As ski resorts dial into what matters most to skiers, it seems upscale on mountain lodging tops the list. Of course new lifts and trails are always welcome too. Ski resorts spas, four diamond hotels, and four season amenities all make the top ten at these favorite ski resorts.



Whistler Blackcomb is the ultimate North American ski resort with over 8,100 acres, two mountains encompassing two glaciers, accessed by 38 lifts including the impressive Peak 2 Peak Gondola. No wonder Whistler was chosen to host the 2010 Olympics,  check out all the five star Whistler ski hotels: The Four Seasons Whistler, The new AAVA Whistler Hotel, The Fairmont Château Whistler, The Whistler Westin Hotel, the Pan Pacific Whistler, The Whistler Hilton.

Vail celebrates 50 years with a new Golden Peak Gondola emanating from Vail Village. Recently Vail has added a new Four Seasons, the first in Colorado, to its plethora of premier Vail properties like Rock Resorts’ Arrabelle at Lion’s Head, and the Sebastian and Solaris in the revitalized Vail Village. Sister resort Beaver Creek still earns honorable mention with its Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch.

Sun Valley  installed a swift eight-passenger Roundhouse Gondola two seasons ago from River Run to the Round House Restaurant, the first on mountain lodge in the country and a great spot for a traditional Austrian lunch. Just eight minutes and you feel like you are in the Alps, fondue and accordion music to boot – whether you are dressed to ski or not!

Telluride continues to add challenging chutes and steeps to its trails map like Revelation Bowl, and swank properties to its Mountain Village. Staying at elevation 9,500 feet, in the luxury Telluride Capella Hotel, you can truly experience life at the top.

Jackson Hole replaced its legendary Tram to the top of Rendezvous Mountain in 2008 and upgrades the Casper chair to a high speed quad this season. Jackson Hole boasts longest continuous vertical in the U.S., at 4,139’. Jackson’s lodging properties are equally impressive, staying at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole - you will rest well after your wild Wyoming adventures.

Aspen’s Snowmass will open 230-acres of backcountry style skiing on Burnt Mountain. The Village at Snowmass has received serious sprucing up, and a gorgeous new ski in ski out hotel -The Viceroy Snowmass. Little Nell Hotel has undergone an $18 million remodel. Staying in downtown Aspen, you can be first on the Ajax gondola, or skip town to ski Aspen’s other areas, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and the biggest of Aspen’s four and our editorial favorite- Snowmass.

Northstar at Tahoe’s swank ski in/ski out Ritz Carlton Highlands has sophisticated suites, a spa and a Highlands Gondola to connect the luxury hotel to Northstar’s ski village. So this Lake Tahoe ski resort has gone ritzy and glitzy, but still offers fun family runs and plenty of terrain parks for the California snow surfers.

Always sophisticated and service oriented, Deer Valley now has an on mountain St Regis Hotel, like the one in Aspen, only better. Deer Valley’s St Regis Deer Crest has its own lift, a funicular, and butler service! Enjoy the split level infinity pool and spa after carving the silky smooth slopes before you dine at the signature Jean-Georges Restaurant.

The Canyons, Utah’s largest ski resort recently expanded Iron Mountain to encompass 4,000 skiable acres with two new quads . A new Waldorf Astoria – The Dakota Mountain Lodge and Golden Door Spa greet guests with glamour. This is the first Waldorf Astoria ski hotel, but they figured out you need your own Frostwood Gondola and an award-winning Spruce Restaurant. This is Park City’s premier place to stay rivaling Deer Valley's Montage & St Regis.

Utah ski resorts, THE US Forest Service, and the legislature are still debating the Ski Link that would interconnect Deer Valley, Park City and The Canyons to Snowbird, Alta, Solitude and Brighton  with a proposed gondola connecting Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons from the Solitude base to the Canyons - which has been proposed by Talisker, the parent company of The Canyons.

If you think skiing in the East is a gamble, then Tremblant is your bet. This top notch Quebec ski resort now has a Casino, Versant Soleil, with a gondola connecting Tremblant’s ski village to Versant Sud for gaming and nightlife – if you aren’t wiped from skiing. Quebec's Le Massif, just North of Quebec City beyond Mont Sainte Anne, has a new La Ferme Hotel plus new trails, sledding runs and lifts thanks to investment from the former owner of Cirque du Soleil.

Stowe Mountain Resort has long been the ultimate eastern ski resort, with a certain alpine elegance. Now that Spruce Village offers on slope lodging, a spa and an alpine concierge at the swank Stowe Mountain Lodge, you can go straight to après ski luxuries after laps on Stowe’s famous Front Four which now sports a new high speed quad, replaced in 2011.

Jay Peak in Vermont debuted a new Tram Haus Lodge with a Tram Bar and spa, an indoor waterpark called the Pumphouse and an indoor ice rink called the Ice Haus. Top that off with a new quad lift and Learning Center on State Side and a new dining facility, the Sky Haus atop the Jay Tram. Jay Peak also bought Burke Mountain  so look for changes at that popular Vermont ski race hill in the future.

Each of these ski resort improvements warrants a feature ski article, so we will do our best to plan a ski trip to each for the full scoop. No really, we don’t mind.