The Little Nell, Aspen, Colorado

A magical mini-metropolis faces Aspen’s pristine peaks, which offer an extraordinary Colorado Rocky Mountain experience. The only ski-in, ski-out hotel in the swank resort town is The Little Nell, which overlooks the ski slope from its base at Aspen Mountain. The art-filled, 5-star and 5-diamond lodging, decorated by Champalimaud Design, offers a ski concierge who awaits families with youngsters at the top of the pool deck stairs, just steps from Aspen’s Silver Queen Gondola. In winter, toddlers can learn to ski, while experts descend from atop an 11,775-foot summit on the black diamond ski run.

This chic venue for kids of all ages may be best known for fine dining and wine events at Element 47, but the hotel features far more than the basic child-friendly, in-room amenities. Along with connecting rooms, full cribs and toddler beds are available. Parents of newborns and toddlers particularly appreciate outlet plugs and toilet locks, infant bathtubs, on-call baby sitters and physicians, even oxygen rental plus complimentary minibar snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, tea kettle (and espresso machine) and 24-hour in-room dining. Little ones enjoy the robes and slippers, stuffed animals and the teepee (in the larger suites) while entertainment ranges from toys, rattles and games to books, board games and PlayStations. Highchairs, booster chairs and step stools abound and, as for strollers, Little Nell has both indoor and ski ones.

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Little Nell Skistroller © The Little Nell

Aspen, the town, is a history lesson that students can appreciate. Native Americans were forcibly removed in 1880; settlers thrived through the silver boom (1879–1893) and founded two railroads, three schools and six newspapers. Aspen’s 19^th-century founders inaugurated the vibrant cultural ambiance, though it was the mid-20^th century settlers who established a ski town with an overlay of culture, calling it the “Athens of the West.” Today, the Wheeler-Stallard House — a meticulously upgraded 1888 Queen Anne residence with Victorian décor — is home to the Aspen Historical Society and filled with historic artifacts. The Holden Marolt Mining & Ranching Museum, located at the edge of town, is on the site of a former silver mine.

The community welcomes young people with a variety of activities. Pitkin County offers 60 miles of Nordic trail system to hike, cross-country ski or snowshoe. Aspen Center for Environmental Studies has programs from snowshoeing to photography and invites 7 year olds and older with intermediate skills on mountain tours. There’s a sledding hill behind the Aspen Recreation Center, which also has a climbing wall, heated indoor pool and indoor ice skating rink. (The outdoor rink is at CP Burger.) And, the Aspen Art Museum offers kids’ programs and  camps. Hire the credentialed hotel sitter if the kids are too young for comedy and music performances at the refurbished Wheeler Opera House, a Romanesque Revival and Italianate structure with proper proscenium stage, a 36-light chandelier, Moroccan leather seat coverings and a silver star-studded ceiling.

These are some of the reasons why Aspen is considered a premier, family-centric ski resort.