The world’s culinary center of gravity will shift to the flowering peaks of Aspen later this month for the annual, can’t-miss Food & Wine Classic. While top chefs will provide the menu, The MICHELIN Guide has the short-list for stays, with luxury accommodations to match the first-in-class dining.
Read on for our picks, from a Bauhaus masterpiece to a slope-side resort where the spa is as good as the ski access.
The ski-in, ski-out advantage of The Little Nell hotel – it sits right at the foot of the Silver Queen Gondola – is unmatched in the wintertime. But come summer, that prime station means tip-top access to the blanket of wildflowers blooming on Aspen Mountain. Look for crimson-colored Indian paintbrush, the Rocky Mountain iris, and black-eyed Susans as you off-road in an Audi on one of the hotel’s organized adventure outings.
Inspector Notes: The Little Nell’s unassuming name can’t hide the fact that it might just be the finest ski hotel in the United States. And while it’s been an A-list favorite for more than a generation, it’s never content to rest on its laurels — the most recent renovation, by the New York studio Champalimaud Design, leaves it looking like the very picture of modern mountain luxury.
Nightlife is central to an authentic Aspen experience, and no one throws a party quite like the St. Regis. There are sabered champagne toasts held each day at sunset (a tradition the luxury chain carries out around the world) and a lively crowd of regulars at the sultry Mountain Social Bar & Lounge. The Snow Lodge, a supper club and concert series from the team behind Montauk’s storied Surf Lodge, is expected to continue its residency into the summer.
Inspector Notes: Interiors are eminently tasteful, erring neither toward fussy opulence nor faux-rustic western cliché. Robust furnishings and warm colors set the tone, and textures are rich, with plenty of wood and leather — this is a hotel with no time for antiseptic design-magazine chic.
When the MOLLIE Aspen dropped in to the Mountain West hotel scene at the start of the 2023 ski season, it sent eyebrows soaring. There are no stuffed moose heads at this boutique hotel or tartan furnishings. There are plush leather Mario Bellini sofas and striking brick and wood motifs, a luxe Bauhaus reflection of the one-time mining town. From Brooklyn design firm Post Company, there is no more stylish stay today in Aspen than the MOLLIE.
Inspector Notes: The MOLLIE Aspen stands just off Main Street, a quick shuttle ride from Aspen Mountain’s lifts. But in its style and atmosphere it’s a world apart from even the most fashionable ski hotels, none of which can match it in terms of architecture and design — much less a restaurant and bar by New York’s Death & Co.
With the town overrun by foodies for the festival, a table at Prospect, the restaurant in the handsome Hotel Jerome, may be hard to land, but it’s worth planning ahead for a meal here. The sourdough boule is a signature starter, while the best local ingredients shine in dishes like the lamb loin, which arrives with caponata and mint pesto. J-Bar, the hotel’s ornate carved-wood saloon, dates back to the 1800s, when Aspen was full of cowboys and miners.
Inspector Notes: In terms of history and Western/Victorian atmosphere, the Jerome is the clear frontrunner. Think of it as a swanky, classic city hotel, but one which just happens to be located in a picturesque smallish mountain town — and, come winter, doubles handily as a ski hotel.
The Viceroy Snowmass is the only ski-in, ski-out luxury resort on the mountain, so outdoorsmen and women are first in line here for access to the trails. But the sprawling hotel spa makes for just as nice a plan. Treatments are inspired by local indigenous customs, like a massage performed with the heartleaf Arnica, a curative flower native to the Roaring Fork Valley. The slope-side heated pool and soaking tubs are open year-round.
Inspector Notes: There’s plenty of bare wood, but none of it is exactly rough-hewn, and despite the occasional antler the look is more modern-Zen than Alpine-château. The guest rooms, by Jean-Michel Gathy, are perhaps a little more sober, the bedrooms stylish and the living spaces nothing if not tasteful.
Hero image: The St. Regis Aspen
