She-Stache and He-Stache in winter coats standing in fresh snow beside Gore Creek, Pup-Stache sitting in front of them, a snowy lodge behind
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Pup-Stache also loves winter in Vail. Mostly because it’s an excuse to lie down in snow.
A Wandering Mustache Series · Greater Vail Valley · Stop One

Vail

The big mountain, the big village, and the interstate right outside the window.

Vail is the big one. It’s the mountain for advanced skiers, the village with the most varied restaurants, and the one you can see from the interstate. That last part cuts both ways. More on that below.

Vail sits at the bottom of the valley, right off I-70, which gives it room to sprawl. Vail Village and Lionshead are big and walkable, the free town bus links everything, and the walk between the bases is mostly easy. Beaver Creek tucks you away. Vail puts you in the middle of things.

This page covers where we stayed (three hotels), where we ate (a lot), and where to wander when you’re not skiing. Buddha, our Pup-Stache, came for most of it. He has opinions about patios.

The Greater Vail Valley Series The Hub  ·  Vail  ·  Beaver Creek  ·  Minturn, Avon & Edwards

Full Disclosure
Trip Dates Winters & summers, 2015–2026 · Style Ski weeks, summer wandering
Incentives Not a Dime · Photo Creds All Stache

We paid full price for everything. Every link in this post goes straight to the vendor. No commission, on links or on reviews. Ever.

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*As always, no commissions from our links. We encourage booking early and direct. These maps are always a work in progress, and are curated from all past trips and current research.

These pins also power ai-tinerary, our invite-only itinerary tool. Same stamps, same opinions.

The Gripe

Sharing a Room With I-70

We’ll do the bad first. We always do.

The interstate. Vail’s best feature, a big village on the valley floor, is also its biggest flaw. I-70 runs right alongside it. Book the wrong condo and you will be sharing a room with the interstate. Ask which side of the building you’re on before you hand over a credit card.

The prices. This is a high-end resort, and dinner prices it like one. Some of it earns the money. Some of it doesn’t: Matsuhisa was just meh for us, loud, and we often felt rushed out the door before we’d finished the first course. Pepi’s is a Vail institution, but not our favorite alpine dinner in town. Elway’s: good food, good wine, high prices. You’ll find our better picks below.

The off-season. Come between seasons and a lot of the village is closed. When we checked in October, La Bottega and Alpenrose were both shut until late November. Check hours before you plan a trip around a restaurant.

The Mountain

The Back Bowls and a Lunch Worth Unbuckling For

She-Stache in a white sweater sipping from a white mug beside a stone fireplace at The 10th
The 10th: take off the ski boots, put on the slippers, hold the hot chocolate, and refuse to leave.

Of the two mountains in this valley, Vail is the one for advanced skiers. The reason is the Back Bowls: seven of them, more than 3,000 acres of open terrain behind the front side.

Speaking of lunch: The 10th, at Mid-Vail, is the closest thing to fine dining on a mountain that we’ve found in Colorado. Take off your ski boots, slip into the slippers they hand you, and enjoy a fabulous bottle of wine while you watch the skiers slush by. The flaw: it’s lunch only, ski season only, and you need a lift ticket to get there.

He-Stache with a short gray beard taking a snowy selfie with a Wee-Stache in a mask and braids, a lodge behind them
Covid skiing with He-Stache and a Wee-Stache: masks on, goggles fogged, enthusiasm intact.

For après at the bottom, Garfinkel’s in Lionshead does a good après and a nice summer lunch, with a dog-friendly patio. Vail Chophouse has good food and a nice après scene, also with a dog-friendly patio; Google shows it as temporarily closed while its own site lists hours, so call before you go. At the Four Seasons, The Remedy is a nice après with a dog-friendly patio, though there isn’t enough outdoor space in summer.

We skied Vail through Covid, too: masks on, goggles fogged, enthusiasm intact. The Back Bowls didn’t notice the difference.

Where We Stayed

Three Hotels, Three Different Strengths

We’ve stayed at three Vail hotels. All three are in the high-end bracket. They are not equally good at the same things.

Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail. A great hotel with excellent ski service and a slopeside retreat, and dog friendly. We stayed a few months after it opened, and the restaurant was a bust. It has since rebranded (it’s now Tavernetta), and we’ve had a decent, if expensive, meal there since.

A Wee-Stache in a purple ski jacket and her now-husband in a gray hoodie beside an outdoor fire pit at the Ritz-Carlton Club, snowy slopes behind them
Wee-Stache and her now-husband, fireside at the Ritz. He was “the boyfriend” at the time. We’re told he’s past probation.

The Hythe. Another Marriott property in Lionshead, and not a vacation club. It’s rated four stars, and we find it every bit as nice as the Ritz down the road. The ski service is not Ritz caliber, though. You put on your own boots. The horror.

The Ritz-Carlton Club, Vail. A large, luxurious vacation club, also in Lionshead. Good food, a good bar and a good pool, and excellent ski service, including its own private ski shuttle to and from the lift. One flaw, and it’s a big one: the condos vary. Some have excellent mountain views, and some feel like they’re sharing a room with the interstate.

She-Stache lying on large white floor pillows hugging a sleepy Pup-Stache at the Ritz-Carlton Club, Vail
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Floor pillow for one, apparently built for two.
Pup-Stache asleep on a dark velvet sofa in front of tall windows with sheer curtains and snowy slopes outside
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Mountain view, priced accordingly. He hasn’t looked at it once.

Pup-Stache after a long day at the Ritz. Being adored is exhausting.

Where We Ate

The Most Varied Restaurant List in the Valley

Vail has the most varied restaurant scene in the valley. We’ve eaten a lot of it. These are the ones we’d send a friend to.

Alpenrose is our favorite alpine cuisine in Vail, with a dog-friendly patio. Zuma is new, and yes, it’s loud. They have a DJ. But they don’t rush you out the door, they’re excellent with gluten allergies, and everything we had, and we had it all, was excellent, wine list included. Go to Zuma instead of Matsuhisa.

Root & Flower pours the best cocktails in Vail, with surprisingly good food. Go for brunch. Mountain Standard has great food, an excellent Burgundy list and a dog-friendly patio. In the same building, Sweet Basil has good food, but She-Stache always wishes she were downstairs having a burger. Slope Room is a great restaurant with an equally impressive wine list and great service.

For seafood, Montauk in Lionshead, with a dog-friendly patio. For lunch, Vintage is great (we haven’t had dinner there), and La Bottega gave us a great lunch with Pup-Stache on the patio despite its negative reviews. For breakfast or lunch, Big Bear Bistro is a great little bistro with a dog-friendly patio.

The rest, honestly rated. The Left Bank is hit or miss, but excellent when it’s on. DECA+BOL: you had us at bowling alley with a wine list. Vendetta’s: OK-ish food, dog-friendly patio. Gorsuch Ski Café: good coffee, crazy-expensive gear. Rimini Gelato & Chocolate: He-Stache approved. And for supplies, The Market at Vail is a small market within walking distance, or a bus ride, of most of Lionshead.

A grinning Scout-Stache raising a huge glass beer stein beside a smiling friend holding a coupe cocktail at Alpenrose
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Alpenrose: one of our Scout-Staches ordered the big beer. He meant it.
A hand holding an old fashioned with a dried orange peel, ski runs blurred behind it at the base of Vail
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Après at the base of Vail: the ice is melting faster than the snow.
A martini with a skewered olive in a stemmed glass at Root & Flower, beside a menu card and a small spray bottle
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Root & Flower: the best martini in Vail, sitting next to a bottle of hand sanitizer, because it was that era.

Après is not a time. It’s a lifestyle choice.

Wandering Vail

The Village, the Creek and a Genius on a Bench

She-Stache in sunglasses and a dark jacket sitting on a boulder beside a rushing creek in Vail, holding a plastic cup
She-Stache, creekside in Vail, holding a drink in a cup that says WARNING. Proper mountain hydration.

Vail Village is a large, walkable village with a lovely riverwalk that’s very pup friendly. Summer markets are a plus, and there’s lots of shopping and lots of restaurants. The flaw, again: it’s right on the interstate.

Walk the Gore Valley Trail, the paved path along Gore Creek through Lionshead. It’s dog friendly, with lots of spots for the pups to cool off in the creek. Pup-Stache approves. Gore Creek keeps going west out of town and joins the Eagle River at Dowd Junction, near Minturn. The trails here are shared with bikes, so keep your ears open.

The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens are a beautiful place to sit back and relax or wander. Next door, the free Hot Summer Nights concerts at the Ford Amphitheater are a bonus. On the way back through the village, the 10th Mountain Whiskey tasting room is on Bridge Street, and the Einstein bench is waiting for a photo.

A carved wooden sign reading Whiskey Tasting Room with an arrow, hanging above a cobbled Vail Village street
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The arrow says left. Our feet said left. We are excellent at following directions when they end in whiskey.
He-Stache in ski pants on a bench with his arm around a bronze statue of Albert Einstein, outside a shop in Vail Village
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He-Stache and Einstein, comparing notes. Einstein’s hair won.
Pup-Stache lying on sunny paving stones beneath an outdoor café table in Vail, his leash looped beside him
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Patio dining, Pup-Stache style: one ear on the conversation, both eyes on the bread basket.

Vail Village on foot: whiskey, a genius and a dog who would rather lie down.

Getting Around

Free Bus, No Car Needed

Vail runs a free town bus year-round between the villages. Pets aren’t allowed, but trained service animals are, so Pup-Stache rides with us. For a week in Vail, you don’t need a car. If you’re staying at the Ritz Club, skip the town bus for skiing; the club runs a private ski shuttle.

Plan the drive up like you’d plan a flight. See the hub for the I-70 details, and for why we try to skip the drive entirely in winter.

The Hard Reality

Big Mountain, Big Village, Big Bill

Vail is the one to pick if you want the bowls, the most varied restaurant list in the valley and a village you can walk end to end. Pick a room facing the mountain, not the interstate.

Ask for the mountain side. Skip Matsuhisa. Order the big beer at Alpenrose. Then take the bus.

Gore Creek running fast and sparkling over boulders through Vail, evergreens on both banks and a lodge behind under a big sky
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Gore Creek, running straight through town like it owns the place. It does.
The Links

We Wouldn’t Send You Somewhere We Wouldn’t Go

No kick-backs for links. Ever.

Next Stop
Beaver Creek

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