11 Luxury Ski Resorts for Real Estate Moguls
Before the snows melt, there's still time for real estate moguls to take on some real moguls…on the slopes. So, here’s a list of some of the most luxurious resorts for enjoying winter sports:
1. Yellowstone Club
Big Sky, Montana
High Rollers: Bill Gates, Justin Timberlake, hotelier Barry Sternlicht
Your Digs: Custom residences or ranches
Cost: $30k annual dues plus cost of required property purchase (custom residences start at $3.65M, ranches cost up to $18M, and there are private home sites to build your dream vacation home).
Perks: 13,600 acres of private land, including 2,200 of “private powder” surrounded by wilderness. You used to need a minimum $3M in liquid assets to even be considered, but that’s apparently no longer the case. Security is handled by former Secret Service Agents. And there’s a strict, no ego policy.
Recreational Offerings: Golf, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, archery, rock climbing and more
2. Green Mountain Inn
Stowe, Vermont
High Rollers: Unnamed presidents and celebrities
Your Digs: Three-bedroom townhouse
Cost: Up to $879/night
Perks: Tons of shops and dining in a thriving arts community. But beware of Room 302. It’s rumored to be haunted.
Recreational Offerings: Ice climbing, dog sledding, sleigh rides, snowmobiling, sledding
3. St. Regis Resort
Aspen, Colorado
High Rollers: Luke and Owen Wilson, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, LeAnn Rimes, Meg Ryan
Your Digs: Guest Villas
Cost: $799 and up
Perks: The Remede Spa has a steam cave, cold and hot plunge pools, and an oxygen lounge.
Recreational Offerings: Paragliding, snowmobiling, dog sledding, hot air ballooning, ice skating
4. Little Nell
Aspen, Colorado
High Rollers: Jack Nicholson, Mariah Carey, Kevin Costner, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson
Your Digs: The Walter Paepcke Suite at Little Nell
Cost: Unknown
Perks: Two stone, gas log fireplaces
Recreational Offerings: Yoga for skiers at 11,212 feet, Jeep tours, fly fishing, snowcat tours, wine tasting, cultural activities
5. Deer Valley Resort
Park City, Utah
High Rollers: Dustin Hoffman, Jane Fonda, Bruce Springsteen
Your digs: Stein Eriksen Lodge. Private homes and condominiums are coming soon
Cost: From $895/night to around $1,750/night
Perks: It’s the most expensive ski resort in the US. Only a limited number of tickets are sold per day, and no snowboarding is allowed. Celebrity attractions include Celebrity SkiFest in December and Sundance Film Festival in January.
Recreational Offerings: Biking, golfing, shopping, swimming, tennis, fishing
6. Telluride, Colorado
High Rollers: Tom Cruise, Oprah, Jerry Seinfeld
Your Digs: Lumiere Telluride’s 3,718 SF five-bedroom penthouse suite
Cost: $1,150-plus/night
Perks: A private chef
Recreational Offerings: rock climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, hiking, aviation tours, hot air balloon rides, paragliding
7. Sun Valley, Idaho
High Rollers: Bruce Willis (who used to own a mountain), Larry David, Ashton Kutcher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, several Kennedys
Your Digs: six bedroom/six bath Dollar Cottage
Cost: $1,700/night
Perks: America’s first luxury winter resort. You get a touch of history from the place that catered to the likes of Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway.
Recreational Offerings: SnowSports School, Nordic skiing, sleigh rides, ice skating, tubing, sport shooting, hiking, biking, golf, tennis, horseback riding
8. Beaver Creek, Colorado
High Rollers: Kelsey Grammer, Tiger Woods, Tom Hanks, Justin Timberlake
Your Digs: Trappers Cabin
Cost: $650/person/day ($450/child) on top of base price for premium package
Perks: Endless champagne and breakfast and dinner by a private chef
Recreational Offerings: Tubing, snowmobile tracks, ski bikes, dog sledding, snowboarding school, snowshoe rentals
9. Vail, Colorado
High Rollers: The Obamas, Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Your Digs: The four bedroom/five bath Game Creek Chalet at The Arrabelle at Vail Square
Cost: $1,200-plus/night
Perks: Rooftop hot tubs and lap pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, Tavern on the Square upscale alpine dining, pet amenities
Recreational Offerings: Golf, rafting, fly-fishing, horseback riding, dog sledding, sleigh ride, snowmobiling, Adventure Ridge (a high elevation playground)
10. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
High Rollers: Dick Cheney, Harrison Ford, Judge Judy, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Jim Carrey, Sandra Bullock
Your Digs: 3k SF, four bedroom penthouse at Snake River Lodge & Spa
Cost: $1,448/night
Perks: Wildlife safaris, a 17k SF five-story spa with natural light and views of Jackson Hole Mountain, swim thru indoor/outdoor pools
Recreational Offerings: Hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, bungee bouncing for kids, summer concert series
11. Powder Mountain, Utah
We admit to a bias, which is why we're putting this at the end of the list. PowMow, as it's nicknamed, is the pristine 10,000 acre mountain an hour north of Salt Lake that our co-founder Elliott Bisnow's company, Summit, purchased in 2013.
The place: Largest skiable mountain in the US, with 172 runs. Regularly ranked at the top in America for powder by Ski Magazine. Four beautiful states visible as you ski.
What's different: Unlike most resorts, which feature villages at the base of mountains, Summit is building one at the top, surrounded by a phased development of 500 eco-friendly homes, condos and timeshares. Instead of the mega-homes you'd find in an Aspen, they'll be modest in size and geared to community, with all-season programming on business, policy, philanthropy, futurism, wellness and personal improvement.
Why Summit: Its conferences have featured speakers like Bill Clinton, Mark Cuban and Ted Turner; musicians like The Roots and John Legend; and attracted founders of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and hundreds of other innovators in business, arts and nonprofits. Fast Company named it one of the 11 best conferences in the world.
