Tivoli Lodge

Serious skiers have long been drawn to Vail’s vast bowls and wide-open slopes, but the town itself was in a decades-long deep freeze—until now. The mountainside hamlet is in the midst of what’s been dubbed the Billion-Dollar Renewal, a wave of redevelopment that includes the $30 million basement-to-roof shingles rebuild of the Tivoli Lodge. Constructed in 1968 by owners Bob and Diane Lazier, two happy-go-lucky ski bums, the 62-room hotel has kept its Tyrolean feel but added digital-age comforts: computer-controlled lighting systems, Swedish walk-in showers with body jets, wireless access throughout the entire hotel. Rooms in the northwest-facing tower have sweeping views—from the Gore Range to glittering Vail village.