Travel For the Arts and Dance Lovers

You can find what you want in a ski resort in one of these top ten places. Voted the best ten by readers of SKI magazine.

1. Vail, Colorado: This is a complex of three ski areas. Combined yet described as three distinct skiing areas. The Back Bowls is 3,017 acres. The frontside has 1,627 acres. The smallest, Blue Sky Basin is 645 acres. An exciting place to ski with a downhill run to thrill the most sophisticated tourist. The new Arrabelle Hotel Complex is opening this year. The popular Blue Moon restaurant is being renovated. This is an adult playground with skiing as a large part of it. If snow doesn’t fall there — they have a machine to make their own as many resorts now do. According to tourists the worst thing that can happen is your cell phone service doesn’t work at times. A dream vacation for you. The slopes in the daytime and clubs at night.

2. Deer Valley, Utah: Ski on a total of six mountains. Bald Eagle Mountain, Baldy, Little Baldy Peak, Flagstaff Mountain, Bald Mountain and Empire. There are slopes for every skill level. The ski lifts have heaters in them. Take your appetite to Snow Park Lodge for a fabulous sea food buffet. It is so large you are advised to skip lunch. This resort area is family-friendly and there are some great package deals, some with discounted lift tickets. Flagstaff Mountain is especially beginner-friendly. It offers children’s runs. There are play areas with names like Quincy’s Cabin, Bucky’s Backyard and other winsome names. The kids will love it.

3. Snow Mass, Colorado: This beautiful resort offers ski and snowboarding lessons for all ages. There are lessons for physically challenged to learn adaptive methods of skiing. The eight-passenger gondola takes skiiers to the slopes in record time. Many tourists are renting luxury homes instead of staying at a hotel in this luxurious area.

4. Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia: This resort features 8,171 acres. A thousand acres of high-alpine slopes are now available to intermediate skill skiiers. There is a charming European style town of 10,000. During the peak season for skiing the population will temporarily reach 30,000. Blackcomb Mountain is unique. You can ski there in June and July. It is the only place in North America that has glacier skiing available to the public.

5. Park City, Utah: The Wasach mountains 32 miles from Salt Lake City with three ski resorts withing minutes of the Park City. All beautiful locations with enough hotel rooms for 12,000 visitors. Be sure to go to the Bad Ass Coffee Company for some quiet time as well as great coffee.

6. Breckenridge, Colorado: This beautiful location features skiing lessons including private instruction. Recent Innovations include a new gondola to take you from parking lot to lifts. They feature a party honoring the Norse god of snow each year.

7. Aspen, Colorado: You might call this a resort for experienced skiiers only. There are no slopes designated for novices. There’s free bus service between the four mountains in Aspen. You may see a performance by Lyle Lovett at the Wheeler Opera House or classical violinist at Harris Concert Hall. Stop for coffee and breakfast at the Main Street Bakery where the locals eat. It must be great food.

8. Beaver Creek, Colorado: This resort is in a stunningly beautiful area. The slopes wind gently between walls of pine trees on either side. There are 180 new acres open to skiiers on the eastern edge of the mountain. The Allegria Spa at the Park Hyatt Hotel is a high-end pampering salon. This is a luxury resort but there are package deals at the Pines Lodge. Go over to Red Tail Camp for a burger. An experience for all tourists.

9. Steamboat, Colorado: Exciting resort for college students on break. Snowboarding is very popular here. Be sure to visit the Thunderhead and Rendezvous for dining in a luxurious setting on the mountain. If you book a stay between February 7 and February 11 you can attend the “Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival.” It is the oldest winter carnival West of Kansas.

10. Sun Valley, Idaho: Kids fifteen and younger can stay in Sun Valley Company hotels for free when with a parent. One event is a cross-country ski trip at night ending at the Galena Lodge for a five-course dinner.

The resorts are rated by readers of Ski Net. Presumably, the voters have skiing experience and have visited these resorts. Downhill skiing is a thrilling experience. Choose a slope appropriate for your skill level. Shop for designer ski jackets. Then after a day of skiing — you can explore the night life scene. There may be a show or concert. Any of these top rated resort towns will provide a special vacation with many fun activities including special skiing events for everyone to participate in…

Southern Sun has been chosen as South Africa’s gold medal winning hotel group by industry peers! At this year’s Ipsos Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands survey after racing ahead of Sun International and Protea Hotels, the Southern Sun Group clinched the gold in the Business-to-Business category.

The award comes eighteen months after Southern Sun embarked on a new behavioural change programme referred to as Siyakhanya, meaning “We Shine”, aimed at giving the hotel group a polished image amongst others in the hotel industry.

Neil Fraser, Director of Sales and Marketing at Southern Sun said, “We needed to ensure that our collective staff behaviour is aligned with our Southern Sun brand promise of true Southern Warmth. I believe this programme helped us to optimise the potential and capacity of every member of staff to deliver distinctive, consistent and compelling customer experiences. By engaging and involving staff in a purposeful change journey with measurable, achievable deliverables and clear accountabilities, we believe that we truly have a winning team on board.”

Fraser shared his delight after wining the award, thanking the individuals who make the hotel group a gold-medal winner, “Southern Sun deliberately focussed its entire brand strategy to ensure that we become the day-to-day, moment-of-truth, top-of-mind hotel brand in South Africa. This is a highly competitive category and this prestigious award goes to every single member of staff at Southern Sun. Together, they really made it happen, so this one’s for the team!”

Southern Sun is already recognised as the leading hotel group in South Africa offering the widest distribution of hotels in major urban centres and key leisure destinations, and will be the largest provider of accommodation during the FIFA World Cup events. “We are on a winning streak and this award reverberates internally and that we are ready to take on the world in 2010. Southern Warmth must shine through in everything we do and all we have to offer, all the time. If we keep getting this right, then that’s the lasting reward.”



About Southern Sun

Southern Sun is the leading hotel group in South Africa, providing world-class accommodation across all markets and offering the widest distribution of hotels in South Africa in major urban centres and key leisure destinations.

Southern Sun’s hotel portfolio comprises of various brands which have been segmented to meet all guests’ needs. The global collection of 81 hotels which sport 13 319 rooms and combine local favourites with some of the world’s most respected hotel brands: Southern Sun Hotels and Resorts, SunSquare, Garden Court, StayEasy by Southern Sun, Southern Sun Timeshare resorts, InterContinental Hotels and Formula 1.

The award has made Southern Sun the leading Southern African hotel group and the group is ranked amongst the top 36 hotel groups worldwide. With over 40 years of experience in servicing the local and international business and leisure traveller, Southern Sun is focused on building its portfolio of successful global brands and continues its expansion in Africa, the Indian Ocean Island and the Middle East.

Southern Sun is wholly owned by Tsogo Sun Holdings, one of South Africa’s most successful entertainment and hospitality groups. Tsogo Sun Holdings comprises Southern Sun Hotels and Tsogo Sun Gaming.

For winter sports enthusiasts, there is nothing better than rushing down a mountain on freshly snow-covered slopes. To help you find the right ski holiday that will fulfill your craving for an outdoor adventure, here is a list of popular ski slopes in the United States:

Breckinridge, Colorado

One of the better known Ski resorts in Colorado, Breckinridge totals 2,358 acres and has 155 trails. Its longest trail, Four O’clock, reaches a length of 3.5 miles and the resort spans over more than 10 peaks. Of the 155 trails this resort hosts, 36-percent are expert slopes, the largest percentage of slope difficulty, and 13-percent of the slopes have the easiest designation.

Aspen, Colorado

Located in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, Aspen, Colorado, is the Aspen Mountain Ski Resort. Sitting on 673 acres, Aspen Mountain is one of the smallest ski resorts around. It utilizes Aspen Mountain and Bell Mountain which has an elevation of 11,212 feet.

Killington, Vermont

This ski resort is the largest resort in the eastern part of the United States. Utilizing Vermont’s second highest mountain, Killington Peak, this resort sports 200 trails and 33 ski lifts spanned over seven mountains. It is estimated that nearly 17,000 people will visit Killington Ski Resort on a good day.

Park City, Utah

This tourist destination is home to three different ski resorts, Park City Mountain Resort, the Canyons Resort and Deer Valley Resort. Park City Mountain Resort covers 3,300 acres and has 104 trails. Canyon Resort, the bigger of the three, runs on nine mountains, totaling 3,700 acres and 155 trails. Deer Valley Resort recently underwent a nine million dollars renovation to add 200 acres and nine new slopes

Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California

Lake Tahoe, located on the Nevada-California boarder is home to Heavenly Mountain Resort. It features 95 slopes over 4,800 acres. At an elevation of 10,067, this resort is host to Lake Tahoe’s highest peak. It is the largest ski resort in California, with a total of 33-percent of its land developed.

Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania

The Pocono Mountains is home to more than ten different ski resorts. The largest one, Camelback Ski Area, has 33 slopes and covers 139 acres. At an elevation of 2,133 feet, its steepest slope is 800 feet. Located in close proximity to Camelback Ski Area is Jack Frost Big Boulder Resort. This ski area is two resorts combined into one with nearly 30 different ski slopes.