It's hard to find a better ski-in, ski-out experience than the one offered at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe.
Quite a few properties advertise easy slope access, and sometimes that means feeding guests into crowded public access points or requiring them to pull a little too long on a flat path or carry ski equipment a bit before actually stepping onto the slopes.
Not here.
The 153-room Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, which sits midmountain at the Northstar California ski resort, has a ski valet program that enables guests to take the elevator from their rooms, wearing comfortable shoes, to the boot storage window.
After swapping shoes for warm ski boots, ski valets place guests' skis or snowboards right onto the snow, and in about 20 seconds, they can be sliding downhill to one of Northstar's major lifts.
At the end of the day, or just for a break or proper lunch, a short trail leads right back to the property.
The hotel's heated pool. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe
The seamless ski experience is a result of the collaboration between the hotel and the ski resort. The Ritz-Carlton also has its own location of True North, Northstar's retail shop, on property. Guests can get their lift tickets here, book lessons and pick up any equipment they may require.
Guests can rent from Epic Mountain Rentals, which is based at the Northstar village and works closely with the hotel. With only a couple days to enjoy the property, the last thing I wanted to worry about was spending an afternoon getting skis for the next day. Epic offers in-room boot fitting, and our ski technician even reached out to see if the time we'd selected to meet still worked for us and was able to come earlier, enabling us to free up our afternoon.
The property also offers immediate apres access. Within minutes of clicking out of my skis and dropping my poles, I was sitting at a wooden picnic table in the California sun with mountain views and a local draft beer in hand at the Backyard BBQ. If you come hungry, an on-site smoker serves up Texas-style barbecue and wood-fired flatbreads.
The property's centerpiece is a three-story stone column that is surrounded by several seating areas on different levels with plenty of fireplaces and cozy sofas in what is aptly called the Living Room Photo Credit: Johanna Jainchill
Putting down roots
Staying at the Ritz-Carlton meant a seamless ski experience, but I'd gladly spend time here in any season.
The property has a cozy, mountain-inspired atmosphere, with an arboreal theme throughout the spaces, meaning lots of wood and branch design details.
The property's centerpiece is a three-story stone column that looks like a tree trunk. It's surrounded by several seating areas on different levels with plenty of fireplaces and cozy sofas in what is aptly called the Living Room, a place for a perfect evening of board games and casual dinner fare.
The ponzu-marinated wild salmon carpaccio at Manzanita, the hotel's fine dining restaurant. Photo Credit: Johanna Jainchill
But this is a Ritz-Carlton, so fine dining is always on the table. Manzanita focuses on California cuisine in a beautiful setting with mountain views, gas fireplaces and wood-beamed ceilings. Not every place gets creative with hot cocktails, but the Hot Buttered Rum and Fall of Cortez, with ingredients such as Aztec spices, were certainly tempting. And Manzanita lived up to its reputation for offering an exceptional selection of wines, especially from California.
Menu highlights were the ponzu-marinated wild salmon carpaccio and Manzanita's signature Alaskan halibut, served with caviar beurre blanc and leek oil. Venison and a rigatoni with a truffle and minced mushroom sauce rounded out the signature dishes. Desserts were as creative as the cocktails, such as the Lake Tahoe Pinecone, a flourless cake with manjari chocolate mousse and chocolate crumble orange ice cream.
Continuing the resort's arboreal theme, the property's new Spirit of the Sierras Signature Cocktail comes on a wooden tray from repurposed Tahoe Forest wood and frozen rocks from the nearby Truckee River as ice cubes. The Ritz donates $1 from every cocktail served to reforestation efforts in the region.
A fire pit at the hotel. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe
S'mores and more
There's a lot to do in Lake Tahoe, but a plethora of amenities and activities made it hard for us to leave the resort.
The pool is heated all winter, and a popular apres activity is drinks in the hot tubs looking out at the ski slopes.
There are plenty of places to gather around fire pits outside. Don't miss the complimentary S'more & Hot Coco Extravaganza offered every afternoon, which enables guests to get creative with different toppings for their s'mores and hot chocolate and offers hot toddies for adults.
Finally, the rooms at the Ritz continue the cozy-yet-contemporary theme. Ours had a view of the ski slopes and, like all rooms, featured a gas fireplace and a deep soaking tub. And the two soft, brown leather armchairs were a little too tough to get up from after a long day of ski and apres.