In the summer of 2024, I fled the hurricane in Texas with a van full of prized possessions and my dog and cat. Because I grew up in Colorado, I head there without a plan, knowing the mountains will safeguard us—somehow. We end up in Vail, a town I’ve visited in all seasons for most of my life, a place I particularly love for its opening chapter. While most people consider it a swanky resort destination—and yes, it is buzzy—, Vail, wedged neatly into the Rocky’s Gore Mountains—at some 8,000  spectacular feet—grew from one man’s passion. 

New built in the early 1960’s, it hailed from the dream of Pete Seibert, who served in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division in World War II. As a soldier on skis, he fought in Italy, shushing through the Dolomites near the Austrian border. Entranced by the Italian Alps and the characteristic fairy tale villages despite the war’s horrors,  Seibert returned home with a hankering to build a ski village that not only mirrored the architecture and footprint he’d come to love but that offered the hearty food that fueled him. Most of all, he wanted to emanate the soulful warmth he’d experienced from locals he’d met in Italy while on duty. Ever sensitive to the untamed nature, Seibert carved out ski slopes and constructed a postcard-perfect village with Tyrolean flair.  Cobbled, winding streets, picturesque nooks, sgrafitto chalets, gingerbread accoutrements and plenty of green space conjured an Alpine charm that remains today,

By far, the best place to experience Vail’s unique melding of global mountain flair is at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail. On the threshold of Vail Village, it overlooks the mountains, wrapping niftily around one of the best swimming pools on earth. A contemporary rift on Seibert’s Tyrolean vision, the 133 key retreat provides a handy and pampering base for outdoor-loving vacationers in winter or summer when people come to ski, snowshoe, hike or bike, in season. But Four Seasons Vail isn’t only about providing a base to expend energy amongst the pines. I didn’t hesitate to leave my husband and pets behind in our exquisite suite for a swim in the huge (heated) pool and to experience the newly reimagined spa.

Launched just days before I arrived, the kitted wellness haven offers a peaceful alternative to Vail’s outdoors-focused, high adrenaline activities and ritzy social play.  A sanctum comprising 13 state-of-the-art treatment rooms, a sauna, indoor pool, and a restive outdoor patio with warming fireplace, it proposes programs developed to support the wellness concerns guests most request. “People are tired,” says my spa therapist, who relates that that the spas sole desire in its redo is to support “rest, recovery, sleep and slowing down.” Its newest treatments rise to the task.  The Signature Extreme 360° Beauty Ceremony facial, created in partnership with EviDenS, was a multi-layered journey of masks, massage and exfoliation, while the Revitalizing Mineral Mud Wrap, executed with products by Comfort Zone (one of my favorite spa brands) restored not just my thirsty skin but my hurricane-stressed spirit too. And, I’m still dreaming of The Sleep Ritual, by GROUND Wellbeing, a portal to better slumber which used flowing massage techniques, and guided breath work to ensure I had a restful snooze.