By Neil English
Mixed groups of keen skiers and non-skiers face the most difficult of choices
when it comes to finding resorts which genuinely cater for everyone. So where
to go if you have a mixed group on your winter
holiday? Here are a few suggestions:
America is particularly good for outdoor experiences beyond clunk-clicking
into skis or a snowboard and few resorts rival Aspen
in this regard. Between the Aspen Club and Spa and the town's Recreational Centre,
you can chance your arm at racquet ball, train on weights, strain on every imaginable
machine in the state-of-the-art fitness centre facing expansive windows overlooking
the mountains for inspiration, swim in and out of doors in proper lap pools
and even explore the Torvill or Dean inside yourself on the in or outdoor ice
rinks.
However, If you want to get amongst the four beautiful mountains for real outdoor adventure, sign up for a snow-shoeing tour offering excellent morning exercise, magnificent views, advice on surrounding flora and fauna and a well deserved lunch after.
Exhilarating snowmobiling tours are extremely popular too or take in an eagle's
eye view of the Colorado
Rockies soaring high above them in a hot-air balloon. Then there are many ways
to luxuriate the day away in the sumptuous spa facilities in the Aspen Club
and Spa with Ayurvedic, holistic, Thai or hot-stone massages for all, with or
without extra oxygen! Or lounge around the outdoor hot-tub and pool at the Sky
Hotel over a plate of excellent quality sushi. You could have more to talk
about at the end of day than your skiing spouse or friends.
Who mentioned shopping? Aspen is also legendary in this department with some 200 boutiques selling top clothes brands, vintage cowboy paraphernalia, knick-knacks and more. Then there's the scores of art galleries to peruse, careful with that credit card, those are genuine Picassos for sale!
Since Utah
won its bid to stage the 2002 Winter Olympics, Park
City has emerged as an excellent ski resort with world class facilities
on and off its enviable mountainous terrain. This former silver mining town,
now beautifully restored with colourful Victorian buildings lining its bustling
Main Street, is a genuine rival to Aspen. Park City boasts dozens of art galleries,
myriad shops, bars and restaurants, some seriously gourmet dining à la Aspen,
and offers a wealth of non-skiing experiences like outdoor ice-skating, snowmobiling,
hot-air ballooning over the Wasatch Mountains, snow-tubing, snow-shoeing and
courtesy of the Olympics, it has a bobsleigh track to test your nerve too.
Breckenridge
is impossible not to mention in the something-for-all charts. This Colorado
favourite was one of the first ever U.S resorts frequented by British skiers
and remains deservedly popular mainly because of its enduring Victorian town
charm, adorned winter-long by fairy lights, and its commitment to providing
evermore experiences for its loyal visitors.
The vast recreational centre on the outskirts of town offers ice-skating, climbing wall, pools, tubs, gymnasiums and tennis courts, whilst the town centre hosts horse sleigh rides and snow sculpture carnivals around the outdoor ice-skating rink. One of the most popular carnivals is the annual celebration of the Norse God of Winter held in second week of January.
Further afield, Breckenridge too, offers snow-shoeing, snow-mobiling, hot-air ballooning and ice fishing! Who said you had to be a skier to enjoy a ski resort!?
If North America seems like the perfect place for your next winter
holiday, check out the latest
VHOT deals now.
Neil English is a freelance travel journalist who specialises in skiing. He regularly writes for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.