My family (including our Bernese Mountain Dog) and I recently returned from a four-night stay at the Hotel Madeline, formerly the Capella Telluride. While we had concerns with the recent turnover in management, overall, it was a very good visit.

Telluride is a skiers paradise with some of the most spectacular scenery to be found anywhere in the world. And, Hotel Madeline is exceptionally located as a true ski-in / ski-out property in Mountain Village.

Arrival/Reception:
As is typical with many luxury hotels, we received a pre-arrival email approximately 2-months in advance of our trip offering to help us plan our visit, including food/beverage requests, as well as reservations at restaurants, the spa, or even the opera house. Approximately 2-weeks prior to our arrival, we received another email offering additional assistance in case any of our plans had changed. A nice touch.

We arrived around 8pm on a Thursday and were greeted immediately in the driveway by both a valet and porter. Typically, arrivals can be stressful. But, our greeting was very welcoming. They quickly discussed our luggage needs, including gear, and escorted us inside to the front desk to check-in, while they tended to the business of gathering up our belongings. Check-in was, surprisingly, the most efficient I’ve ever experienced. They knew who we were, greeted us each by name (including our dog!), and reviewed the package details of our reservation, including all appointments scheduled by the concierge. After a quick confirmation signature, we were escorted to our Deluxe King room by the check-in receptionist who pointed out many of the features of the hotel (restaurant / bar / pool/ spa / living room areas, snack and beverage service, ski valet, etc.) as we walked to our room.

Within 3 minutes of arriving in our room, the door bell rang and the porter quickly delivered our luggage, offered to unpack our belongings (we declined as we are rather picky about what goes where), and confirmed that our equipment had been delivered to the ski valet and would be ready for our use if we wished to be on the first chair in the morning. After a quick update of the day’s snow conditions and the forecast for the next day, the porter was on his way.

Resort Location:
If you like ski-in / ski-out locations, the location of the Hotel Madeline cannot be beat. It is located right in the middle of Mountain Village, so it’s a breeze to access any activity, or the gondola transportation center to the town of Telluride. The gondola runs until midnight and it is so convenient that you won’t need your car to run between the two locations.

Room:
We had a corner room on the fourth floor with four windows that provided lots and lots of natural light. In addition, it overlooked the village and ice-skating rink. It was a nice view and we could even see parts of the ski mountain too. The room was very nice and exceptionally comfortable with quality furnishings, wood flooring in the entry and hallway, and Italian travertine in the large bath.

Space was plentiful. Our room included a queen AeroBed sleeper sofa (the most comfortable sleeper sofa I’ve ever slept on), table, two chairs, two nightstands, large dresser, and small refrigerator. We still had plenty of space for our huge dog crate.

The room was very clean and we did not notice the typical scratches, marks, and nicks that seem to plague so many ski hotels.

Housekeeping:
Diligent and unobtrusive is the best description of the housekeeping staff.

We were able to our leave our dog in the room while we were away and housekeeping always conducted their service without issue. This was another pleasant surprise with our stay, as past visits to the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, or Viceroy Snowmass, required us to remove the dog from the room, or be in the room during housekeeping service.

Twice daily service was included, and we were never disturbed anytime our privacy light was illuminated in the hallway. One morning we decided to put the staff to the test as we planned to stay in our room for a period of time after breakfast, so we turned on the service light when we departed for breakfast. Upon our return, we were grateful to see the room returned to its state of beauty. Keep in mind, each day, housekeeping had to deflate and inflate the sofa bed, in addition to their normal duties. They really did a great job.

Ski Valet:
The location of the two components to the Hotel Madeline’s ski valet is extremely convenient. The off-mountain component is located next to Neve Sports, a mere 12 – 15 yards from the main hotel building, right off the lobby floor, next to the elevators. This is where you prepare for the day; boots, helmets, gloves, etc. The on-mountain component is accessed through the porte-cochère, maybe 50 – 60 steps from the off-mountain location.

Decked in leather covered comfortable bench seats, it was a breeze to prepare for the battle that would shortly ensue on the mountain. I estimate they had space to accommodate 20 guests at any single time. We visited during the second busiest week of the year, behind Christmas week, and we never had to wait for service. We were greeted when we arrived and after the first day, a staff member would always retrieve our boots immediately without having to ask our names. The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek could learn a thing or two about ski valet service here. Since we own all of our own equipment, we did not experience their equipment rental process.

When you arrive at the mountain, you find a different staff member has laid out your skis and poles in anticipation of your arrival. Again, you don’t have to tell them who you are or what your skis look like. They already know and like a good friend, has everything ready for you with ski poles standing at attention as if to say, let’s go master. I’m ready to conquer the mountain.

One last great feature of the on-mountain ski valet is that they have restrooms right before you exit the porte-cochère. Trimmed in the same high quality materials found in the hotel, this was a nice treat, especially when you want to make one quick stop, before heading out for the day.

Service:
Service was outstanding, as should be expected from a luxury resort. However, management added a certain element of warmth and graciousness to the general level of service that I did not expect, but was pleased to receive. It was if we were a part of their family.

I have found that at many mountain resort hotels, service can be notoriously unpolished, slow, and even inattentive. I attribute this to the relative transient nature of the employment pool that most resorts have to source from. While staff in general was young, they were led by adults, seasoned veterans who led by example, versus authority. The effect was dramatic as our experience, whether with front-desk, concierge, bartender, wait-staff, our housekeeping, was always top-notch. It was if an experienced shadow was always available to the younger staff to ensure guests received excellent service and allowed them to relax and enjoy themselves to the fullest.

As I reflect, it seems I always had a smile on my face during our stay at the hotel. It was so pleasant.

Food & Beverage:
Our package included breakfast each morning. Expecting a traditional buffet, we were glad to find that Hotel Madeline uses a different approach; to serve guests a fresh, made to order breakfast from an extensive menu. And, no limits were placed on what, or how much, could be ordered.

We also enjoyed the fact that the restaurant offered good service. Each morning we were greeted by a hostess who showed us to our table, at which time a server would appear and offer a variety of beverages. Each subsequent morning after our first, the servers knew our preferences, but always confirmed what we wanted before pouring. In addition, the restaurant was properly bussed. One never had to look at dirty dishes on other tables when seated and when finished with one’s own plate, it was removed promptly, providing plenty of room to read the morning paper.

Telluride is full of many good restaurants, so we never dined in the Hotel Madeline’s restaurant except for breakfast. However, we did enjoy après-ski one afternoon in their Suede bar. We enjoyed the bar tender serving his inspired cocktails, as well as the tapas style offerings, including fresh oysters on the half shell. In addition, the bar had lots of malted fair offering several local and state of Colorado brews. Tasty! And, the prices were reasonable as well with nothing over $6, with most in the $4 range.

Spa:
Located on the second floor, in the building closest to the ski mountain, it feels oddly located. However, once checked in, the facilities are very nice. Although I did not enjoy any services myself, I was given a brief tour and the rooms were warm, inviting, and relaxing.

My wife was excited to learn that the spa offered a wonderful mother-daughter service that introduces the pre-teen set to the spa experience. Upon their return from the service, they told me all about their treatment room that included a fireplace, steam shower, sauna, and lounge chairs. I believe the word heavenly was used to describe the service. Glad to see that we’re setting the proper perspective for future tastes of the younger generation.

Departure:
On our morning of departure, we contacted the porter and again, within 3 minutes, he was at our door prepared to remove our items from the room. He assured us that he would retrieve all of our belongings and encouraged us to make our way to the lobby and that our folio would be ready for our review.

When we arrived at the front desk, we had another positive experience, even though the bill was incorrect. Why is it that it seems most luxury hotels never seem to get their accounting right? Anyway, no big deal as just one night of our package was priced incorrectly. An immediate apology was provided and a correction was made just as quickly. In addition, we learned that our breakfast was free for the entire family. We thought it would be just for two of us, but there was not a single charge for any breakfast item or beverage. Considering our breakfast was more than $100 each day, it was a very nice surprise indeed!

After receiving a zero balance receipt, we exited the hotel to find our SUV waiting our departure. The dog’s crate had been set-up and prepared for his arrival with a special bone, the ski equipment was loaded and secured in the cargo carrier, the luggage was stowed properly, the seat warmers were on and comfortable, and bottles of water were thoughtfully placed in the drink cup holders ready for our departure. After one last gracious thank-you and good-bye, we were on our way.

Overall:
As you can tell, we really enjoyed the Hotel Madeline. I would venture this is the finest hotel in Telluride and the location in Mountain Village just can't be beat for skiing. We will definitely return to the Hotel Madeline when we return to ski again at Telluride.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try my best to help.