The High-Country High Life

Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch
The Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch

The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek

Mountain luxury doesn’t come more majestic than this 180-room hotel tucked into an exclusive enclave between Beaver Creek and Arrowhead on Beaver Creek Mountain. Exquisite carpentry and stonework combine with high-end finishes and furnishings to create a refined atmosphere, while the spacious rooms exude luxury through their thoughtful design and décor. The hotel’s three restaurants—Buffalos, The Grill and Daniel’s—span a range of formality but not quality. Vail Valley’s only cigar lounge, the hotel’s seductively lit Bachelors Lounge, emanates a sleek, cosmopolitan sophistication.  The award-winning 21,000-square-foot spa features 19 treatment rooms, a luxurious manicure/pedicure salon, and a curated spa menu. Guests have access to Red Sky and Beaver Creek golf clubs, as well as a raft of naturalist programs that creatively connect guests to the flora and fauna surrounding the hotel. Outfitters hook up flyfishing, mountain biking and river adventures. Winter brings unparalleled access to the lifts at Beaver Creek, as well as s’mores around the firepit. ritzcarlton.com


Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa
Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa

Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa, Gateway

Although its golf course never materialized, this 6,000-acre resort, secreted in the majestic red rocks four miles east of the Utah border, evidently doesn’t need one. Located in Unaweep Canyon, Gateway Canyons offers enough activities and amenities to top Condé Nast Traveler’s and Travel + Leisure’s lists of best resorts in Colorado and the Western USA. The place is about discovery—appropriately enough, since John Hendricks, founder of the Discovery Channel and Discovery Communications, built it.

Gateway Canyons luxury auto rentals

The resort hosts Curiosity Retreats with world-renowned speakers, and houses the Gateway Museum of the American Car—a collection of nearly 60 vehicles, including a one-of-a-kind 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 concept. Cruise the backroads in a Bentley from the resort’s fleet of luxury auto rentals, or see the area from above in the only chopper to successfully land on top of Mount Everest. Learn cowboy skills at Gateway’s Palisade Ranch or just ride some of the 500 acres of horse trails. Savor exceptional dining in the Entrada dining room. Fly-fish, shoot clays or hike the property’s myriad trails, and then submit to an indulgent spa treatment. The property’s 14 Palisade Casitas feature custom artisan furnishings from Peru, private fire pits, stargazing decks and other stunning appointments, while many of the 58 rooms in the Kiva and Kayenta lodges come with private hot tubs and fireplaces. gatewaycanyons.com 


Devil's Thumb Ranch in Tabernash
Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash

Devil’s Thumb Ranch, Tabernash

For more than 80 years, this refined mountain ranch on 6,000 acres has treated visitors to the beauty of Grand County. However, it’s only been since 2001 that current owners Bob and Suzanne Fanch began to convert it into the luxury retreat it is today. They added 15 ridge top cabins, as well as the Broad Axe Barn (home of the fitness center, a conference center and events venue built from a reconstructed Civil War-era barn. In 2007, they completed a 52-room Main Lodge, and the following year added the Ranch Creek Spa. Three years ago, the 35-room High Lonesome Lodge, Barn and wine grotto opened. Horseback riding, hiking, zipline tours, mountain biking and fly-fishing vie for your time, as do Rachel’s Pool, the geothermally heated outdoor saltwater pool and hot tub with an indoor entry from the fitness center, wine dinners and activities, such as archery and air-rifle biathlons. Accommodations range from uniquely appointed private cabins to cozy lodge rooms. Winter guests benefit from regular shuttles to Winter Park, as well as in-town accommodations at the sister properties: Trailhead Inn and Vasquez Creek Inn.  devilsthumbranch.com


Fairmont Heritage Place, Franz Klammer Lodge
Fairmont Heritage Place, Franz Klammer Lodge

Fairmont Heritage Place, Franz Klammer Lodge, Telluride

Just a free gondola ride up from the National Historic District, Telluride’s Mountain Village is home to this stunning 63-residence property. Named for the Austrian alpine superstar, it naturally offers access to Telluride’s more than 2,000 skiable acres and 4,425 feet of vertical drop.  But it also puts you steps away from the Telluride Golf Club, which at 6,574 yards long at 9,500 feet high is a golf dream come true. Proximity to Tomboy Tavern, The View and Allred’s makes up for Klammer’s absence of its own restaurant. In classic European form, the resort boasts the heavenly Himmel spa, where exotic exfoliation, hydration, oxygenation and relaxation treatments rejuvenate every cell in your body. The lodge boasts an indoor/outdoor pool, dry sauna, steam room and multiple hot tubs. The distinctive 1,800-square-foot rooms all come with the conveniences and details seen in well-appointed homes—complete with spectacular mountain views of the surrounding 14ers. Impeccable service completes the picture. fairmont.com/klammer-lodge-telluride


Broadmoor's Emerald Valley Ranch
The Broadmoor’s Emerald Valley Ranch

The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs

Colorado’s grand dame hotel turns 100 in two years, but staying there never gets old. Five-star, five-diamond sophistication oozes from every portico, and each year brings yet another new reason to visit. Enhancing the blend of Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones holes on the East and West Courses, the new Callaway Golf Experience lets guests check out the company’s latest custom fitting and equipment technology. Accommodations now include the incomparable Cloud Camp, perched 3,000 feet above The Broadmoor’s iconic pink buildings, and The Ranch at Emerald Valley, where the 10 beautifully appointed cabins nest in 10,000 acres of the Pike National Forest. A shuttle delivers the magnificence of The Broadmoor Seven Falls and Soaring Adventure—two guided five-zipline tours above the falls that culminate with a rappel above the canyon. Another signature adventure awaits 75 miles away at Fishing Camp, where The Broadmoor’s five miles of private water along the Tarryall River lets you experience some of the best trout fishing in Colorado. September 9-11 will introduce Stream to Table, where guests can refine their line-casting skills with Scott Tarrant and learn how to dress and prepare their catches with the esteemed Broadmoor culinary team before enjoying the results paired with Colorado spirits, beers and wines. broadmoor.com


Browse the stories and features below to get a glimpse into the good life from our August 2016 issue:

Good Life: Home

Craig Stadler: Living Large in Evergreen

The High-Country High Life: 5 Colorado Resort Destinations

To Club or Cuvée?

Carving a Niche: 10 of the Best in Denver Steakhouses

Local Customs at Carbon Putters

Spirited Away: A side-by-side chart of bourbon, gin, rum, scotch, tequila, vodka and whiskey

The Wide World of Wine

Driving for Dough: Luxury Autos

Private Jets are Time Machines

Gear Plus: Simulators, Luxury Carts, Watches, Technology and more

This article appears in the August 2016 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer. Subscribe today!

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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