Why we like it: If there is a place for true skiers (not just those who are looking to spray champagne on top of Cloud Nine in Aspen or get on the lifts to rock their new Channel jacket), Crested Butte is the experience for you. With 1000+ acres of exclusive ski terrain in Irwin, the area receives about 450 inches of snow per year.

The Scarp Ridge Lodge is the refurbished Croatian Hall, where coal miners used to gather for drinking and dancing in the mining heydays (but really, we think it was actually a brothel). In any case, the accommodation already feels like a home, and it is truly authentic. Maintaining its Wild West façade, the interiors have been transformed wall-to-wall, equipped with the highest tech (as in, each room comes with an altitude acclimator that you can set to Denver’s altitude and help your body adjust), and is completely luxurious in the most tasteful Colorado-chalet-décor way. The Lodge also comes with an indoor saltwater pool, a rooftop hot tub, and an oxygen-enriched air system.

What to know: This is the kind of place where you get your friends together, and buy it out in advance. Especially during ski season, it always gets bought out.