The town is awash with famous faces during the winter, and many choose this as their temporary sanctuary on snow. Nestled at the foot of Aspen Mountain, the hotel is a daring attempt by San Francisco architect Mike Moore to bring the glamour of Aspen’s slopes indoors. Its sleek interior combines cutting-edge furniture and groovy design with old school alpine chalet favourites, including a huge crackling stone fireplace as the lobby centrepiece.
Whilst the palace is style obsessed to the max, it still retains an unpretentious and homespun charm, reflecting the mood of Aspen itself.The suites for example are splattered in sunflower yellow and decked out with ski photos, pine furniture and faux fur blankets. But little things, like oxygen bottles in bedroom suites, are a constant reminder that the Sky is not just any hotel.
After the slopes shut, guests make a beeline for the 39 Degrees Lounge, the hotel’s bar and epicentre of schmoozing. Its compelling mix of rough-hewn timber and custom-made furniture make a striking first impression. As do the waitresses: typically young and female with strikingly attractive Scandinavian accents.
The bar serves a mix of alpine cocktails, including Sex on the Slopes (peach schnapps, raspberry vodka, and orange and cranberry juice), and the Botox Martini (“Get a Fresh Face for the Night!’’), complete with wrinkly reconstituted cherry. The lounge is filled with low, boomerang-shaped couches in muted colours, polka dot pillows, abstract animal print rugs, and a massive undulating landscape sofa that hogs and dominates the centre of the room.
In spring, when the Colorado sun turns the snow as soft as a slush puppy, the lounge’s glass doors slide wide open. Everyone spills out onto the patio, with a swimming pool and hot tub, more low couches and a poolside bar. Despite its ultra-hip status, the owners are not ones to rest on their laurels, and have just had plans approved for a major redevelopment into a luxury boutique hotel.
Rates start at $165 per night, rising to $1,499, which includes private ski lessons and two hours dog walking, in case you come with your pooch. The Sky Hotel, Aspen,Colorado,
www.skyhotel.com
