Sonnenalp Resort of Vail

When you meant to book St. Anton’s Hotel Post but couldn’t find the time to head across the pond for a ski vacation, the Sonnenalp in Vail is a close second. With its hatched wood beams, cutout shutters, and wooden flower boxes at almost every windowsill, this 127-room lodge is a model in Bavarian style that actually feels authentic. Most of the rooms and suites have fireplaces and heated floors in the marble bathrooms, and many have views of the mountain and Gore Creek. The Euro-style spa—with a kiva fireplace lounge at its center—attracts the occasional Euro-style spa-goer, to whom towels are a mere accessory rather than a necessity. But then, that—and the lederhosen-wearing staff—is what lends the place its Old World feel.