@Kagehitokiri: Drawers like automatic, soft-closing doors/trunks on BMWs or Benzs ... where you simply close the door to a certain degree and then they continue to "pull in" to close on themselves. LOL - this technology may certainly exist in kitchens, but - alas and alack - not in my decidedly lo-tech kitchen that's from another century (millennium?).
(Speaking of cars ... the house cars are currently the large Infiniti SUVS; they are awaiting arrival of the resort's Benz vehicles.)
As for comparisons, I have stayed (as recently as Dec. 2010) at the RC Bachelor Gulch (in nearby Beaver Creek) ... I prefer the Vail property as it is in Vail Village versus relative seclusion, perched on the side of a mountain (altho the RC is truly ski-in/ski-out, with a lift right outside the resort's back door).
For non-ski properties - I'd have to think about it. I think this stay was among my favorites for a FS stay (in the company of the Lanai at Manele Bay, Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, and Sharm El Sheikh properties), and up there with a weeklong stay at the Peninsula Hong Kong.
That said, no two properties are alike - so it's hard for me to say how Vail stands up, either absolutely or in comparison to others. For me, the international staff (folks from Asia-Pacific, Australasia, Latin America, Europe, the Caribbean, and North America waited on us in one capacity or another) was a treat.
On the other hand, the location right off of the highway could be better and, as I said, neither the standard room nor bathroom knocked my socks off. But as a Denver resident, this place is perfectly suited for my location and for the world-class skiing Vail affords. I haven't been to either Whistler or Jackson Hole to see how this place stands up vis a vis other North American FS ski resorts.
I think I'll have a better sense of things when I visit again in June and see how things look and feel in a radically different time of year, and when the skiing element is taken out of the equation. I'll update again after that visit to share my impressions.