This summer has been a crazy couple of months. We started off by moving into a new house at the end of April (I know, technically thats spring) and after spending most of May unpacking were looking forward to calm couple of months. Clearly that didn’t exactly pan out that way.
Being a law enforcement family we’re always on our toes so when Drew’s department needed some shift coverage over the summer he ended up working a ton throughout June. By the end of the month we’d barely seen each other so we both took a few days off to get out of town and just reconnect. With the mountains at our backdoor there are dozens of amazing places to for a weekend getaway.
We decided to head up i70 to one of Drew’s favorite towns and check into the newly opened Vail Doubletree for a long weekend. Located in West Vail, the Doubletree opened last spring providing the ideal getaway location just outside the hustle of the main Vail Village. I’m a huge Doubletree fan and if I’m totally honest with myself, the cookies were what originally got me hooked. Being able to pick a hotel that I know exactly what I can expect is a huge bonus for me.
The main lobby is a modern take on Colorado’s western heritage with a beautiful wood wall providing a backdrop to reception and a stunning gas fireplace as the centerpiece of the room. Shuffleboard and comfortable lounge chairs make the lobby ideal for catching up while driving a beer from Pivot62.
The rooms are just as relaxing, perfect for enjoying mountain air from your balcony (if your room is on the third floor). We stayed in a king room but also took a peek at one of the loft suites at the end of the hall. Available in either a 1 king or 2 king loft the two story suite accommodations would be ideal for a group or family ski trip.
Back on the first level a state of the art fitness center provides everything you need to stay in shape while traveling and a full laundry on-site for washing clothing muddy from hiking or drying ski gear before hitting the slopes the next day.
My favorite part of the hotel was definitely the pool. With live music in the afternoon and a saline pool and hot tub I knew exactly where I was going to be spending the rest of my weekend, cocktail in hand.
Our first night in town we headed into Vail Village for dinner and enjoyed wandering through the shops. Vail is incredibly walker friendly and the Doubletree provides a complimentary shuttle right into town so that there’s no need to worry about parking or finding a taxi back. With the chalet decor and architecture throughout town Vail is unique from other cities in Colorado and gives the feeling that you’ve been transported around the world to Switzerland instead of just driving up the highway from Denver.
We woke early on Sunday to head down to the attached Westside Cafe for breakfast before joining the crew at Charter Sports for a guided ride down Vail Pass. Charter Sports is located right in the lobby of the Doubletree so we didn’t have to go anywhere to get started on our day.
The last time I really road a bicycle was in college so I was a bit worried about how difficult this might actually be. After being fitted for the proper bike, we road the Charter Shuttle up to the Vail Pass Summit. By starting at the top of the pass, you don’t have all the heavy work as if biked the entire trail. Our guide Tom helped get us situated with some instructions and within minutes we were off.
Most of the trail is downhill but a few tricky parts really got my legs burning. There is no rush to get through the trail so throughout the ride we enjoyed water breaks and learned from Tom about the history of the area, places to watch for rock climbers during the winter and swung through the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens and Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Once in town we dismounted to walk through the farmers market and people watch along the way. Tom shared the right place to get back on the road and we were off up the trail towards the hotel.
The entire ride took approximately 3 hours and was the perfect amount of exercise for our weekend getaway. If you plan to bike Vail Pass I highly recommend going with a guide. There are so many things to stop and see along the way that would be hard to do without a local expert leading the trail.
After lunch back in town and a walk through the Vail Arts festival we went back to the hotel to enjoy massages at Simply Massage. Simply Massage is more massage therapist than spa, but don’t let that hold you back from this amazing experience. Both Drew and I agreed that these were some of the best massage’s we’ve ever had. My masseuse was incredibly knowledgeable and talked through some of the aches and pains I get from sitting in front of a computer for hours on end. She even shared some stretches I could do to help stay out of pain after my session was over. A sixty minute massage at Simply Massage was just $75, a price that can not be beat in the mountains.
There are several other mountain locations to choose from by I love that Simply Massage is so conveniently located right off the lobby. It was the perfect treat for recovering from the days ride. During the winter months there would be no better way to wrap up a day on the slopes.
Our plan was to head back home tomorrow, so after an afternoon nap we hit the town for dinner at the Mountain Standard. This gastropub has a small menu but each item is packed with a punch. Located just off the riverwalk the open patio allows you to enjoy the outdoors while dining inside. We wrapped up the evening by heading over to a music venue to enjoy drinks and live music before calling it a night.
It was past the last shuttle of the evening so we asked some locals the best way to get back to the Doubletree and they recommended snagging a ride on the free bus. We jumped on at the transit center and let the driver know where we wanted to depart so he could give us a heads up to our start. Vail’s bus system is entirely free and runs until 1:30am so there’s really no need to pay extra for a taxi unless you are staying off the beaten trail.
After one final night in the luxuriously comfortable Doubletree beds we were headed back to reality. The Vail Doubletree was the perfect mountain weekend getaway for us and I can’t wait to head back up during ski season!
—
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary stay at the Doubletree Vail to inspire this post. All opinions are my own.
No Comments