Quite possibly the most-photographed building in Telluride, the New Sheridan is proof that today's ski resorts are built on top of the Wild West mining culture. The feel is so authentic, it's almost hard to believe the place had a wall-gutting $6-million renovation in summer 2008. The doors opened again in November, showing off modern perks like flat-screen televisions and furniture from London-based designer Nina Campbell. The oversize beds and period-piece furniture reinforces that

Quite possibly the most-photographed building in Telluride, the New Sheridan is proof that today's ski resorts are built on top of the Wild West mining culture. The feel is so authentic, it's almost hard to believe the place had a wall-gutting $6-million renovation in summer 2008. The doors opened again in November, showing off modern perks like flat-screen televisions and furniture from London-based designer Nina Campbell. The oversize beds and period-piece furniture reinforces that Bonanza-style ruggedness without sacrificing modernity. The rooftop hot tub is perfect for sub-zero winter nights when you have to high-tail it back to the hallway lest your feet freeze to the ground. But don't let the new cappuccino bar make you think the place's history isn't legit. First built in 1891, it has survived booms and busts since the first cheers of "To Hell You Ride!" were screamed at gold-panners packing out of Denver. Now with ski lockers and a changing room, it's located in the heart of Telluride and just blocks from the town gondola. Colorado Avenue (aka Main Street) is home to a wide variety of restaurants. Try Honga's Lotus Petal, three blocks down, an eco-friendly joint serving Asian-inspired cuisine and offering a variety of vegetarian dishes. A few blocks farther is La Cocina de Luz, featuring authentic Mexican posole and tamales.

And that's assuming you don't just stay in the hotel and take advantage of its two restaurants. The New Sheridan Chop House serves dishes like pecan-encrusted Rocky Mountain rainbow trout and Colorado lamb T-bones, and has a wine list 125 bottles deep and featuring some hard-to-find vintages. The New Sheridan Bar, next door, is a favorite hangout of locals and tourists alike who saddle up to the walnut bar for drafts of Colorado microbrews like Avery Brewing Ellie's Brown. (Light sleepers need not worry: even the rooms closest to the bar are as quiet as the winter night.)

Outside, the jagged 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks of the surrounding San Juan Mountains scrub storms rolling in from the Utah desert, depositing some 277 inches of drier-than-a-John-Cleese-skit fluff onto a multitude of terrain—steep chutes off of the summit of Palmyra Peak, big lodgepole pine glades near High Camp, and sweet easy-to-point-'em rolling slopes below the Polar Queen Express. On big powder days, the town's denizens make easy turns straight down the lift line on Chair 9. And while The New Sheridan isn't ski-in/ski-out (you have to walk with your skis two blocks, downhill, to the gondola, and it can be quite icy), but to miss out on the community vibe that pervades this most beautiful box-canyon town is to miss out on the best aspect of skiing here. It's not hard to buddy up to someone in the town gondola to get some insider info on what's skiing well or where the hottest spot will be in town that night. The New Sheridan sports just 26 rooms, and the lobby feels like a living room. Staying here, you'll see why people have tried to keep this box canyon a secret for more than 100 years.

A former senior editor at Skiing magazine, Pieter van Noordennen owns more ski jackets than any man should.