Ski season is already well underway, and the call to the mountains might just snowball into something stronger once you’ve set your sights on a chic alpine stay. New openings in the Austrian and Swiss Alps make for piste-perfect European escapes, and a family-run lodge in Colorado’s iconic Vail Valley is drawing a more relaxed crowd compared with Aspen’s billionaire-beloved slopes.
1. Eriro, Austria
At an elevation of 1,550 metres, Eriro is an everything-included retreat cradled within Austria’s Tyrolean Alps. Dramatic views of snow-capped peaks and towering pine trees greet you from the gondola, which whizzes high-altitude arrivals up for fireside check-ins. Each of the nine bedrooms is clad in stone and recycled timber from the property’s original huts, and is named after old German words—including Boum meaning ‘tree’, or Felisa, meaning rock—for the views which unfold through soaring glass windows across the Zugspitze. Sitting at the edge of the Ehrwalder Alm ski area, Eriro offers ski-in ski-out access to the slopes and lifts between the Wetterstein and Mieminger ranges. Weary muscles are soothed in the nature-inspired spa’s spruce sauna, with nourishing dishes from the zero-waste kitchen keeping mountaineers well fuelled.
2. GRACE LA MARGNA ST MORITZ, Switzerland
As the first hotel to open in St. Moritz in 50 years, GRACE LA MARGNA ST MORITZ is fresh-faced in more ways than one. A refreshing contrast to the Swiss resort’s palatial grand dames, GRACE LA MARGNA manages to feel cool, contemporary, and classic all at once. The original La Margna was built in the Art Nouveau style, and the recently added Grace wing is all clean lines and mountain-framing angles (with well positioned beds to take in the Albula peaks cascading down towards the frozen lake below). It’s one of the few year-round places to stay in St. Moritz, and in winter, the hotel’s designer sports shop kits out snow-seekers with all the latest gear to shoop-shoop around the Upper Engadine. Satisfy après-ski appetites with fondue in cosy MaxMoritz, or tuck into prime cuts cooked to flame-grilled perfection in Beefbar (only open during the ski season).
3. Valsana Hotel Arosa, Switzerland
Taking sustainable luxury to new heights in Switzerland’s Schanfigg Valley, Valsana Hotel Arosa is carbon neutral and powered by a unique ice battery — a future-forward temperature converter which is combined with a sophisticated heat recovery system. Natural alpine materials like wood, stone and glass create an authentic chalet atmosphere throughout this Considerate Collection hotel, and the beds are topped with Elky 100% natural fibre mattresses to aid your post-adventure rest and recovery. Stop by the Gisler equipment shop inside the hotel, then take your first ski runs from the Weisshorn summit to Mittelstation, with yet more slopes to carve across the wider Arosa Lenzerheide ski area. Snowshoeing, ice bathing, and after-dark sledging (followed by mulled wine and fondue on your balcony) are also on the winter agenda.
4. Sitzmark Vail, Colorado
Burrowed into the treeline along the banks of Gore Creek, Sitzmark Vail is just a hop, skip and slalom away from Vail Valley’s Gondola One. Primed for winter action, Sitzmark Vail offers an exclusive shipping service for your ski gear, transporting everything you need for the slopes from your home to the hotel (and back again). Thoughtful touches also come in the form of ski and snowboard storage, plus a discounted rental service. The season runs from November to April, and Vail’s legendary back bowls are a particular draw, renowned for their expansive, treeless terrain and endless off-piste potential. Back in Vail Village, sip signature Sitzmark spritzes in the Distillery tasting room while plotting out tomorrow’s ski runs.
5. Wylder Hotel Windham, Catskills
Hunker down in the Hudson Valley at Wylder Hotel Windham, a revamped Victorian manor house surrounded by snow-blanketed hills in the Great Northern Catskills. With Windham Mountain Club on its doorstep, the Wylder is in pole position for hitting the groomed trails. You can also step out in free-to-borrow snowshoes for a fresh take on the Windham Path, a scenic two-and-a-half-mile loop through frosted forests. Back at base, beautifully crafted historic lodges cocoon guests with caramel-toned oak floors, claw-footed tubs and soaring mountain or river views from the balconies. Defrost after the day’s activities in one of the hotel’s wood-fired barrel saunas or gathered around the crackling firepit with some warming tender beef stew.
6. Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa, Jackson
Reopening its doors last year after a devastating fire in 2019, Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa is every inch the Jackson bolthole following its complete rebuild. Now open for its first winter season with refreshed on- and offsite offerings, the family-run hotel has revived its much-loved Western-inspired décor with salvaged artworks from the original collection, which sit alongside handcrafted wooden furniture, deep soaking tubs, and river-rock fireplaces. Former Yellowstone Club chef Hugo Goodwin helms the exhibition-style open kitchen in Wild Sage, with a focus on local game and sustainable seafood. Treatments at Body Sage Spa are designed to restore the skin and reinvigorate muscles after exposure to the elements in nearby Grand Teton National Park or Jackson Hole’s challenging slopes.
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