Vail Mountain Lodge & Spa

Vail Mountain Lodge is an upper-middle-range lodge-style hotel that's popular with the ski crowd. It occupies a lovely building with a mix of stone and wood exteriors that's surrounded on all sides by fir trees. Inside, the lobby has a contemporary lodge look, with a mix of off-white plaster walls and unfinished pine siding, plus dark tan stone floors and soft velvet chairs in shades of pale gray and tan. Pops of color appear in the form of orange-dominant earthy wall art, while an antler chandelier completes the look. Most guests, including groups, families, and couples, are here to ski or hike. 

This hotel is situated right on the edge of Vail Village, a short walk to the Vail Village main drag. It's a four-minute walk to both the charming, cobblestoned stretch of Gore Creek Drive lined with shops and restaurants and to the Vista Bahn ski lift. The Colorado Ski Museum is just a tad bit further away, while the Ford Amphitheater takes four minutes to reach by car. It's a one-hour drive to the hot springs at Glenwood Springs. Eagle County Regional Airport is about a 30-minute drive away. The Denver International Airport takes about two hours and 15 minutes to get to by car. 

The lodge offers rooms and suites as well as Two- and Three-Bedroom Condos that range in size from 1,200 to 2,100 square feet (112 to 195 square meters). Rooms measure 400 square feet (37 square meters) and come with either two queen beds or one king bed and a similar set of amenities, including capsule coffeemakers, mini-fridges, desks, small flat-screen TVs, iPod docks, free Wi-Fi, and gas fireplaces and/or balconies in many. Decor is consistent across categories, with rich wooden furniture and leather chairs, plush beds with red accents and down comforters, and beige carpeting. Family Suites are similar in terms of decor and amenities, but with separate living areas and bedrooms, while the condos look like the rooms and suites but come with all sorts of homey extras, including living rooms with dining areas and elegantly equipped kitchens with huge chrome-finish refrigerators, microwaves, stoves, and ovens along with all the necessary crockery and dishes for preparing and serving meals.  Bathrooms have separate vanity areas, plus main bathroom areas with heated stone floors, walk-in showers, and separate soaking tubs. Aveda toiletries, hairdryers, and magnifying mirrors are provided. 

This property has great amenities, particularly given its compact size, but guests pay for them with a daily resort fee. The fitness center is a huge highlight, with all sorts of cardio and weight-training equipment on offer plus a two-story rock climbing wall off to one side. Fitness clothes are available for sale. Classes such as outdoor fitness, TRX, yoga, and Pilates are also available. Attached to the fitness center is a spa with massages and other treatments, plus an indoor hot tub in the locker room and a shop selling beauty products and loungewear. There's also a pair of lovely outdoor whirlpool hot tubs on a deck overlooking the forest, and they are heated and open for year-round use. A hot, free breakfast is served at Terra Bistro, which also offers a happy hour with an extensive cocktail menu. Lunch is not served here, but dinner is. Menus change seasonally, but generally feature a selection of vegetable, seafood, and meat items, with lots of starters and sides for sharing. Wi-Fi is included with the resort fee, but garage parking costs extra.