Catching up with a friend’s life while snowshoeing on a trail that threads through snow-clad pines and alongside a frozen lake. Reading while seated in a comfy leather chair as logs burn in a massive chiseled-stone fireplace. Feeling the stress from a rough work week disappear as a masseuse unkinks knotted muscles. If these are on your wish list for a wonderful getaway, here’s a group of cold-weather destinations that will heat up your body and warm your soul. (Unless otherwise noted, rates are per room, double occupancy.)
1. Ice hotels are cool these days, but you’d better visit before the spring sun triggers a meltdown. Curl up in a warm sleeping bag on a bed of deer pelts, visit the steaming hot ice sauna in the morning, relax in the bar with a drink.
Now you have a choice. There is the original Ice Hotel on the shore of the Torne River in Jukkasjarvi in Swedish Lapland, and one that opened in January near Montmorency Falls, close to Quebec City. Both are created from ice blocks and snow. (In Quebec, the massive ice blocks were made in Montreal, and the snow was made by snow cannons at nearby Mont Saint Anne Resort.) The walls, some 16 feet high, were carved by chain saws, and the decor in each room depends, in part, upon the whim of the artist who carved out the room. The hotels are built anew each year, and usually open around New Years and close around the end of March.
The ice hotels (which have different owners) are wildly popular, so booking a year (or two) in advance is a necessity. The average price for an overnight stay at the Ice Hotel in Quebec is about $100 per person with an American breakfast. (All prices in this story converted to U.S. dollars.) For more information and reservations call 877-505-0423, or visit www.icehotel-canada.com. Two-day (one-night) packages at the Ice Hotel in Sweden start at $330 per person. For more information, contact Scantours at 800-223-7226, or visit www.scantours.com.
2. “Time out” is the best way to describe an overnight in a suite on the Canadian, a VIA Rail Canada train that runs between Toronto and Vancouver. The most scenic part of the trip is the ride between Jasper and Vancouver, where the track wends through the snow-clad Kamloops and the Rocky Mountains. The “Romance by Rail” packages include pre-boarding privileges, a specially designed suite (two regular bedrooms converted to one with his-and-her washrooms), pre-boarding privileges, a bottle of sparkling wine and flowers at departure, breakfast in the suite and dinner. The package includes access to the Dome Car, which has 360-degree views. The package is available year-round, and the price per couple varies according to season but is about $670 U.S. one way during the winter months. For details call 888-VIA-RAIL, or visit www.viarail.ca.
3. If you take the rail trip, plan on spending a few days in Jasper National Park where the scenery is, quite simply, spectacular. The Jasper Park Lodge, with accommodations in chalets, cabins and suites fronting Lac Beauvert, has a Canadian Rockies Winter Experience package, which includes lodging, three meals daily and an extensive menu of winter activities, including downhill skiing at Marmot Basin, cross-country skiing, dog sledding, sightseeing by sleigh and other activities. (A stroll through narrow Maligne Canyon, where the walls are draped with ice, provides lifetime scenic memories.) The price includes children’s programs and equipment rental for different sports. Packages start at about $444 a night, for two persons sharing a room. Children 18 and under stay free in parents’ accommodations with nominal charges for meals and activities. (Travelers can also fly in and out of Edmonton and drive to Jasper.) For more information call 800-441-1414, or visit www.fairmont.com.
4. Two of the ultimate hideaways for vacationers with very deep pockets are The Point, a sanctuary bordering Saranac Lake, N.Y., and Twin Farms in Barnard, Vt. Both offer opulent lodging, excellent service and gourmet fare. At both you can sit before a fire in gracious settings and read, or step into snowshoes or cross-country skis to enjoy quiet trails through the woods. Twin Farms has 14 accommodations, ranging from suites in the Main House to cottages with fireplaces. The Point, once the home of William Avery Rockefeller, has 11 guest quarters spread among four buildings that are very different but striking, with a mix of antiques, Adirondack-style furniture and massive fireplaces. (One was the Rockefellers’ bedroom.) Lodging at Twin Farms goes from $900 to $1,600 per night. Room rates include meals, use of all on-site recreational facilities and more. For information call 802-234-9999, or visit www.twinfarms.com. The Point room rates go from about $950, and are all-inclusive for two people, with meals, wine, use of sports equipment and more. For more information call 800-255-3530, or visit www.thepointresort.com.
5. When you want to escape, but don’t want to drive too far, head to the American Club in Kohler, Wis., and enjoy one of the therapeutic treatments offered at the Kohler Waters Spa. (The heart of the spa is a pool with a cascading eight-foot wall of water.) Outdoors, guests can go cross-country skiing in the nearby River Wildlife area or on some of the fairways that lure golfers in the summertime, snowshoeing, ice skating or snowmobiling. Built in 1918 to house immigrants, the American Club today is a luxurious AAA Five Diamond property, with hand-crafted woodwork, chandeliers and marble. Room rates start at $159 a night, and there are many packages. Overnight spa escapes, which include a treatment and a massage (60 minutes each) start at $300 a night per person, plus $150 for an additional person. For more information, call 800-344-2838, or visit www.americanclub.com.
6. In the winter at Canoe Bay, a couples-only Relais & Chateaux property in Wisconsin’s Lakes region, guests snuggle up before fireplaces in the wooden cottages surrounded by snow-tipped trees. Nineteen Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired units are scattered around a private 280-acre forested estate, with three lakes. After starting the day with goodies brought in a breakfast basket, guests can go ice skating, or cross-country skiing or snowshoeing through the woods–or just sit before the fire listening to music. Evenings are for enjoying the Chef’s Tasting Menu, and wines from a cellar that holds an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine. Every room has a fireplace and double whirlpool. Rates through April 15 go from $195 in a lodge room to $600 for the stunning cottage designed by John Rattenbury of Taliesin Architects/Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. No kids, no pets, no smoking. For more information call 715-924-4594, or visit www.canoebay.com.
7. At Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort, built on the slopes of 12,000-foot-high Mt. Timpanogos in Utah, some guests spend the day on the ski slopes, while others hide in the comfortable units watching films from the Sundance Film Festival that they borrowed when checking in. Carefully set into the landscape so as not to disturb the beauty of the surrounding wilderness, the resort is a great place to be as active or as sedentary as one wishes. Each of the 96 guest cottages (which are actually attached units)contain hand-hewn furnishings inspired by Native American art and stone fireplaces. Stays in mountain homes can also be arranged. In both The Tree Room and The Foundry, ingredient-based, seasonal dishes are at the heart of the menus. Sundance offers a variety of packages, ranging from skiing to fly fishing. The All-Seasons package, which includes four nights lodging for two, breakfast daily and a certificate per person redeemable for a meal or an activity such as skiing, start at $1,360 for a junior suite through March 31. For more information call 800-892-1600, or visit www.sundanceresort.com.
8. Prices plummet for lodging in New Mexico’s Santa Fe and Taos during the winter, but the temperatures don’t. It’s cool, but most of the snow is on the ski slopes at Taos or Santa Fe Ski Area, both thousands of feet higher. In the cities, visitors enjoy uncrowded browsing in the many museums–which display items ranging from Native American and Spanish art to regional history–the dozens of art galleries, jewelry shops, boutiques and restaurants. Here’s the place to explore the Native American Indian culture, by visiting the Taos Pueblo (the oldest continually lived in “apartment” building in the country), with its attached adobe buildings, and the other pueblos just off the main highway between the two cities. Lodging ranges from Santa Fe-chic hotels and elegant bed-and-breakfast inns to bare bones motels, and the prices range accordingly. The Casa de las Chimeneas, a luxury B&B inn in Taos that just became the fourth AAA Four Diamond property in the state, is a wonderful place to stay. For more information about Santa Fe, call 800-984-9984, or visit www.santafe.org. For more information about Taos, call 800-816-1516, or visit www.taosvacationguide.com. For more information about Casa de las Chimeneas, call 877-758-4777 or visit www.visittaos.com.
9. Sitting before a fire in a cottage at one of Colorado’s dude ranches, watching snow fall on the far side of the window, brings one closer to nature. Both Vista Verde Ranch and the C Lazy U Ranch are deliberately rustic in style, but not in service and food. At Vista Verde there are lodge rooms and nine cabins with master suites. Diehard downhillers are driven to Steamboat Ski Resort daily, while cross-country skiers just walk out the door and glide onto one of many paths weaving through the ranch and onto national forest land. There’s horseback riding in the winter, and there’s plenty of activity for the more sedentary, ranging from wine tastings to cooking classes. Five-night and three-night packages are available, which include lodging, meals and many activities. Three-night packages available in March only start at $795 per person. Five-night packages throughout the winter start at $995. For more information call 800-526-7433, or visit www.vistaverde.com. The C Lazy U, about an hour from Winter Park Resort, has 41 accommodations ranging from suites with fireplaces and whirlpool tubs, to a honeymoon cabin. Guests congregate in the living room or bar of the Main Lodge, a two-story log cabin, after dinner. There’s cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on the ranch, and two downhill ski areas within an hour’s drive. Winter rates average $170 nightly per adult, and include meals and many activities. For more information, call 970-887-3344, or visit www.clazyu.com.
10. In the wintertime, you can enjoy the beauty of America’s national parks without the crowds. Set yourself in the historic El Tovar Lodge or a rustic cabin at the edge of the Grand Canyon. (You could even take a mule trip down to Phantom Ranch, which remains open in the winter.) Head to Yellowstone and take a snowcoach or snowmobile to a lodge not far from Old Faithful. Go hiking in Zion in southern Utah, where the winter weather is almost balmy. Take your camera when you go cross-country skiing or snowshoeing at Yosemite.
Lodging costs far less in the wintertime, and the scenery is even more beautiful when it’s covered with snow instead of other people. Winter rates start at $60 for a standard room and $70 for a cabin at Zion in the winter. For reservations call 303-297-2757. Wintertime lodging at Yellowstone is available at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel through March 4 and at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge through March 11. A variety of winter packages offer adventure, education and value. Four-night Experience Yellowstone packages start at $540 per person for Yellowstone Association members and $550 for non-members. Call 307-344-7311 for more information. The one-night El Tovar Romance package, which includes dinner for two and a bottle of California sparkling wine, costs $249 per couple plus tax. For more information visit www.grandcanyonlodges.com. Lodging at Yosemite starts at $89 per night in Curry Village and at $254 in the Ahwahnee Hotel. For more information call 559-252-4848, or visit www.yosemitepark.com. For more information about many national park lodges visit www.amfac.com.
