Hotel Spotlight: Vail Marriott June 4, 2018
When planning my trip to Vail, I made sure to do my research on hotels that I knew were going to deliver. As a longtime Marriott member, I’ve stayed in dozens of Marriotts in my day all over the world, and was even mentioned on their blog as a result. However, my trip to Vail was different, and I wanted to stay somewhere that would reflect the beauty and allow me to decompress before my book launch the following week. When it comes to hotel renovations and transformations, I’m always curious to see what it was like beforehand, and then come back once it’s completed to experience the end result. As someone who’s both worked and represented the hospitality industry for over a decade, this sort of stuff gets me excited.
While I could boast about the many amenities and elements that Vail Marriott had to offer, I’d like to first recognize the room with the fireplace and particularly, the mountain views. Vail is known for being an exciting place to visit during the winter months to experience fresh, powder skiing conditions and lovely, wintery restaurants and shops. And while I’d highly recommend a Summer visit to Vail (kayaking, hiking, cycling, etc.!), it’s so nice either way to come back to a large room with a kitchen and fireplace to stay cozy. I found myself using the fireplace even in July! It was a nice luxury to have in a mountainous town. When I stepped outside and onto my porch, I was immediately graced by sweeping mountain views, pine trees, and the humming of birds. Many times, I sat outside with a glass of wine or morning cup of coffee to wake up to these eloquent sounds.
As a foodie and someone who is very particular about fine and worldly cuisines, I was impressed by both the portion size and taste of the appetizers and meals at The Avalanche Pub was really noteworthy! The cheese and charcuterie board had hefty slices of brie and blue cheese with paté and baguettes along with lots of meats. And I highly recommend their personal Harvest Pizza loaded with kale, pesto, mozzarella and plentiful veggies!
Another plus was their Oxygen Bar at the Golden Leaf Spa. I absolutely loved that they had this, being up at 8,000+ft, it can be hard to acclimate. This totally gave me that energy boost I needed.
The overall rating that I gave Vail Marriott is an 8/10.
What I loved: Balcony views, in-suite kitchen and fireplace, oxygen bar (!), and prime location!
What Set It Back: Lack of sustainability/energy efficiency initiatives.
Overall: A family-friendly resort in prime location with all the amenities one could ask for!
What makes a sustainable or regenerative hotel? A reverse osmosis water system, farm to table produce, supporting local dairy and meat farmers, engaging with local non-profit or community organization endeavors to address an issue within the country or community, energy efficient lighting, low pressure water systems, recycling, employing locals and offering fair and equal pay, replanting what was lost during the construction, use of biofuel (for boats), engaging guests in local cultural experiences and making them aware of environmental and cultural needs, LEED Certification, educating staff on importance of sustainability (turning off lights, observing for wasteful practices, etc.), reducing bathroom amenities waste (using bamboo toothbrushes instead, locally made/organic soap, shampoo and conditioner that help the environment), the list goes on.
Leave a Comment