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ILUXURYTRAVELS

Amenity — Mountain

Luxury Cabins and Chalets

Cabin, chalet and lodge mean very different things depending on the mountain. What they share is timber, a ski room and a fire worth sitting at — and rates that swing further between weeks than almost any other category we carry.

Estates with a mountain cabin or chalet

46 estates in the collection

What the words actually mean

In Colorado, a luxury cabin is rarely a cabin: the houses that rent under that description in Aspen, Vail and Jackson Hole are timber-and-glass lodges of six to ten bedrooms, with a ski room, a spa level and a heated motor court. In the Alps, chalet is the standard term for the same thing, and in Japan the equivalent is a Niseko or Hakuba house with an onsen bath.

Judge the house on three things rather than the label: distance to the lift, whether a chef and housekeeper are included or contracted, and whether the garage and boot room can take your group's gear. Everything else is decoration.

Aspen: the reference market

Aspen is the deepest cabin-and-chalet market in North America, and the one this collection carries most of. West End Victorians put you within walking distance of the gondola; Red Mountain lodges buy the long view down the valley at a premium; Starwood is the gated top of the market; and Woody Creek, Castle Creek and Snowmass trade proximity for material value.

Across our Aspen inventory, nightly rates currently run from roughly $2,000 for a four-bedroom house outside town to $15,500 for a fourteen-acre Starwood estate. Festive and Presidents' Week dates are quoted separately by the partner holding them.

Booking windows

Christmas and New Year in Aspen and the high Alps is the hardest fortnight in the calendar: the best houses rebook with last year's guests, and what remains is usually committed by February for the following winter. January, March and April are comfortably bookable three to six months out, and often inside that.

Summer is the quiet opportunity. The same Aspen and alpine houses rent at a fraction of winter rates between June and September, when the music festival, hiking and cycling seasons run.

Read before you book

Frequently asked

What does a luxury cabin in Aspen cost?
Indicatively from around $2,000 a night for a four-bedroom house ten minutes from town, $5,000 to $10,000 for a Red Mountain or West End lodge, and up to roughly $15,500 for a large gated Starwood estate. Festive and Presidents' Week dates are quoted separately.
What is the difference between a cabin, a chalet and a lodge?
Mostly regional vocabulary. In Colorado and Wyoming these houses are described as cabins or lodges, in the Alps as chalets, and in Japan simply as houses. At this level they are all timber-built mountain houses with a ski room, a fire and usually a spa.
Are these houses ski-in ski-out?
Some are. In Aspen, Snowmass and the Alps a number of the houses on this page have direct piste access; others are a short shuttle from the gondola and run a car or driver. Each listing states its access, and the ski-in ski-out filter narrows the list to those that have it.
When should I book a ski chalet?
By February for the following Christmas and New Year, and three to six months ahead for January, March and April. Summer in the same houses is usually available at short notice and at a much lower rate.