When Michelle Obama skied in Vail she stayed at The Sebastian. You can to with the ski free and spa free deal at the resort’s hip hotel.
Let’s cut to the chase and say that the first lady of the United States lay her head down on these exotic linen sheets when last she skied in Vail and if it’s good enough for Michelle then, well, it’s good enough for any of us with her bank account.
Though I use the term ‘us’ very loosely as my bank account and that of the First Lady have very little in common. What we do have is a mutual love of good service, fine art, cracking hospitality and skiing.
Which is how I found myself bedding down within the four walls of my own albeit much smaller suite at The Sebastian Hotel in Vail. You may expect something grand, opulent and over the top for America’s first family but you expect wrong. The Sebastian is soothing, understated and contemporary with some quirky design elements that make guests smile. The kind of hotel you exhale into when you enter the lobby and leave formalities at the door.
Let’s start with first impressions, for they always count. The Sebastian lobby is filled with muted tones and exposed textures of stone, wood, copper and their design friends. A metal antler-esque chandelier by American artist Joe Cooper takes pride of ceiling place.
Step further in past the concierge deep within the hotel atrium and discover the library with velvet seating, plush leather, mirrors and shelved walls just begging for you to grab a newspaper, don some spectacles, cross your legs while sipping a machiatto and watch the world watching you go by.
Should you fancy something stronger than a latte then step across the atrium to Frost Bar, a shrine to hipster design long before today’s hipster beards hit puberty and sprouted. Expect flights of whiskey, craft beers and local distilled cocktails served up in a glass blown den from glass artist Scott Chambers.
Chambers is one of a plethora of artists work that features throughout the privately owned hotel and the owner’s multi million dollar art collection including artists Manuel Felguerez, Leonora Carrington and Gunther Gerzso.
Then there’s Leonora, the dining den filled with tapas and alpine bistro style fare with an impressive wine list to tempt any sommelier wannabe.
But alas, I’m here to sleep after a thigh burning day on Vail’s back bowls. I have been upgraded to an Executive One Bedroom Suite, recently furbished in soothing greys with a hint of baby blue, a far cry from the darker hotel rooms so many ski towns boast. The suite is spacious with a separate living room with flat screen tvs and Nespresso coffee machine and the bed is decked out in 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets that your body will not want to leave.
The bathroom is on the smaller side but there’s only one of me, and I have been upgraded, so who am I to complain?
I spied an outside pool with hot tub and a working gym but I used neither. There’s also a kids club style play room, didn’t use that either.
Few hotels in Vail are ski in ski out and The Sebastian is a short walk to the gondola but to make up for this they have a slope side ski valet to take the sting out of the horror of having to stroll past all those swanky shops to the gondola.
Families will enjoy the two, three and four bedroom residences and those looking for down time can retreat to the hotel’s day spa.
Rates at the hotel vary depending on time of year and accommodation level of choosing but the best package in my opinion is the Ski Free/Spa Free from US$339 per person per night which includes:
Nightly lodging for two at The Sebastian
Welcome amenity upon arrival
Sweet & savory snacks
Mini-refrigerator stocked with waters & assorted sodas
Dinner for two at Leonora*
Daily lift tickets for two*
Two 50-minute Bloom Spa signature treatments
Welcome drinks at Frost bar
Nightly turndown service with a sweet treat
On-mountain ski valet offering ski-in/ski-out valet service and access to Gondola One
Check out the hotel website for more details.
Rachael Oakes-Ash was a guest of The Sebastian and Vail Resorts
