The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

After much anticipation, the $300 million property opened in December 2009 at the family-friendly Northstar-at-Tahoe resort. The 170-room stone-and-wood lodge has a cavernous 17,000-square-foot spa with earthy treatments, like a crushed pinecone exfoliating scrub and a cedar-oil massage; a buzz-worthy restaurant, Manzanita, where star San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins’s comfort food comes with a French twist (duck meatballs; wine-braised short ribs); and a pampering “mountain valet” who will manage your gear and escort you to the snow.