The Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain, had me hopeful but ultimately disappointed when I looked up the ski area's stats. Looks like a great hotel in the works, but the ski slopes leave much to be desired for those used to skiing huge mountains in the west. Still looks nice for families in that area, though.
"Blue Mountain features a vertical of 720 feet, or 220 metres, with 34 trails ranging from beginner slopes to double black diamond steeps."
Anyway, this seems to be the latest addition to Starwood's ski-area properties, and hopefully we'll see more to come.
Here are the North American Starwood properties that are convenient for skiing or may be useful for one-night lodging when flying in/out of ski-related airports:
Canada:
Western:
(Left Starwood: Four Points Canmore (near Banff, Alberta, Canada. 18-40 miles to 3 ski areas) Cat2)
Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler (Whistler, British Columbia. Slopeside.) Cat4
Four Points Kamloops, British Columbia. Cat2
Multiple Vancouver area hotels (Can be good for flights in/out of a trip to Whistler.) Cats2,4
Multiple Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, area hotels (Can be good for flights in/out of a trip to Banff/Lake Louise.) Cats2,3,4
Eastern:
Trillium House, Blue Mountain (Base of ski lifts with 34 trails and 720 vert feet. 100 miles from Toronto) Cat4
Le Westin Resort & Spa, Tremblant, Quebec (Slopeside.) Cat4
United States:
Colorado:
Sheraton Steamboat Resort. Cat4
Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas. (SVO.)
St Regis Aspen. Cat6
Sheraton Mountain Vista, Avon/Beaver Creek. (SVO Cat4. Limited participation in SPG. No elite benefits, though it can't hurt to ask for a Plat upgrade as a courtesy.)
Sheraton Denver West. (50 miles to Keystone. 84 miles to Vail.) Cat3
(Closed: Four Points Silverthorne lost to La Quinta in 2004)
Multiple Denver hotels (Can be good for flights in/out of Denver or Colorado Springs.) Cats1,2,3,4
(Closed: Sheraton Colorado Springs. Cat2)
Lakeside Terrace, Avon, Colorado (SVO property next to Sheraton Mountain Vista. Entirely 2BR units.)
[CANCELLED: Westin at Snowmass Village]
The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa (235 rooms. Cat5. Condo hotel.)
The Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas (SVO Cat4; 113 two-bedroom lockoffs), Beaver Creek / Avon. (Opened 2009.)
Other States:
Sheraton Salt Lake City, Utah. (multiple ski resorts within 40 - 60 minutes drive) Cat2
Sheraton Grand Sacramento. (99 miles to Lake Tahoe) Cat3
(Closed: Sheraton Billings, Montana (60 - 90 miles to ski areas. Lost to Crowne Plaza in Aug 2006.) )
Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown, New Mexico (120 miles to Taos. More to Durango and Wolf Creek, Colorado.) Cat2
Sheraton Burlington, Vermont (35 - 50 miles to ski areas) Cat3
Westin Monache, Mammoth Mountain, California. Cat5. condo hotel.
St Regis Deer Crest, Deer Valley, Park City, Utah. (Opened late 2009. Cat6.)
The Equinox, Luxury Collection, Vermont
Of these, I think that one of the best values is the
Sheraton Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake area slopes have great snow. If you want to ski a different resort each day and don't mind driving to the resorts, then this is a decent price as a Category 2 property. Rooms are comfortable and nicely furnished, but tower rooms are small. I don't recommend it for more than 2 adults per room. Rooms in the older building are larger but show their age. I have stayed at this Sheraton many times. (Edit to add: It's now been several years since I was last at this hotel. I understand that they've done some sort of renovating, but I'm not sure exactly what they've been doing.)
The
Sheraton Denver West has served me well more than once as a one-night stop on my way to or from the Summit County Colorado slopes. I wouldn't want to commute daily from here, but this is the closest Denver Starwood property to these slopes.
The
St Regis Aspen is wonderful but costly during peak seasons.
LEFT STARWOOD May 2008: The
Four Points Canmore (Category 2) is in a beautiful area. But since it is not in Banff, your dinner and nightlife options are limited near the hotel. You may find it preferable to stay at a non-Starwood property in Banff or spend a small fortune to stay at Lake Louise. I have not stayed at this Four Points.