Beaver Creek, Colorado
Perfectly positioned between Beaver Creek and Arrowhead, the Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch is a luxury skier’s paradise. Opened in 2002, the 180 room hotel seems to have been created with the ultimate skier in mind. The hotel provides both privacy as well as Rocky Mountain luxury, and this is obvious from the moment you drive through the private, secured, gated entrance and pull up to the pine log lodge that’s filled with the aromas of fresh baked cookies and hot chocolate.
The hotel is situated at the base of the Bachelor Gulf chairlift, providing some of the best ski-in, ski-out access. Thanks to the hotel’s Ski Concierge Service, hotel guests can literally start their day with a delicious breakfast at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, put on their ski boots, grab some hot tea or cider, walk out the front door, identify their skies, and walk to the lift. A ski valet will carry the guest’s skies and place them on the lift. The hotel prides itself on this service that also aids in overnight storing and cleaning of equipment along with accessing boots and poles. The Ski Concierge is also “one stop shopping” for purchasing lift tickets, organizing private or group lessons and aiding in ski and other equipment rental.
In addition to the Ski Concierge, this family friendly resort, also offers a Ski Nanny service. For $75 per child, the Ski Nanny will meet the children, provide a light breakfast, and then load them on the bus that takes them to their ski lesson. At the end of the day, the Ski Nanny picks up the kids and returns them to the hotel for an afternoon snack and movie.
With an annual snowfall of 310 inches, average daily temperatures of 45 degrees and over 1,600 acres of terrain, Beaver Creek is a skier’s wonderland. However, downhill skiing is not all that’s available. The resort offers snowshoeing, snowmobiling, dogsledding and cross-country skiing. Every day at 3:15 pm, the hotel lights its famous fire pit and provides smores and hot chocolate, which makes it the unofficial hang out for relaxing throughout the day and even après ski.
For those that prefer to stay indoors or are in need of more relaxation, the resort also has a 21,000 square-feet, Forbes four star rated spa which includes 19 treatment rooms, a luxurious mani/pedi room, a separate steam room for gals and guys, as well as their famous rock-enclosed Grotto. There is also a state of the art fitness facility with free weights, cardio machines, personal trainers, and classes available.
The Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch offers a multitude of dining options including Wolfgang Puck’s famous Spago Restaurant, both a AAA Four-Diamond Restaurant and a 2010 Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. Spago offers seasonal American cuisine with an Asian accent. The menu features Spago’s classic items as well as newer ones inspired by the season as well as the local environment. A meal here is a must during your stay. For more casual dining, the hotel is home to five different restaurants ranging from the cozy Buffalo Bar, with live music, to 7, a Dean and Deluca sandwich shop.
One of my favorite surprises that the hotel offered was its resident Labrador Retriever and mascot, Bachelor, who is available by reservation Monday through Friday and on select weekends for guests to take on walks, hikes, and snow-showing via their Loan-a-Lab program. Bachelor is booked months in advance during peak seasons and is quite popular with both the children and adult guests. When Bachelor is not “on loan,” he can be found wandering the resort grounds or lounging by the fireplace in his comfortable Ritz-Carlton dog bed, known as “The Bachelor Pad.” The Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch is actually Beaver Creek’s’ only dog friendly resort, and was recently named one of “America’s Best Dog Friendly Hotels” by Travel and Leisure Magazine. The hotel takes dog friendliness to an entirely new level offering overstuffed dog beds, dog bowls and organic treats to all four legged guests.
The hotel prides itself on assuring that the property is a “home away from home” and the staff goes above and beyond in order to make guests welcome. As I’ve heard it, the Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch “didn’t reinvent the wheel, they merely refined it.”
The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch
0130 Daybreak Ridge
Avon, CO 81620
970-748-6200
www.ritzcarlton.com