 12 miles; HEBER VALLEY AIRPORT TO PARK CITY MOUNTAIN RESORT: 19 miles 46 NetJets
DAN EVANS NetJets 47
