Summary
I visited Aspen (3 nights) in July 2014 over Independence Day weekend with my wife and 3 close couple friends. While it may be more well-known as a winter ski destination, Aspen (and Colorado in general) is a wonderful warm weather (non-humid) destination. Aspen has a small-town coziness that allows you to walk everywhere and explore while also being closely situated to many activities and dining options. Denver is a 4-hour flight from New York and given its altitude, the winds and weather can create serious delays. Furthermore, the connecting flight to Aspen can be bumpy given travel through the mountains so we were prepared for an eventful journey.
Accommodations
We stayed at the St. Regis Aspen which is perfectly located steps away from the town and naturally blends in architecturally to its surroundings. The hotel feel is more old world elegance with tremendous service and spectacular mountain views. The team helped us organize all our meals and activities and even helped us put together a fun birthday celebration for one of our friends in their lovely courtyard. The one thing to consider is that the pool is very small and serves as more of a refreshing place to stand as opposed to a specious location to swim. The hotel also provides a helpful Summer Guide to help plan a great trip to Aspen.
Select Favorites
Dining
For a smaller town, the dining options are diverse and enjoyable. Our favorite dinners included Jimmy’s an American Restaurant (American), Campo De Fiori (Italian) and Su Casa Mexican Restaurant (Mexican). Given how much we walked the city, we found ourselves stopping in various casual lunch spots but our favorite was the White House Tavern
Activities
We found ourselves surrounded by more activities than we could possibly fit into 3 days. We played golf and tennis at the Aspen Golf & Tennis Club and golfed again at the scenic Ironbridge Golf Course. We went biking via Aspen Sports (which has an office at the St. Regis) and the hotel concierge organized a whitewater rafting trip for our group on the Roaring Fork River. One evening at the hotel, we took in a St. Regis tradition and witnessed a Champagne Sabering as we celebrated a friend’s birthday. There are many activities to consider and the Summer Guide was a great resource
Recommendation
I would certainly recommend a trip to Aspen – either for a long weekend or for a week as there is much to do both in the summer and winter. Like with most other long-weekend trips we take, we went for 3 nights but I would likely want to go for at least 4 nights next time given the distance and how much there is to experience in the city. One consideration is the altitude in case high elevations cause sickness and my wife was pregnant at the time so she could not participate in certain activities (e.g. white water rafting). I think what this means is that we will likely go back in the future. Enjoy your trip!
