If you want the olde worlde ambience of Victorian Telluride then stay down in the old town – unless you’ve got kids. It’s where you’ll find the best bars, coffee shops, and atmosphere, as well as the unique mix of wild-west architecture and stunning scenery that makes Telluride so special.
Camel’s Garden Hotel is convenient, laid-back and spacious. This is our favourite place to stay in the town of Telluride – right next to the lifts up to Giuseppe’s and Station St Sophia, and three blocks away from Colorado Avenue (aka Main Street). The rooms are large, the bathrooms enormous, and the decor restrained. We love the sense of quiet and convenience here. The Ice House Lodge down the road is the sister hotel, as well as being the venue for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s wedding reception.
New Sheridan Hotel (new in the Victorian times) is right on Main Street and surrounded by the best shops and cafés.This is our second choice in town – right on Main Street, and three short blocks from the lifts. It’s a fantastic wild-west building, whose walls hold a lot of history – though we rather wish they hadn’t pigged out on the Victoriana when they decorated the rooms. Still, the bar is the one essential stop on the nightlife circuit, and it’s virtually next door to the Steaming Bean coffee shop. The views from the front door, looking down the street to the wall of mountains at the end of the valley, are superb.
There is one important caveat, however – don’t get a room facing onto the street if you’re a light sleeper. Several Tripadvisor reviews complain of noisy drunks spilling out onto the pavements at night.
Elk Mountain Resort is a member of The Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and features deluxe Lodge Rooms as well as three-bedroom cottages.
Hotel Telluride www.thehoteltelluride.com is a stlyish new boutique hotel housing an aromatherapy day spa. All bedrooms and suites contain feather beds with down duvets and embroidered sheets.
Stay in the Mountain Village for ski-in ski-out convenience
This is undoubtedly the most convenient place to stay and it’s big enough to be a resort in its own right. All the new hotels and condos are located here and, it goes without saying that all are ski-in ski-out. The Peaks Resort & Golden Door Spa is the ultimate in ski-in ski-out hotels. It has a sumptuous five-storey spa with 44 treatment rooms including one for dog ‘pawdicures’. The hotel contains some lovely suites and bedrooms, as well as a collection of three-bedroom cabins in its grounds. One of the hotel’s pools has a waterslide for kids. There is also a climbing wall, where Tom Cruise learnt the sport for the film, Mission Impossible 2.
Hotel Madeline Telluride (formerly the Capella) has condominiums ranging from one-bedroom to four-bedroom units and this is one of the finest locations on the mountain. There’s an 8,000 sq ft ‘European spa’, an indoor pool, fitness center, gourmet restaurants, entertainment venues, a private children’s club and shops in the building. Close by is an ice skating rink, and indoor rock climbing wall. Inn at Lost Creek contains individually-decorated rooms with deluxe kitchenettes. Mountain Lodge www.mountainlodgetelluride.com has comfortable condos, a pool and hot tub.
Hotel Lumiere is a luxury but good-value hotel. As the name implies, lighting is important here. Inside it’s cool and modern; many of the rooms and apartments are decked with hardwood hickory floors, hand-blown glass fixtures and original artwork. There’s a nice bar with quirky furniture and snack such as tapas and sushi. Fairmont Heritage Place, Franz Klammer Lodge may sound a bit of a mouthful, but it’s ideally located a few steps from the gondola and ski slopes. The lodge opened in 1996 as Colorado’s first private residence club, and houses 63 residences.
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