World's Best

The Top 10 Colorado Resorts

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Published on September 8, 2021

This year's World's Best Awards survey was open for voting January 11 through May 10, 2021, as destinations around the world were lifting COVID-19 restrictions. Survey rules have always allowed readers to reflect on their travel experiences over a three-year period. We hope that this year's honorees will inspire your own travels as you get back out into the world.

Colorado resorts have long beckoned Travel + Leisure readers to rustic-chic mountain towns like Vail, Aspen, and Telluride. Being an ultra-popular natural playground year-round pushes resorts to up their game, which means that the best resorts in Colorado are also some of the most luxurious accommodations in the nation.

Viceroy Snowmass during winter — Courtesy of Viceroy Snowmass

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels were rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. Properties were classified as city or resort based on their locations and amenities.

Most of the properties that T+L readers consider the best resorts in Colorado are sought-after ski hotels. Readers love No. 3 Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection, in particular for its proximity to the slopes: "Great location," touted one reader, who loved its ski-in, ski-out setup. Another called it their "go-to in Telluride."

No. 2 C Lazy U Ranch gives guests an elevated taste of the simple homesteading life through activities like cattle-pushing clinics and trap shooting. Readers also hailed it as "one of the most picturesque ranches in the wild west." Another praised it for the "wonderful, warm staff, fine cuisine, and rustic-luxe accommodations." But according to another, it's "the horses that will win your heart forever."

Below, see the full list of the best resorts in Colorado, as voted by T+L readers, and the myriad reasons Viceroy Snowmass came out on top.

1. Viceroy Snowmass, Snowmass Village

Viceroy Snowmass interior suite — Courtesy of Viceroy Snowmass

The majestic peaks of Snowmass provide a serene backdrop for this inaugural category winner. In winter, the hotel is ski-in, ski-out, but in warmer seasons, it features some of the country's best hiking and biking trails. Among the year-round draws: its 7,000-square-foot spa, where guests can indulge in treatments inspired by local Ute Native traditions. Readers particularly enjoy the location and the guest rooms, which one reader described as "large and well-appointed, with luxury and function intersecting nicely." Another summed up the property as "a mountain utopia."

Score: 95.57
More information: viceroyhotelsandresorts.com