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Downhill all the way: The ultimate skiing holiday

Game Creek Chalet
The Game Creek Chalet offers unparalleled luxury in an unparalleled setting

(CNN) -- For those who like to combine skiing with pampering, a high-octane day on the slopes with a low-key evening sipping champagne in a hot-tub, physical exertion with relentless cosseting -- for those, in short, who like their ski holidays luxurious -- then the Game Creek Chalet in Vail, Colorado, is the place for you.

Set 10,500 feet up in the secluded splendor of the Rocky Mountains, the chalet is accessible only by Sno-Cat -- a vehicle specially adapted for traversing snowy terrain -- and, at a wallet-chilling $2,800 per night, offers everything the moneyed skier could possibly want or require.

Hired out on a single-party basis, and sleeping up to eight people at a time, guests are greeted on arrival by a personal valet who serves champagne while helping you settle into one of the chalet's four bedrooms, each of which has an en-suite bathroom, hand-carved wooden doorway, vaulted ceiling and king-sized bed complete with a whale-blubber-thick duvet to keep out the cold.

Breakfast and afternoon hors d'oeuvres are included in the price, as is dinner, which can either be taken in the chalet itself -- prepared by your own private chef -- or else in the nearby Game Creek Club, an exclusive, members-only establishment famed for its chic clientele, panoramic mountain-top views and prize-winning cuisine (the pan-seared loin of venison is especially recommended.)

While all of this might dissuade some guests, once inside the chalet, from ever going out again -- unlimited free beverages are another inducement to inactivity -- it is the fabulous local skiing that is Game Creek's real raison d'etre, and that elevates a stay there from the merely opulent to the truly magical.

Skiing
Vail offers some of the best skiing in the world

Regularly included in lists of the world's finest ski destinations -- it came in at Number Four in a recent Traveler's Digest ranking of best international ski resorts -- Vail offers the largest single ski area in the United States with over 5,300 acres of ski-able terrain and some of the best snow conditions and ski runs on the planet (including the legendary off-piste "Back Bowls.")

Chalet guests have all this quite literally on their doorstep, with the added bonus of free lift passes and a private ski instructor and mountain guide. And it's not just skiing that is on offer.

Snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dog-sledding, horse-sleighing, ballooning, ice-skating, telemarking, ice-hockey are all available in the vicinity, ensuring that a stay at Game Creek Chalet will not only be a memorably luxurious experience, but also a downright exhausting one.

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