Did you know that the 10th Mountain Division trained in the mountains of Vail during World War II?  The 10th was one of the last divisions to enter the war and it specialized in harsh winter conditions. 

Two vets, Pete Seibert and Earl Easton, returned after the war and decided that “No Name Mountain” would be a great place to create a recreational ski town like those found in Europe. 

The town got its name from the man that cut the highway into the valley: Chuck Vail, the chief engineer of the Colorado Highway department, but the credit of Vail goes to Pete and Earl. 

When Vail got its start, it only had a handful (4) of houses and even more (5) lifts... and America fell in love with the adventure of skiing... and Vail.

Our family started skiing in Vail in the early 70’s when Vail was less than 10 years old.  I can remember my Dad paying $5 for lift tickets and thinking it was special to be able to ski... I was right.  Here is a picture of my brother Brad (front), my best friend Bruce and me (in the red) in 1975.  

Since we started coming to Vail, we’ve been there hundreds of times (literally).  Back when we kept track of how many times we went skiing a year, we logged 131 trips to Vail from 1972 to 1981.  And we never stopped going back. 

I’ve met Gerald Ford, Robert Redford and more than a handful of great people while in Vail... it truly is one of the best places on earth. 

We've owned a condo in Vail (which my family sold in the 80's when I went to college) and we have stayed in countless places from private homes, to ski chalets, to ski in condos to resorts... we are REAL connoisseurs of renting luxury locations in Vail.  We've stayed at the Sonnenalp dozens of times (but have recently felt that their owner has let the customer service slide), the Inn at Vail (which we love dearly) and dozens of rental condos and homes.

If you have feedback on where you like to rent when in Vail, write me and I'll keep track of other people's comments and add it to the site. 

Most folks that we have visited with have used:  Vail Realty, Peak Properties, The Ritz Carlton, Vail Resort Rentals, and VRBO.  We've never heard anything bad about any of these, and we've used several of them. 

Finding great luxury rentals in Vail can be tough.  You want a PERFECT place - and you don't want to be disappointed.  You are spending a lot of money and you don't want to find out the pictures are misleading or the property is farther from town than you were led to believe.

If you want to know what we feel is the best place to find the best rentals it is:  Vail Realty.   You can find them at:  www.VailRealty.com  

If you use them (or someone else that you think is the best), write me and let me know.  Just take a look at the contact us page on Vail Luxury Ski Home.

If I have some spare time, I will compile feedback on people’s stays, organize the data and publish it here. 

See below for some pictures from our latest fall trip to Vail.