The St. Regis Aspen

The location is phenomenal, at the foot of Aspen mountain, between the gondola and lift 1A. This is more than a ski lodge, however, and Aspen is a year-round destination — in fact the proximity to the downtown area’s restaurants, shopping and nightlife is just as much a selling point as convenient ski access.

Interiors are eminently tasteful, erring neither toward fussy opulence nor faux-rustic western cliché. Robust furnishings and warm colors set the tone, and textures are rich, with plenty of wood and leather — this is a hotel with no time for antiseptic design-magazine chic.

The amenities, however, are top-shelf, with thirty-inch LCD televisions, Bose CD players and Frette bedding in each guest room. High-speed internet is standard, both wired and wireless, and the bathrooms are a vision in marble, with double vanities and Bijan bath products.

For a hotel restaurant, one could do a sight worse than Olives, helmed by the celebrity chef Todd English. What could be just a hotel dining room is instead an experience on a par with Mr. English’s other outposts on the coasts and overseas. Rande Gerber’s Whiskey Rocks is no more, but the Shadow Mountain Lounge remains, as a slightly more sedate nightspot, serving cocktails, aperitifs and wines with a view of Aspen Mountain and a suitably grand fireplace around which to gather.