2. 108 DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017
ᄆOLD
COMFȘRTWinter escapes and escapades are yours
to enjoy far from the sand, sun and sea.
Bundle up and get ready to enjoy more
than a few chills at these 5 extremely
cool vacation spots. By Michelle Payer
3. 109inWESTON MAGAZINE
Hey,Ho,OfftotheMinesIGo
Step back nearly 200 years into the town of Dunton, a former mining
town in the Colorado Rockies that became a deserted ghost town be-
fore being brought back to life as Dunton Hot Springs, a luxury resort
complete with restored miner’s cabins (one was the former General
Store) and natural hot springs. Choose from 12 individually designed
cabins, among them Potter House, the owner’s original abode and a
private retreat that sleeps up to 10, or the romantic Dolores, an original
cabin perched beside the West Dolores River, complete with fireplace,
gas stove and Rajasthan wedding bed. When it’s time to head outside,
explore groomed cross-country ski trails or snowshoe through silent
meadows. And then there’s ice skating, snowmobiling, skiing, heli-
skiing, hiking, winter horseback riding in the canyon and, of course, the
world-famous hot springs to keep one entertained. Favored by miners,
and before them the Ute Indians while roaming their summer hunt-
ing grounds, the natural hot springs are dotted throughout the resort,
giving guests the options of locations in which to soak, from inside
the restored 19th-century bathhouse to under the stars at the source.
The Spa features holistic and therapeutic healing treatments, while a
wellness studio offers private yoga and Pilates sessions. Don’t miss the
Saloon, a local gathering place frequented by miners, trappers, cowboys
and outlaws, including Butch Cassidy and his sidekick Sundance, whose
names are carved into the bar. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served
in the Saloon, at a long antique table where miners and big cattle out-
laws shared stories of the day; however, arrangements can be made for
guests wishing to dine separately. Several major airlines provide daily
service to the region through Durango, Telluride, Cortez and Montrose
airports. Guests can either rent a car or the resort can arrange airport
transfers for the short drive. Cabin rates begin at $600 per night or
choose from several packages. Dunton Hot Springs is located at 52068
Co. Rd. 38, Dolores, Colorado; for more information, call 877-288-
9922 or visit www.DuntonHotSprings.com.
YourPrivateLuxuryIglooAwaits
Perched on the shores of Lake Geneva, with its breathtaking views of
the Swiss Alps and renowned Cinq Mondes Spa, the ultra-luxurious
Beau-Rivage Palace offers another reason to visit this winter: Two
transparent Lakeside Holiday Igloos have just opened for private tête-
à-têtes or larger gathering for up to six people. Nestled in the hotel’s
10-acre garden, the chalet-chic Nordic retreats have two conceptually
different design concepts, the first in modern elegance with frosted
silvers and gold and the other in classic alpine ski-lodge style with
wooden elements and traditional red and green accents. Both resemble
a cozy living room with couches, coffee tables and 360-degree views of
a storybook Swiss winter scene from which to tuck into legendary Swiss
fondue, dried meat from Valais, pumpkin soup, hot mulled wine or a
traditional afternoon tea with a chestnut-morellos Mont-Blanc log. The
temporary winter igloos are by reservation only and open until 10 p.m.
weeknights and until midnight Friday and Saturday through January
31, 2017. A minimum spend of $495 per hour is required for private
reservations. The convivial winter wonderland atmosphere extends
throughout the Palace grounds with the addition of the annual ice skat-
W
E KNOW WE ARE BLESSED WITH THE MOST
delicious winter weather in the northern hemisphere this
time of year. Combined with white sands, palm trees and
balmy ocean breezes, it’s the reason why many of us live here; these
five months somehow make up for sweltering summers. Still, the
idea of sitting by a fire sipping hot cocoa (or hot toddies) in a winter
wonderland is a tableau that beckons. Here we give you some of our
favorite spots to get your chill on.
Opposite: Accommodations at the
ICEHOTEL in Sweden. This page, top to
bottom: Outside and in a cabin at Dunton
Hot Springs in the Colorado Rockies; the
Beau-Rivage Palace in Lake Geneva.
4. 110 DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017
ing rink that offers beginners’ lessons upon request. Cozy up to loved
ones in the rink’s adjacent chalet, where Finnish wood burners and
warm blankets encourage guests to embrace the Nordic atmosphere.
Winter packages are available through January 8, 2017, with rates start-
ing at $404 per night. Packages include access to the breakfast buffet
and traditional mulled wine or hot chocolate in the chalet. For more
information, visit www.brp.ch.
CanadianCastle
One of North America’s most commanding castles (and UNESCO
World Heritage Site), the luxury Fairmont Chateau Frontenac is the
stuff of storybook and royal legend. Inaugurated in 1893 with in-room
bathrooms and fireplaces—unheard-of amenities in the day—it now
has 611 luxuriously appointed guestrooms, nearly eight miles of corri-
dors and 2,000 windows overlooking the St. Lawrence River and parts
of the city’s original walled fortifications. The grand hotel is in Old
Quebec (where you want to be) in the center of this historic walking
city, a short three-minute stroll to the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-
Dame de Quebec and eight minutes from Quartier Petit Champlain
boutiques. The fashionable address has hosted its share of royalty,
including King George V and Queen Elizabeth in 1939, Queen Eliza-
beth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier,
among other global glitterati attracted to the palace’s opulence and per-
sonalized service. With a multimillion-dollar renaissance just completed
in 2014, the Chateau’s guestrooms are fit for a queen (or king), and
the new urban spa beckons with a host of stress-relieving therapies. If
outdoor activities are calling, ski slopes are just 20 and 35 minutes away
and day trips can be arranged. A favorite spot for guests and locals is
the Chateau’s 1608 Wine & Cheese bar, where the passion of local
cheese is matched with wines from around the globe. For history buffs,
the hotel offers guided tours daily or self-guided tours via downloadable
apps (worthwhile and a step back in time). Ask to see the Chateau’s
roof, where four hidden beehives maintained by the hotel’s executive
chef produce some of the most delicious honey in the region. Try it for
breakfast or on afternoon scones. Don’t miss Daphne, the friendly St.
Pierre hound, who strolls the hotel as its happiest ambassador. Fairmont
Chateau Frontenac, 1 Rue des Carrières, Ville de Québec, QC G1R
4P5, Canada. Rates begin at $170 per night; for more information, call
418-692-3861 or visit www.fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec.
TheAspenoftheEast,YouSay?
While avid skiers may be familiar with Stowe Mountain Lodge, which
opened in 2008 as a 312-room ski, golf and spa hotel at the base of
Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak Vermont, they may not be aware
of its newly completed, $90 million Spruce Peak Village Center, mak-
ing this the newest and most luxurious alpine village to rival its Aspen
cousins. The Lodge is a melding of modern design concepts with a
new “Vermont-Alpine” aesthetic, constructed with woven Western Red
Cedar timber and stone veneer created from the Champlain Quarries
in the Adirondacks. Floor-to-ceiling glass brings the beauty of nature
indoors and spotlights abundant work by Vermont’s leading artists
(glassblower Simon Pearce, furniture maker Charles Shackleton, potter
Miranda Thomas) as well as local painters and blacksmiths to give the
lodge a distinctive sense of place. With new luxury residences (winter
home, anyone?) as its centerpiece, Spruce Peak Village amenities extend
to Lodge guests and include a 10,000-square-foot ice skating rink with
performances by former Olympians, the Stowe Adventure Center with
its children’s Ski and Ride school, a climbing gym that replicates some
of the local rock formations, a movie screening area, a dozen shops,
boutiques, restaurants and skier service facilities. This is in addition to
the existing performing arts center and lavish 21,000-square-foot spa,
ski-in/ski-out access to more than 100 legendary trails, snowboarding
and a heated, outdoor four-season pool. In other words, the phrase
“I’m bored” shouldn’t cross anyone’s lips. Rates begin at $319 per
night, with discounted ski lift tickets available with weekday reserva-
tions. For more information, call 800-253-4754 or visit www.stowe.com.
Mush! Mush!
Airport transfer via dog sled? Yes, please! That’s just the beginning of
the adventure when visiting the first and original ICEHOTEL in the
small village of Jukkasjärvi in northern Sweden. Since 1990, the hotel
5. 111inWESTON MAGAZINE
rises anew from the snow with a team of “ice artists” descending from
every point on the globe to harvest 1,000 tons of ice from the Torne
River and hand-craft this seasonal masterpiece. More than 50,000
people annually come to experience a night or two in a space that’s
never the same place twice. Although it varies year to year, the hotel
generally has about 65 rooms, divided into deluxe suites, art suites,
ice rooms, snow rooms and group rooms. Guests can choose between
heated accommodations or spend the night (usually only one because
of its extreme conditions) in a guestroom that’s about 23 degrees
Fahrenheit. Granted, this may be the only hotel you’ve ever heard of
that gives guests a “survival course,” warm outer clothing and Arctic
sleeping bags to prepare for a night in the snow-and-ice rooms, but
these are bragging rights you’re talking about. Drink it in; wander the
ice palace, head out on a reindeer sled excursion, snowmobile to an
Arctic wildlife safari or catch the Northern Lights before hitting the ice
block in your custom-room. If you’re wondering how the doors don’t
stick (it’s ice, after all), it’s because there aren’t any. In the morning, a
staff member draws the doorway curtain and presents hot lingonberry
juice in bed. The night’s sleep is surprisingly good in the crisp air, but
just in case you need some reviving, the hotel’s adjacent reception area
has a sauna and roaring fire to de-thaw. Prepare to tell the world about
your adventure, for upon checking out of the ICEHOTEL, you’re
presented a personalized diploma with the date and temperature inside
and outside on the night you stayed. For this once-in-a-lifetime experi-
ence, fly into Stockholm, Sweden, then take another plane to Kiruna
airport. From there, it’s just 20 minutes to ICEHOTEL by car, taxi…or
dogsled. Rates begin at $259 a night; for more information, visit www.
icehotel.com.
Clockwise from opposite left: The Beau-Rivage
Palace pool; a room in the ICEHOTEL in the
village of Jukkasjärvi in northern Sweden; inside
the Stowe Mountain Lodge; the Lodge’s ice skating
rink; the grand Fairmont Chateau Frontenac; the
Chateau’s 1608 Wine & Cheese Bar.
