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Winter escapes and escapades are yours to enjoy far from the sand, sun and sea. Bundle up and get ready to enjoy more than a few chills at these 5 extremely cool vacation spots. By Michelle Payer

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Hey, Ho, Off to the Mines I GoStep back nearly 200 years into the town of Dunton, a former mining town in the Colorado Rockies that became a deserted ghost town be-fore being brought back to life as Dunton Hot Springs, a luxury resort complete with restored miner’s cabins (one was the former General Store) and natural hot springs. Choose from 12 individually designed cabins, among them Potter House, the owner’s original abode and a private retreat that sleeps up to 10, or the romantic Dolores, an original cabin perched beside the West Dolores River, complete with fireplace, gas stove and Rajasthan wedding bed. When it’s time to head outside, explore groomed cross-country ski trails or snowshoe through silent meadows. And then there’s ice skating, snowmobiling, skiing, heli-skiing, hiking, winter horseback riding in the canyon and, of course, the world-famous hot springs to keep one entertained. Favored by miners, and before them the Ute Indians while roaming their summer hunt-ing grounds, the natural hot springs are dotted throughout the resort, giving guests the options of locations in which to soak, from inside

the restored 19th-century bathhouse to under the stars at the source. The Spa features holistic and therapeutic healing treatments, while a wellness studio offers private yoga and Pilates sessions. Don’t miss the Saloon, a local gathering place frequented by miners, trappers, cowboys and outlaws, including Butch Cassidy and his sidekick Sundance, whose names are carved into the bar. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the Saloon, at a long antique table where miners and big cattle out-laws shared stories of the day; however, arrangements can be made for guests wishing to dine separately. Several major airlines provide daily service to the region through Durango, Telluride, Cortez and Montrose airports. Guests can either rent a car or the resort can arrange airport transfers for the short drive. Cabin rates begin at $600 per night or choose from several packages. Dunton Hot Springs is located at 52068 Co. Rd. 38, Dolores, Colorado; for more information, call 877-288-9922 or visit www.DuntonHotSprings.com.

Your Private Luxury Igloo AwaitsPerched on the shores of Lake Geneva, with its breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps and renowned Cinq Mondes Spa, the ultra-luxurious Beau-Rivage Palace offers another reason to visit this winter: Two transparent Lakeside Holiday Igloos have just opened for private tête-à-têtes or larger gathering for up to six people. Nestled in the hotel’s 10-acre garden, the chalet-chic Nordic retreats have two conceptually different design concepts, the first in modern elegance with frosted silvers and gold and the other in classic alpine ski-lodge style with wooden elements and traditional red and green accents. Both resemble a cozy living room with couches, coffee tables and 360-degree views of a storybook Swiss winter scene from which to tuck into legendary Swiss fondue, dried meat from Valais, pumpkin soup, hot mulled wine or a traditional afternoon tea with a chestnut-morellos Mont-Blanc log. The temporary winter igloos are by reservation only and open until 10 p.m. weeknights and until midnight Friday and Saturday through January 31, 2017. A minimum spend of $495 per hour is required for private reservations. The convivial winter wonderland atmosphere extends throughout the Palace grounds with the addition of the annual ice skat-

WE KNOW WE ARE BLESSED WITH THE MOST delicious winter weather in the northern hemisphere this time of year. Combined with white sands, palm trees and

balmy ocean breezes, it’s the reason why many of us live here; these five months somehow make up for sweltering summers. Still, the idea of sitting by a fire sipping hot cocoa (or hot toddies) in a winter wonderland is a tableau that beckons. Here we give you some of our favorite spots to get your chill on. ᄆOLD

Opposite: Accommodations at the ICEHOTEL in Sweden. This page, top to bottom: Outside and in a cabin at Dunton Hot Springs in the Colorado Rockies; the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lake Geneva.

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ing rink that offers beginners’ lessons upon request. Cozy up to loved ones in the rink’s adjacent chalet, where Finnish wood burners and warm blankets encourage guests to embrace the Nordic atmosphere. Winter packages are available through January 8, 2017, with rates start-ing at $404 per night. Packages include access to the breakfast buffet and traditional mulled wine or hot chocolate in the chalet. For more information, visit www.brp.ch.

Canadian CastleOne of North America’s most commanding castles (and UNESCO World Heritage Site), the luxury Fairmont Chateau Frontenac is the stuff of storybook and royal legend. Inaugurated in 1893 with in-room bathrooms and fireplaces—unheard-of amenities in the day—it now has 611 luxuriously appointed guestrooms, nearly eight miles of corri-dors and 2,000 windows overlooking the St. Lawrence River and parts of the city’s original walled fortifications. The grand hotel is in Old Quebec (where you want to be) in the center of this historic walking city, a short three-minute stroll to the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Quebec and eight minutes from Quartier Petit Champlain boutiques. The fashionable address has hosted its share of royalty, including King George V and Queen Elizabeth in 1939, Queen Eliza-beth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier, among other global glitterati attracted to the palace’s opulence and per-sonalized service. With a multimillion-dollar renaissance just completed in 2014, the Chateau’s guestrooms are fit for a queen (or king), and the new urban spa beckons with a host of stress-relieving therapies. If outdoor activities are calling, ski slopes are just 20 and 35 minutes away and day trips can be arranged. A favorite spot for guests and locals is the Chateau’s 1608 Wine & Cheese bar, where the passion of local cheese is matched with wines from around the globe. For history buffs, the hotel offers guided tours daily or self-guided tours via downloadable apps (worthwhile and a step back in time). Ask to see the Chateau’s roof, where four hidden beehives maintained by the hotel’s executive chef produce some of the most delicious honey in the region. Try it for breakfast or on afternoon scones. Don’t miss Daphne, the friendly St. Pierre hound, who strolls the hotel as its happiest ambassador. Fairmont Chateau Frontenac, 1 Rue des Carrières, Ville de Québec, QC G1R 4P5, Canada. Rates begin at $170 per night; for more information, call 418-692-3861 or visit www.fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec.

The Aspen of the East, You Say?While avid skiers may be familiar with Stowe Mountain Lodge, which opened in 2008 as a 312-room ski, golf and spa hotel at the base of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak Vermont, they may not be aware

of its newly completed, $90 million Spruce Peak Village Center, mak-ing this the newest and most luxurious alpine village to rival its Aspen cousins. The Lodge is a melding of modern design concepts with a new “Vermont-Alpine” aesthetic, constructed with woven Western Red Cedar timber and stone veneer created from the Champlain Quarries in the Adirondacks. Floor-to-ceiling glass brings the beauty of nature indoors and spotlights abundant work by Vermont’s leading artists (glassblower Simon Pearce, furniture maker Charles Shackleton, potter Miranda Thomas) as well as local painters and blacksmiths to give the lodge a distinctive sense of place. With new luxury residences (winter home, anyone?) as its centerpiece, Spruce Peak Village amenities extend to Lodge guests and include a 10,000-square-foot ice skating rink with performances by former Olympians, the Stowe Adventure Center with its children’s Ski and Ride school, a climbing gym that replicates some of the local rock formations, a movie screening area, a dozen shops, boutiques, restaurants and skier service facilities. This is in addition to the existing performing arts center and lavish 21,000-square-foot spa, ski-in/ski-out access to more than 100 legendary trails, snowboarding and a heated, outdoor four-season pool. In other words, the phrase “I’m bored” shouldn’t cross anyone’s lips. Rates begin at $319 per night, with discounted ski lift tickets available with weekday reserva-tions. For more information, call 800-253-4754 or visit www.stowe.com.

Mush! Mush!Airport transfer via dog sled? Yes, please! That’s just the beginning of the adventure when visiting the first and original ICEHOTEL in the small village of Jukkasjärvi in northern Sweden. Since 1990, the hotel

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rises anew from the snow with a team of “ice artists” descending from every point on the globe to harvest 1,000 tons of ice from the Torne River and hand-craft this seasonal masterpiece. More than 50,000 people annually come to experience a night or two in a space that’s never the same place twice. Although it varies year to year, the hotel generally has about 65 rooms, divided into deluxe suites, art suites, ice rooms, snow rooms and group rooms. Guests can choose between heated accommodations or spend the night (usually only one because of its extreme conditions) in a guestroom that’s about 23 degrees Fahrenheit. Granted, this may be the only hotel you’ve ever heard of that gives guests a “survival course,” warm outer clothing and Arctic sleeping bags to prepare for a night in the snow-and-ice rooms, but these are bragging rights you’re talking about. Drink it in; wander the ice palace, head out on a reindeer sled excursion, snowmobile to an Arctic wildlife safari or catch the Northern Lights before hitting the ice block in your custom-room. If you’re wondering how the doors don’t stick (it’s ice, after all), it’s because there aren’t any. In the morning, a staff member draws the doorway curtain and presents hot lingonberry juice in bed. The night’s sleep is surprisingly good in the crisp air, but just in case you need some reviving, the hotel’s adjacent reception area has a sauna and roaring fire to de-thaw. Prepare to tell the world about your adventure, for upon checking out of the ICEHOTEL, you’re presented a personalized diploma with the date and temperature inside and outside on the night you stayed. For this once-in-a-lifetime experi-ence, fly into Stockholm, Sweden, then take another plane to Kiruna airport. From there, it’s just 20 minutes to ICEHOTEL by car, taxi…or dogsled. Rates begin at $259 a night; for more information, visit www.icehotel.com.

Clockwise from opposite left: The Beau-Rivage Palace pool; a room in the ICEHOTEL in the

village of Jukkasjärvi in northern Sweden; inside the Stowe Mountain Lodge; the Lodge’s ice skating

rink; the grand Fairmont Chateau Frontenac; the Chateau’s 1608 Wine & Cheese Bar.