Nov. 22, 2002 - AVON, Colo. -- From the varnished barn-wood floors to the polished copper rain gutters, from the thick towels carefully strewn about at the "grotto" hot tub to the overstuffed couches in the posh suites, nearly everything was perfect at the new Ritz-Carlton hotel at the base of Beaver Creek ski area. 

And that's exactly the way it has to be at the opulent luxury resort that opened Thursday. 

"The people who will be coming here are well-traveled, sophisticated, knowledgeable and have very high expectations," said Simon Cooper, president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. "And they get what they pay for." 

At prices ranging from a $175 introductory rate for a night in a standard room until Dec. 12 up to $5,600 a night for a three-bedroom, 2,600-square foot suite over the holidays, guests get a lot. 

"What they're buying is experiences," Cooper said. "I don't think they'll remember the color of the carpets or how much they paid for a drink as much as a feeling of an overall outstanding experience." 

The first luxury hotel to open in the Colorado mountains in more than a decade, the ski-in/ski-out stone-and-timber lodge is dripping with Western ambiance and decadence, from the perfect elk head mounted in the great room above one of the innumerable stone fireplaces to the flat-screen TVs mounted on the exercise equipment in the spa. 

The $160 million project, believed to be the most expensive hotel constructed in the state to date, resulted from a lucrative development deal between Vail Resorts and the Houston-based Gencom Group, which splits ownership of the 11-story building designed to mimic the great lodges of the Western national parks. 

"I have been involved in many projects, a number of which have won architectural awards, but none, in my opinion, that rises to this level," said Karim Alibhai, president of Gencom 

Set at the base of the Bachelor Gulch Express ski lift at Beaver Creek -- considered the poshest ski area in the nation -- the hotel features 237 guests rooms in addition to 29 condominiums that sold out in a matter of hours for a total of $65 million that became construction seed money. 

A matched building adjacent to the hotel includes time-share condominiums known as the Ritz-Carlton club, starting at $150,000 for a one-twelfth share. 

"This is the prettiest mountain-resort hotel in all of North America," said Adam Aron, chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. "Now it's up to the staff and management to provide the service." 

He noted that architect John Hill and a cadre of designers, decorators and consultants considered "every rock, every piece of wood, every piece of furniture, every piece of art -- every everything." 

Hotel managers have extremely high expectations, desiring to join the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and Aspen's Little Nell among the state's five-star, five-diamond resorts. 

The hotel marks the return of the Ritz-Carlton name to Colorado for the first time since 1997, when the company revoked its association with hotel ownership in Aspen because the facility there didn't meet its standards. 

Despite the slowed economy and corporate shakeups, luxury travelers continue to demand such amenities. Notably, 52 rooms were booked for the first night. 

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(c) 2002, The Denver Post. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MAR,