With Hotels With Great Taste, we’re pulling back the curtain for a peek at the “special sauce” that hotels use to create memorable, meaningful culinary experiences for their guests.
Up until a few years ago, when choosing travel destinations, I was a city gal who generally preferred the buzz and vigor of a culinary-focused itinerary against a metropolitan backdrop. But in the last few years, unexpectedly, I became an outdoor girlie.
As I shook the cobwebs off the elementary tennis skills of my youth, researched endless hiking boots (still open to suggestions), and cautiously gathered the fortitude to explore terrain beyond a bunny slope, my interests in new and revived hobbies gathered momentum. All of a sudden I was looking up tennis-centered girls’ weekends, the best hiking routes for beginners within an hour’s drive, and family-friendly ski vacations. The ratings on the activities were always the primary draw; if good food was somewhat accessible, it was icing on the cake.
When I had the opportunity to visit The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek, Colorado, it dawned on me that a sports-driven getaway and quality eats aren’t mutually exclusive. The resort is situated among the Rockies and Beaver Creek ski mountain, boasting ski-in/ski-out access. There is terrain for all levels, with plenty of ski school and private lesson options for beginner and expert skiers and snowboarders alike. Cross-country skiing and snowshoe tours are also offered.
I had the fortune of a guide who helped me navigate gentle greens and encouraged me toward more challenging blues. He knew when we needed a sugar pick-me-up at the Candy Cabin, an actual candy-filled cabin, evoking both Hansel and Gretel and Charlie and Chocolate Factory with its barrels of singular sweets, right on the slopes. At the end of the day the official Cookie Time kicked off around 3 p.m., when chefs distributed warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies at the bottom of Centennial Express as well as Beaver Creek Village. And new for the 2026 season is a full-fledged Cookie Cabin with a walk-up window where you can refuel on cookies and hot cocoa throughout the day.
You can’t talk ski without the après-ski; The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch doesn’t disappoint, with DJ sets and live music. One spirited late afternoon legit had me feeling like I was at an Alpine après-ski, with Aperol spritzes at every turn and Euro house music reverberating at the base of the mountain. If a laidback scene is more your vibe, you can’t beat the cozy après experience in The Great Room, a luxurious mountain lodge where a fire is always roaring and live musicians also take their place later in the evening.
