If you like snow, you’ll love Colorado. The state’s 40,000 acres of skiable mountain terrain are among the most coveted by skiers and snowboarders all over the world, and its stunning resorts have attracted the rich and the famous for decades.
While winter is a prime time to visit, summer and fall are value seasons indeed. If anything, the mountains are even more beautiful in summer, and golf, white-water sports, hiking and festivals abound.
Resort meetings in Colorado are next to nature but far from deprivation, uniting luxury with outdoor enjoyment for a true destination event.
Aspen/Snowmass
The silver mines have long since closed, but Aspen hasn’t lost its gleam as a playground for the elite. The destination has also long been a cultural mecca; Aspen Music Festival fills the town with classical music every summer, and the humanistic Aspen Institute is an epicenter of leadership and ideas.
Snowmass is the second-largest ski area is the country, and it has the highest vertical rise for skiing in the U.S.
The towns are small enough that the mayor of Snowmass personally welcomes each arriving conference group, but sophisticated, as visitors can shop for Gucci and Prada within sight of the mountain scenery.
"Aspen’s urban amenities and small-town Colorado charms are the perfect mix to create a memorable group meeting," says Sarah Reynolds, national sales manager at the Aspen Chamber Resort Association. "The vitality of Aspen enhances group programs and invites groups to experience the Aspen Idea of mind, body and spirit."
The resorts offer group ski and snowboarding lessons, ice climbing and guided backcountry snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. In the summer, treasure hunts, naturalist-guided hikes and picnics get groups out enjoying the mountains. Year-round, groups can explore the extensive Glenwood Caves.
Silvertree Hotel & Conference Center in Aspen offers 40,000 square feet of meeting space. Aspen Meadows Resort has a total of 22,000 square feet.
Snowmass has aggressively grown both its ski offerings and its meeting space in recent years.
"The operative word in Snowmass is "new," says Susan Hamley, director of the Snowmass Tourism Office at Snowmass Village. "There has been so much investment and so many new developments in Snowmass over the past five years. Most people don’t know that over $1 billion has been invested in our Base Village."
Snowmass Village has a total of 6,800 guest rooms and 75,000 square feet of event space. Capitol Peak Conference Center offers more than 8,000 square feet of function space.
Snowmass brings mountaintop coziness to any event with intimate venues like the 60-person Lynn Britt cabin, the 3,000-square-foot Roaring Fork Mountain Club or the 740-square-foot Fireplace Meeting Room at the Top of the Village.
Vail/ Beaver Creek
The pedestrian-friendly resorts of Vail and Beaver Creek evoke an Old World alpine atmosphere, creating an air of comfort and luxury that inspires scores of the well-off to buy second and third homes here.
Although the belt-tightening of recent years may have prevented some planners from considering upscale resorts, there are signs that the economy is bouncing back.
"We are seeing a rebound in the corporate and incentive meeting market and regional association meetings in Vail and Beaver Creek," says Chris Romer, executive director of the Vail Valley Partnership. "Meeting planners are discovering that our opportunity seasons of summer and fall offer great lodging rates and a variety of activities and events."
The largest ski resort on the continent, Vail is divided into three neighborhoods surrounded by White River National Forest. Three billion dollars in recent developments includes new Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons properties as well as Solaria, an entertainment complex.
The Vail Valley offers more than 7,000 guest rooms. Some of the larger conference venues include Manor Vail Lodge, with 12,000 square feet of meeting space, and Four Seasons Resort Vail, which offers 11,000 square feet of meeting space. Lion Square Lodge & Conference Center can welcome groups of 200.
Warm weather activities at the resorts include Jeep and Hummer tours, zip line runs and golf at more than 17 different courses throughout the valley. Watersports including kayaking and whitewater rafting are also popular.
Winter is the time to take advantage of Vail’s nearly 5,300 acres of free ride terrain, plus four terrain parks and seven bowls. Beaver Creek keeps its snow groomed 20 hours a day with the help of eco-friendly wind power.
Breckenridge
The historic town of Breckinridge, home to just over 2,400 souls, was founded as a gold mining site in 1859. Breckenridge prides itself on authenticity. As Donna Horii, director of sales at the Breckenridge Resort Chamber, puts it, Breckenridge has always been a "real town," with "real charm, real people and real history."
Breckenridge boasts 25,000 guest rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space. Among the larger meeting properties are Village at Breckenridge Resort, with 30,000 square feet of meeting space, and Beaver Run Resort and Great Divide Lodge, both with more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space.
Newly enhanced meeting services are now making the town even more attractive to planners.
"We have a few new companies that have elevated our level of services offered to both groups and individuals," Horii says. "We can now accommodate all special requests, activities and transportation needs on a much higher level."
The 27-hole, Jack-Nicklaus-designed Breckenridge Golf Club is worth a summer visit all by itself. The course regularly receives top national honors as one of the most challenging and picturesque facilities in the country.
Keystone
Just 50 miles from Denver, the award-winning Keystone Resort & Conference Center has honed event organization to a fine art.
"We are the largest meeting facility in the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by beauty but built for business," says Angela Andrews, director of conference services and catering for Keystone Resort & Conference Center. "Our ability to provide one contact for meeting, dining and activity needs on and off the mountain and around the resort will continue to be a major differentiator."
Keystone’s large size, diverse facilities and perfectly centralized management minimizes cat-herding and maximizes quality time.
There are more than 1,200 guest rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of event space at Keystone Conference Center.
Winter finds groups skiing on 3,000 acres of snow or enjoying sleigh rides. In summer, groups can go kayaking, take a private fly-fishing lesson or build cooperation with a GPS orienteering competition.
Copper Mountain
Popular with locals, Copper Mountain has shorter lines at the lifts, centrally located, midsize meeting venues and a growing reputation as a live music hot spot.
One unique opportunity is Woodward at Copper, a year-round ski and snowboard training facility. Team classes and camps are available, and training involves trampolines, foam pits and indoor bowls and ramps.
In the summer, groups can rent mountain scooters, sort of a cross between a board and bicycle; go horseback riding; or take the leap and go bungee jumping. When the snow starts coming down, dogsledding, snowmobiles and ice skating on West Lake are all available in addition to skiing and snowboarding.
Attendees can ski into meetings at the 15,600-square-foot Copper Conference Center, and the adjacent pavilion offers another 18,000 square feet of space. Copper Station, located in the East Village, offers 18,800 square feet of meeting space.
Steamboat Springs
The town of Steamboat Springs was named for its geothermal springs, the sounds of which reminded early settlers of a steamboat engine. The community of 10,000 has a creative, flamboyant spirit that sets it apart from more staid resorts.
For instance, the town’s annual Winter Carnival, a 100-year-old tradition, includes competitions in ski jumping and dogsledding down the main street, not to mention a marching band on skis. There are 3,000 acres of skiable terrain.
Other summer activities include boating on the Yampa River, guided gourmet hikes and bathing in hot springs pools.
Larger group venues include the Steamboat Grand, with 17,000 square feet of event space, and the Sheraton Steamboat Resort, with 17 meeting rooms.
Durango
Nestled in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado near the Four Corners, Durango originated as a railroad town and has strong ties to Native American heritage.
The historic Strater Hotel, located downtown, can welcome groups as large as 300. Doubletree Hotel Durango offers 5,500 square feet of meeting space.
Durango Mountain Resort is a winter playground with 1,200 skiable acres of terrain, which is expanding. In summertime, white-water sports and fly-fishing are particularly excellent on the Animas River, which flows through the center of town.
Attractions include the newly renovated Durango Discovery Museum, a new zip line course at Soaring Tree Top Adventures, and Sky Ute Museum, set to open in 2011.
The ancient Puebloan cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park are just 35 miles away.
Telluride
Known for its thriving arts scene as well as its history, Telluride was the site of Butch Cassidy’s first bank robbery. Significant portions of the town of 2,200 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Telluride Conference Center offers 22,000 square feet of indoor space. The historic, 240-seat Sheridan Opera House and the Ah Haa School for the Arts are both available for rental.
Apart from skiing, visitors can fly gliders through the mountain peaks or go dogsledding or ice climbing. In summer, four-wheel-drive excursions, river sports and rock climbing are great ways to experience the mountain wonders.
Kelly Crumrin is a frequent contributor to Meetings West.
