˄

1.15.14

THE CAMBRIAN

The holidays may be long gone, but ’tis still the season for hitting the slopes! Personally, we prefer our ski trips with more long jags around the fire and few long jags down the steep, cold slopes. We couldn’t resist this round-up of high-altitude, high-design getaways that have the skin bunny in all of us thrilled at the idea of an chilly getaway. Looking to skip town for a long weekend this winter? Here are the stand-outs in snowed-in travel from the experts at Tablet Hotels

When it comes to the aesthetics of the typical ski hotel, it’s sometimes hard to tell who has more sway: the designers, the bean-counters, or the taxidermists and lumbermen. Fortunately times are changing, and today there’s a generation of ski hotels redeeming the once-humble genre through bold, contemporary design. These eight hotels prove that high altitude is no excuse for stunted ambition.

HOTEL KITZHOF MOUNTAIN DESIGN RESORT

Kitzbühel, Austria — Set in a fashionable ski town in the classic Austrian Alps mold, Hotel Kitzhof takes the familiar materials of a traditional Alpine lodge — black-and-white photos of olden-days skiers, an abundance of pine, antlers mounted on the walls — and transforms them into a modern design hotel that’s truly worthy of the title.
Book my room at Hotel Kitzhof Mountain Design Resort →

AMANGANI

Jackson Hole, Wyoming — With their combination of thoughtfully conceived minimalist aesthetics and every-last-surface maximal luxury, the Aman hotels draw travelers to the farthest corners of the earth. And their Wyoming outpost — with the Tetons as a backdrop, excellent skiing a short ride away, and of course a world-class spa — is certainly no exception.
Book my room ay Amangani →

ALTAPURA

Val Thorens, France — Set in the Alps’ highest-altitude ski resort town, Altapura redeems the notion of the old French ski chalet by refashioning its traditional elements into something completely new. Here the wooden beams, the animal furs, and even the taxidermy somehow look positively post-modern, for a hotel that feels both cushy and cutting-edge.
Book my room at Altapura →

HÔTEL LA FERME

Baie-St-Paul, Quebec — Thirty minutes from the slopes of Le Massif, the new Hôtel La Ferme is one of the most intelligently designed ski hotels we’ve seen in a long time. Its list of sustainable features is a long one, but perhaps best of all is the hotel’s own train station. Instead of dealing with driving, guests can hop onboard and enjoy the scenic ride to or from the mountain, coffee or cocktail in hand.
Book my room at Hotel La Ferme→

MINERAL LODGE

Villaroger, France — Conceived by the celebrated architect and philosopher Christian Girard and constructed on the ruins of an old farmhouse, Mineral Lodge is a destination unto itself. Its interiors are open and airy, with soaring ceilings, huge skylights and gigantic glass panes — perfect for gaping at the slopes of Les Arcs Paradise just outside.
Book my room at Mineral Lodge →

HOTEL & GASTHOF ROTE WAND

Lech am Arlberg, Austria — Founded by Swiss migrants in the 14th century and hidden high in the mountains of Austia’s westernmost state, Lech am Arlberg is in most ways perfectly old-fashioned. The exception, of course, is Hotel & Gasthof Rote Wand. With an abundance of white Austrian maple and some lightly applied modern design pieces, the rooms are simple, stylish and strikingly contemporary.
Book my room at Hotel & Gasthof Rote Wand → 

 

AZUR

Queenstown, New Zealand — From your lavish villa at Azur, you can hop in a helicopter, fly twenty-five minutes into the mountains and drop straight into your first run. This, after all, is heli-skiing country. And at the end of the day, there’s an immensely comfortable room whose deep tub has panoramic views of the peaks outside — just the spot for contemplating the next day’s runs.
Book my room at Azur →

THE CAMBRIAN

Adelboden, Switzerland — The Cambrian would stand out at any price, its crisp modernist interior amplifying the drama of the high Alpine landscape, but with rooms starting well south of $100 a night, it’s also a steal. The hotel’s hometown is a bit less glamorous than some of its neighbors, but with the same world-class skiing close at hand, it seems like they’re all too happy to keep it that way.
Book my room at The Cambrian →

Bottom banner image
From our friends