February 14th, 2008 5:44pm
Where are we?
Innsbruck?
St. Moritz? Oh yes … We’re here in the new Lionshead at
Vail Square. This isn’t anything like the Lionshead we’ve ever known. Lionshead was formerly that less aesthetically pleasing end of Vail characterized by a handful of classy, yet not architecturally pleasing, shoebox shops and restaurants.
This winter, Lionshead has undergone a major transformation.
Rock Resorts completed its grand new hotel –
The Arrabelle, featuring luxury rooms with 24-hour butler service and multi-million-dollar residences.
The hotel is wrapped around a village, chalk full of eateries ranging from fancy French fine dining (
Centre V) to a brand new
Blue Moose pizzeria. New clothing stores include the high-end European-like Avalon to outdoor favorites
Burton and
Patagonia, plus a
Vail Chophouse, a mini ice rink, a
Starbucks (of course), and our personal favorite,
Rimini. Rimini makes gourmet gelato of every mouth-watering flavor, home-made hot chocolate and panini and is an outlet for the finest chocolates (including gelato truffles) and wines.
