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Vail Adventures
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By: Jenny Caspersonn, Issue 39 – Winter 2009
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(Vail, Colorado, Unites Stares of America)
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THE POPULAR SKI DESTINATION OF VAIL COLORADO HAS WELCOMED A NEW LUXURY PROPERTY, THE ARRABELLE.
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Snowflakes flutter onto the cobblestones outside while the fire is roaring in the lobby’s enormous open stone hearth. I’m checking in to Vail’s splendid new property The Arrabelle and the reception phone rings.
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“Welcome to Rock Resorts’ Arrabelle at Vail Square this is Jonathon...”
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Wait a second. What happened to “LionsHead” at Vail? And what exactly is “Vail Square”?
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It’s two years since I was last in Colorado and $US1 billion later the renaissance of Vail – one of America’s most popular ski resorts – is well underway. The corner of Vail known as LionsHead now has a delightful new focus: a glamorous retail, restaurant and leisure precinct known as Vail Square and a signature luxury hotel, The Arrabelle. Vail Square is a town square – complete with clock tower – featuring an ice-skating rink and fire pits during winter and an outdoor concert area and fountains in the summertime. The Arrabelle is in fact an imposing cluster of up-scale hotel rooms, condominiums and residences that has set a new standard of luxury for Vail. There are 62 enormous guest rooms and suites, each averaging over 50 square metres, along with around 25 additional one to five bedroom private residences. Game Creek Chalet and Gore Creek Place, which are separate deluxe lodges available for rental, also form part of The Arrabelle’s property.
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The Arrabelle has been designed to ensure guests enjoy the ultimate high-end ski experience. First there is the unbeatable location; The Arrabelle is just a few metres from Vail’s Eagle Bahn gondola that runs right to the top of the Vail Mountain. The ski-in ski-out convenience is completed by the exceptional Ski Valet service. Nothing beats someone else taking the hassle and discomfort out of removing and securing ski gear. Equipment is spirited away and magically returned the next day, boots nicely warmed of course.
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Next there is The Arrabelle’s Butler service. Each floor is allocated a butler to cater for the guests’ every need, whim or convenience. An emergency pharmacy dash? No problem. Groceries preordered and packed away? Chocaholic’s secret fridge stash? Clothes unpacked? Bath drawn? Yes, every busy woman needs a butler.
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Next to a butler, every woman, with kids on holidays, needs a nanny. The Arrabelle’s Ski Nanny service gives parents some time to themselves by babysitting, ferrying children to ski school, taking them to lunch and generally entertaining them to give parents a real break.
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Then of course there’s the property itself. Seeking inspiration from Prague, Salzburg and Innsbruck The Arrabelle’s designers have used stone, broad timbers, gables and washed stucco finishes to evoke the appearance and ambiance of a European ski village.
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The guestrooms, each with their own original artworks, are formal with heavy block-out drapes festooning the windows and canopied beds. Choosing between my two king-size beds poses a momentary dilemma. Alternating each night is tempting but seems environmentally irresponsible and not fair to housekeeping. With an auto-timed fireplace, flat screen TV, Bose MP3/CD player, high speed wireless internet access, humidifier and a bathroom with a heated limestone floor large enough to go for a jog in, there is little left for guests to wish for. Of course there is always the butler to fill in the gaps. Freshly-baked cookies and treats delivered each afternoon are a thoughtful touch.
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Continuing the European theme, Centre V Restaurant and Bar replicates a classic French brasserie; the bricks behind the bar are centuries old, imported from Europe. Centre V features live music and makes a cozy hub for an apres ski drink. Out on the slope-side terrace, open coal fire pits warm weary but cheery skiers who congregate there as the late afternoon sun slips away. Colorado claims 300 days of sunshine each year and it’s no idle boast; the mountain sunsets are a stunning sight from the rooftop Jacuzzi and heated lap pool.
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Adjacent to the fully-equipped fitness centre, The Arrabelle’s RockResorts Spa™ is an elegant, limestone and mosaic-tiled oasis of pampering. There are 11 treatment rooms including couple, group and family treatment rooms, relaxation lounges as well as a full-service nail salon, whirlpools, steam rooms and saunas.
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Vail is America’s largest ski resort with a total skiable area of 5,289 acres. It comprises the four resorts of Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and Beaver Creek and offers snowfolks a dazzling array of skiing and boarding opportunities. From Vail’s astonishing powder back bowls, Breckenridge’s tree skiing and pristine wilderness powder, phenomenal cat skiing in Keystone to Beaver Creek – where the double black diamond World Cup Downhill course Birds of Prey can be found – Vail has something for everyone.
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Vail opened in 1962 with one gondola and two chairlifts. Today it still has one gondola but 32 lifts, 16 of which are high-speed quads, allowing a total uphill capacity of 57,802 people per hour. There are also three terrain parks, one superpipe and two half pipes.
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Times have changed. With the addition of The Arrabelle, things are just getting better.
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Details:
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The Arrabelle at Vail Square
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