Travel Diaries: Vail
The Monday after Christmas, we took a super early flight from Chattanooga into Eagle. We were headed to Vail for the first time as a family. We have loved Beaver Creek for the past seven years, but decided we would try something different this year. Yes, I know they are both under the Vail Resorts umbrella, but it felt strange to not actually be staying in BC village. Skiing is so much more fun with friends, and some of our good friends were planning to go to Vail after Christmas, so it was a perfect fit to ring in the new year! Christmas time in a ski village is enchating. We usually go mid January or even President’s Day weekend, but this year seemed like the year to be somewhere magical to welcome 2021. One of the days we were there, it snowed all day and all night, and left us with a perfect blanket of white.
Things were a little different due to Covid, but for the most part, we felt super safe with the enforced rules of social distancing and of course, masks, but nothing due to Covid safety measures impacted our fun. We had a ball!
I rounded up a list of fabulous restaurants we indulged in and activities (skiing of course, but there really is so much more). We worked with the other family on calling to get dinner reservations since most places only allow reservations to be made two weeks out, but we ended up with a great list for the week we all loved! Restaurants in Colorado are currently only seating 25 percent capacity, which makes securing reservations hard and a necessary tag team effort. However, the safety measures made us feel super safe to not be in crowded environments at night. Overall, we had a fantastic time and I’m excited to share our trip with you in the pictures below.
Caroline’s sweater and red corduroys are Sandbox Boutique in Chattanooga / black wedge snow boots / Caroline’s headband / Sarah’s coat / Sarah’s snow boots
Sarah’s travel backpack was genius because I could constantly wipe it down with antibacterial wipes. We had a long travel day, so as soon as we arrived at the hotel, we all showered and went to eat. On the right, you see the facial mask I never leave home without. I usually put it in the refrigerator as soon as we get somewhere, so it is ready the first morning to depuff from a day of travel (and arrival cocktails).
kids key ski pieces
my key ski pieces
warm pieces I packed for at night
cute warm clothes the girls packed
Happy New Year from Mountain Standard . . .
eat
Mountain Standard: Located in Vail Village, I highly recommend for lunch or dinner. We had the pimento cheese appetizer and it was comfort food from the start, which is exactly what you want when you come off the mountain at 4:30.
Matsuhisa: We ate here the first night, and honestly it was so good we could have eaten here every night. There were so many things on the menu I wanted to try.
Swiss Chalet: Fabulous fondue, which was fun for both children and adults. Get ready for this meal though, it sure is heavy, but worth it for the flavors and the experience.
Bully Ranch: Located in the beautiful Sonnenalp Hotel in the Village, this restaurant is low key and perfect for after a full day of skiing. It’s casual and the kids menu is great. I recommend starting with either the pretzel or the spinach dip. Both are warm and yummy after a full day on the slopes.
Bol Vail: Go for the bowling AND the food. This is a great stop located next to the ice skate rink, and great casual dinner options. It’s definitely NOT your typical bowl food - trust me!
Blue Moose Pizza: We knew we would want to eat lunch here because we love the Blue Moose in Beaver Creek. Owned by the same people, Blue Moose Vail has the same nice people and the same great pizza and salads. It’s great staple in the middle of a ski village.
La Nonna: We did not go here, but it is always found on Vail must go to lists. It’s a cozy Italian restaurant, and we plan to go on our next visit to Vail.
El Segundo: We did not have time to go to El Segundo, but I hear the tacos and margs are delicious. It’s close to Gondola One, so we’ll hit this cute spot next time.
Pazzo’s Vail: Delicious pizza and great salads, another great spot for lunch or dinner. We tried to go last minute one day at lunch time, but they were already at their capacity and it was going to be an hour and half wait. That should tell you how good it must be!
La Bottega Vail: We ate here for lunch on the day we were leaving. We all were happy to have discovered this cute Italian gem in the village. The people were so nice and I highly recommend the beet salad, where as ~ Matthew highly recommends the meatball sub. Go with the small sub though, it was huge! Oh, and Caroline had the Caesar salad and it was delicious!!
These are the only restaurants in Vail proper I know to recommend, but let me know if you have others. We always love adding to our restaurant favorites and I know it won’t be long before we travel back to Vail.
do
Ski: This one is obvious, but I’ve had a lot of questions on skiing during the current pandemic climate. Sarah was signed up for ski school everyday, and loved her instructor. She had such a good instructor who got her to level 4 and took her up on the mountain everyday. The only difference in ski school this year was the ski students cannot eat lunch together, they can only be together with masks on, so we picked Sarah up everyday from 12:00 to 1:00. This seems easy, but with all kids being picked up for lunch at the same time, we found it easy for Caroline and me to secure a table somewhere for lunch, and Matthew pick up Sarah, so we would all have time to eat tougher and have her back by 1:00. For adults, this season you must have an Epic Pass pre-purchased in order to ski. Plus, you need to make sure to have the days you plan to ski pre-purchased and loaded on your Epic Pass. Because of Covid, there is a limit to the amount of skiers that have access to the mountain each day, but the actually makes it nice because lift lines are short and slopes are not crowded.
Sledding: You can do this on top of the mountain. It looks fun, but we skied everyday this year.
Shop around Vail Village: Vail Village is adorable. Take time to take it all in and walk around. For Tweens, be sure to shop Skipper and Scout. If shopping for yourself, do not miss Perch. There’s a location in Denver, Aspen, and Vail and it is awesome! You can check out this store on Instagram too - it’s great! It’s also really fun to go in the fur stores, browse the art galleries, and be sure to look at the cowboy hats and western wear in Kemo Sabe.
Spa: I always say I’m going to go to the spa, but then I start skiing with Matthew and the girls and I don’t want to go in early. Honestly, I’m too competitive to go in early. If they are going to ski until the last lift, I want to too!! I’m not a big vacation spa girl anyway, but the hotels in Vail seem to have some of the best spas.
Good friends and good skiing was the perfect way to ring in 2021! I can’t express just how much we love skiing as a family. You know by now, I am a sunshine - summer girl, but skiing is something we can do as a family for a lifetime. There is nothing like watching your children laugh and ski together and I love the time on the slopes with Matthew too! Overall, I can’t recommend a family ski trip enough! XOXO, Tracy