Finding Luxury Beyond the Traditional Slopes: Exclusive Winter Getaways
The Evolution of Winter Retreats
While Aspen continues to attract high-profile personalities like Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, Prince Harry, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a new trend is emerging in winter travel destinations for the ultra-wealthy. Power players and celebrities are increasingly looking beyond the familiar luxury resorts in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Switzerland. These discerning travelers are seeking fresh powder and exclusive experiences at emerging or newly enhanced ski destinations around the globe. What sets these locations apart isn’t just pristine slopes, but the complete package of luxury amenities, from private mountains and exclusive clubs to world-class culinary experiences led by Michelin-starred chefs. These destinations offer more than just skiing—they provide a comprehensive retreat from the ordinary world, where privacy, exclusivity, and unparalleled service create truly exceptional winter experiences.
Remote Alaskan Wilderness and Icelandic Adventures
In the shadow of North America’s tallest peak sits an ultra-exclusive retreat in Denali National Park, Alaska, where Julia Roberts reportedly celebrated her husband Danny Moder’s 50th birthday. This isolated resort, accessible only by helicopter, sits on a 33-acre nunatak deep within the national park. The property offers an extraordinary blend of wilderness and luxury, with owner Marne Sheldon explaining, “There is no other way to experience the mountain unless you’re willing to pitch a tent, eat freeze-dried food, and survive the elements.” Instead, guests enjoy a 2,000-square-foot chalet, gourmet meals, and plush accommodations in what Sheldon describes as “the most gorgeous place on all of Earth.” The property’s history adds to its mystique—Sheldon’s father-in-law claimed the site under the Homestead Act before Alaska achieved statehood. At $32,000 per night for a complete buyout of the five-bedroom lodge, guests receive personalized experiences from mountain guides, activities from heli-skiing to fly-fishing, and unmatched views of the aurora borealis. Meanwhile, in Iceland’s remote Fljót Valley, former Blackstone executive Chad Pike opened Eleven Deplar in 2016, part of his luxury adventure travel company. Justin Bieber reportedly spent a week here recording music while enjoying the dramatic scenery. Located near the Arctic Circle on a former sheep farm, this exclusive resort offers helicopter access to untouched slopes with ski seasons extending into June. The 13-room inn features a geothermal spa and unique activities like Arctic surfing, creating what one reviewer called “the best day ever, even on days we thought we knew what to expect.”
Japanese Luxury and New York’s Private Club Experience
Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido has emerged as a premier ski destination, with the mountain town of Niseko drawing comparisons to Aspen and St. Moritz. This booming area has attracted celebrities like Hugh Jackman and Sam Neil, along with significant investment from billionaires such as Malaysia’s Francis Yeoh and Red Bull co-owner Charlerm Yoovidhya. Among the area’s growing luxury accommodations, the six-star Seasons Collection Niseko stands apart on the quiet side of Mount Niseko-Annupuri. This one-of-a-kind private estate, accessible by skiing through trees on the little-known Seasons Chairman’s Run, offers guests an in-house Michelin-starred chef, home theater, indoor heated swimming pool, and 1,000-bottle wine cellar. The property, which appeared on Netflix’s “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals,” creates such a comprehensive luxury experience that guests might find themselves reluctant to leave for the slopes. Closer to home, New York’s Catskills region has seen a dramatic transformation at Windham Mountain. Hospitality veterans Kemmons Wilson Jr. (heir to the Holiday Inn empire) and Sandy Beall (founder of Tennessee’s five-star Blackberry Farm) have invested $70 million to convert this previously low-key ski area into an amenities-packed private club. Members pay $200,000 to join, plus $9,000 in annual dues, gaining access to “first tracks” on surprisingly good East Coast snow, members-only lift lines, private locker rooms, valet service, and exclusive dining options including a steakhouse and intimate sushi restaurant. Beall acknowledges they can’t compete with Western resorts on skiing alone, but asserts, “we’re running an elevated resort—we can beat them on food and beverage, on hospitality, on experience.”
European Elegance and Utah’s Expanding Horizons
In Italy’s Dolomite Mountains, the historic Rosa Alpini hotel, which has hosted celebrities from Tom Cruise to Prince Albert of Monaco since the 1930s, reopened in summer 2023 after a two-year, $69-million renovation as the Aman Rosa Alpina. Located in the quaint village of San Cassiano, the property sits just a short walk from the Piz Sorega gondola, with convenient access to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics venues about an hour away. While preserving cherished elements like the longtime piano player and helpful ski butler, Aman has refreshed the concept, replacing the former three-Michelin-starred restaurant with a more relaxed grill serving Italian classics. The renovated spa features two outdoor infinity pools, a warm thermal bath, and a lap pool, with helicopter transfers available from local airports. Meanwhile, Utah’s popular Deer Valley, which has attracted visits from Taylor Swift, Gwen Stefani, and the Kardashians, has dramatically expanded its offerings. Previously ranked as the 15th largest ski resort in the nation with over 2,000 skiable acres, it has more than doubled in size in the past year. The expansion, called “Expanded Excellence,” now encompasses 31 lifts, 202 runs, and 4,300 skiable acres. While five-star lodging options currently include the Montage Deer Valley and Stein Eriksen Lodge, a Four Seasons is under construction for 2026-27. Despite the changes, the resort maintains its distinctive hallmarks: capped daily capacity, a ban on snowboarders, and the option for day lessons with an Olympian for about $3,000. As Deer Valley Resort President Todd Bennett explained, “This isn’t a reinvention. It’s an expansion of what has worked well.”
The Future of Exclusive Winter Retreats
The evolution of luxury winter destinations continues with innovative new concepts like Utah’s Wolf Creek, where Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is developing a $300 million semi-private housing community on Powder Mountain. While public skiers can still access much of the mountain, owning a Powder Haven home—starting around $2.5 million—provides exclusive access to private lifts and uncrowded, ungroomed terrain. The first operational season of the mountain’s private side began this winter with the debut of the Primetime lift, opening approximately 1,200 acres of north-facing powder in the newly expanded Davenport territory. This represents just the beginning of an ambitious vision that includes two more private lifts and a 73,000-square-foot members-only summit clubhouse featuring amenities from an in-house gym and omakase restaurant to a heated outdoor pool and pickleball courts. The development has seen remarkable demand, with Hastings selling nearly all 39 build-ready lots before infrastructure was even in place. Thirty-four additional custom homesites are now available, with average listing prices around $4 million. As Hastings told Robb Report, “The demand has been tremendous.” These emerging destinations represent a significant shift in how the ultra-wealthy experience winter retreats—seeking not just excellent skiing, but comprehensive luxury experiences in increasingly exclusive environments.
The New Paradigm of Winter Luxury
What unites these diverse destinations—from remote Alaskan wilderness to transformed Catskills slopes—is a fundamental reimagining of the winter retreat experience. Today’s most discerning travelers aren’t merely seeking challenging terrain or luxury accommodations; they’re pursuing comprehensive experiences that combine natural beauty, privacy, exceptional service, and unique amenities unavailable elsewhere. The traditional concept of the ski vacation has evolved into something more holistic and exclusive, where the barriers to entry—whether geographic remoteness, membership requirements, or simply extraordinary cost—ensure an experience shared with only the most privileged few. While the familiar destinations like Aspen and St. Moritz will always maintain their appeal, these emerging alternatives offer something different: the opportunity to pioneer new traditions in locations still being discovered by the jet set. For those with the means and desire to venture beyond the established circuits, these destinations represent not just a vacation, but an opportunity to experience winter in ways most can only imagine—where every detail from arrival to departure is curated to create memories as rarefied as the thin mountain air itself.
