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Luxury Hotels in Aspen: Forbes Stars, MICHELIN Keys and the 2027 Airport Closure

The best luxury hotels in Aspen and Snowmass by Forbes 2026 stars and MICHELIN Keys, with room counts, areas and what the 2027 airport closure means for jets.

By Wijet Editors

luxury hotels Aspen: a timber-and-stone hotel entrance at the base of Aspen Mountain with the gondola and snowy slopes behind it

At a glance

Aspen luxury hotels: the recognition on record

Forbes Five-Star
1 hotel
The Little Nell, per Forbes Travel Guide's hotel page and Aspen destination page, 2026
Forbes Four-Star
1 hotel
The St. Regis Aspen Resort, per Forbes Travel Guide, 2026; Hotel Jerome is rated Recommended
MICHELIN Keys
3 hotels, One Key each
The Little Nell, Hotel Jerome and Mollie Aspen carry the Key on the MICHELIN Guide's Aspen listing (November 2026); One Key each per its Colorado Key guide (September 14, 2025)
Aspen airport
Closed Apr 4 to Nov 19, 2027
Runway reconstruction, per Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (aspenairport.com), November 2026

The best luxury hotels in Aspen by outside recognition are The Little Nell, the only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel in town for 2026, and The St. Regis Aspen Resort, rated Four-Star. Three Aspen hotels hold One MICHELIN Key: The Little Nell, Hotel Jerome and Mollie Aspen. If you are comparing Aspen hotels for a ski week or a summer stay, those are the names with a published record behind them.

One date matters for anyone flying in: Aspen/Pitkin County Airport closes from April 4 to November 19, 2027 for runway reconstruction, and that includes private jets. The sections below cover the hotels first, then the airport.

How We Picked

We used the Forbes Travel Guide 2026 ratings as shown on each hotel’s page and on its Aspen destination page, and the MICHELIN Guide’s Aspen and Snowmass hotel listing and Colorado Key guide. We also opened The World’s 50 Best Hotels list on the50.com (November 2026): no hotel in Aspen, Snowmass or anywhere in Colorado appears in its top 50.

The selection is smaller than a big-city list on purpose. Aspen has few hotels with a published award record, so this guide covers seven, plus the Snowmass options a short drive away. Room counts and facts come from Forbes Travel Guide, the MICHELIN Guide or the hotel’s own site, and where a page gives no count we leave it out. We take no paid placement.

Stars vs Keys in a Small Market

Forbes describes Five-Star properties as an outstanding experience with highly customized service, and Four-Star as exceptional, with high service and facility quality (forbestravelguide.com, 2026). Its Aspen destination page lists three hotels: The Little Nell (Five-Star), The St. Regis Aspen Resort (Four-Star) and Hotel Jerome (Recommended). The other hotels in this guide do not appear on that page.

The MICHELIN Guide’s Colorado Key guide lists three Aspen hotels, each with One Key: Hotel Jerome, The Little Nell and Mollie Aspen (guide.michelin.com, September 14, 2025). Its Aspen and Snowmass listing also includes Viceroy Snowmass, Limelight Aspen, Limelight Snowmass and W Aspen without a Key icon (November 2026).

The Best Luxury Hotels in Aspen

The Little Nell

Forbes Five-Star for 2026 and One MICHELIN Key. It has 92 rooms across 30 room types, plus six luxury suites, at 675 East Durant Avenue, at the base of Aspen Mountain, per Forbes Travel Guide. MICHELIN describes it as sitting at the foot of the Silver Queen Gondola with ski-in/ski-out access. Element 47 is the fine-dining room, with a 20,000-bottle wine collection per Forbes, and Ajax Tavern serves the slopeside lunch. There is no full spa, only a health center with three treatment rooms. Dogs are welcome in the lobby and pool areas.

The St. Regis Aspen Resort

Forbes Four-Star for 2026. It has 179 rooms at 315 East Dean Street, between the gondola and a lift at the base of Aspen Mountain, per Forbes Travel Guide, which notes it is not ski-in/ski-out: guests walk through the village to a lift. The spa covers 15,000 square feet with 15 treatment rooms, and Chefs Club by Food & Wine rotates its chefs twice a year. Forbes lists complimentary airport transportation, about 12 minutes away.

Hotel Jerome, Auberge Collection

One MICHELIN Key and Forbes Recommended for 2026. It has 101 rooms and suites at 330 East Main Street, in a building dating to 1889, per Forbes Travel Guide. MICHELIN describes the style as classic and clubby, with leather sofas and lots of wood, and names Prospect as the on-site restaurant. The J-Bar saloon keeps its original Chippendale chinoiserie bar. Forbes puts the airport about 8 minutes away.

Mollie Aspen

One MICHELIN Key, per the MICHELIN Guide’s Colorado Key guide (2025) and its current Aspen listing (2026); the hotel’s own site says it was “Awarded One MICHELIN Key in 2026”. It has 68 rooms at 111 S. Garmisch Street, downtown, per the MICHELIN Guide, with a design that blends Bauhaus with Japanese-Scandinavian modernism. The hotel has a pool, a rooftop terrace with a bar and a shuttle to the mountain, and the lobby restaurant is Petit Trois. It is the smallest and most design-led pick here.

Viceroy Snowmass

Listed by the MICHELIN Guide without a Key icon and not on Forbes’ Aspen page. The hotel calls itself “the only ski-in, ski-out luxury resort in Snowmass” and sits at 130 Wood Road in Snowmass Village, in two buildings, Cirque Tower and Pinnacle Tower, per viceroyhotelsandresorts.com (2026). Its spa covers 7,000 square feet and it has a year-round pool terrace. It does not state a room count.

Limelight Aspen and Limelight Snowmass

Both are listed by the MICHELIN Guide without a Key icon. Limelight Aspen is at 355 S Monarch Street, “steps away from Aspen Mountain and the Silver Queen Gondola,” with two rooftop terraces and complimentary local transport including trips to and from the airport, per limelighthotels.com (2026). Limelight Snowmass is at 65 Wood Road, with ski-in/ski-out access at the base of the Elk Camp Gondola, a five-story indoor climbing wall and summer e-bikes, per the same site. Neither page states a room count.

W Aspen

Also on the MICHELIN Guide’s Aspen listing without a Key icon, and not on Forbes’ Aspen page. It has no award record to cite, so it is an option rather than a pick.

HotelAreaMICHELIN KeysForbes 2026RoomsSource
The Little NellBase of Aspen Mountain1Five-Star92Forbes; MICHELIN
The St. Regis Aspen ResortBase of Aspen MountainNone listedFour-Star179Forbes
Hotel JeromeDowntown core1Recommended101Forbes; MICHELIN
Mollie AspenDowntown1Not listed68MICHELIN; hotel
Viceroy SnowmassSnowmass VillageNone listedNot listedn/aMICHELIN; hotel
Limelight AspenBase of Aspen MountainNone listedNot listedn/aMICHELIN; hotel
Limelight SnowmassSnowmass VillageNone listedNot listedn/aMICHELIN; hotel

Verdict: for the strongest case on both lists, choose The Little Nell. For a town-center historic address, choose Hotel Jerome. For the biggest spa, choose The St. Regis. For the smallest house with a Key, choose Mollie Aspen.

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What a Night Costs

The Little Nell, Hotel Jerome and Mollie Aspen do not publish a nightly rate on their own sites, and neither Forbes Travel Guide nor the MICHELIN Guide prints one, so there is no honest entry-level number to quote. Aspen rates swing sharply between holiday weeks and the shoulder seasons, which is a reason to price your own dates directly with the hotel.

For suite pricing at the top of the world market, see our guide to the most expensive hotels in the world.

Where to Stay: Areas

The Base of Aspen Mountain

The Little Nell, The St. Regis and Limelight Aspen are all at the foot of Aspen Mountain, per their Forbes pages and the hotel site. Only The Little Nell is described as ski-in/ski-out; the St. Regis is a walk to the lift, and Limelight is steps from the Silver Queen Gondola.

The Downtown Core

Hotel Jerome is on Main Street, and Mollie Aspen is a short walk from the center on Garmisch Street, per Forbes and MICHELIN. This is the choice for restaurants, shops and an evening on foot. If you search for downtown Aspen hotels, these are the two with a Key.

Snowmass Village

Viceroy Snowmass and Limelight Snowmass are in Snowmass Village, a separate base with its own lifts, per the hotel sites. Choose it for ski-in/ski-out access to a bigger, quieter mountain and a family-friendly base. For other mountain destinations, see our luxury ski resorts guide.

Best for Summer

Aspen is not only a winter address. The Little Nell runs an Adventure Program with fly fishing, per Forbes Travel Guide, and has an outdoor pool and hot tub. Hotel Jerome has a pool area with two hot tubs and cabanas, per Forbes. The St. Regis lists poolside lunch in summer. Limelight Snowmass offers e-bikes in summer, per limelighthotels.com. Mollie Aspen’s own site says all four ski areas are easily accessible, which also puts the summer trails close.

Best for Design and Small Houses

Mollie Aspen, with 68 rooms and a Bauhaus and Japanese-Scandinavian design, is the smallest of the Key hotels, per the MICHELIN Guide. Hotel Jerome is the older option, with the 1889 building, the only elevator in town in its early years, and the 2012 interiors by designer Todd-Avery Lenahan, per Forbes. The Little Nell stands apart because every one of its 92 rooms has a unique layout, per Forbes.

Arriving by Private Jet: Aspen and the 2027 Closure

Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is the closest field. Atlantic Aviation is the airport’s FBO, open daily 06:00 to 23:00 at 69 East Airport Road, with heated hangar space up to a Gulfstream G450, per atlanticaviation.com (2026). Airport arrivals run 07:00 to 23:00 and departures 07:00 to 22:30, per the same page. Our Aspen airport guide covers the field itself.

The planning change is 2027. The airport closes “to all commercial and general aviation operations” from Sunday, April 4, 2027, at 11:00 p.m. through Friday, November 19, 2027, at 7:00 p.m. for runway reconstruction, per the airport’s construction page (aspenairport.com, update of May 28, 2026, read November 2026). The airport’s fact sheet tells helicopter owners and pilots to contact Glenwood Springs (GWS) or Rifle (RIL) about parking during the work. If you plan a spring, summer or fall 2027 stay, check the airport’s closure transportation page before you book a hotel and a jet.

For the routes into Aspen, see New York to Aspen, Denver to Aspen and Los Angeles to Aspen. For charters and fees, see our private jet charter guide.

See the luxury hotels hub, the global best hotels in the world ranking and our Forbes Five-Star hotels page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best Aspen hotels?
By recognition, The Little Nell is Aspen's only Forbes Five-Star hotel for 2026 and holds One MICHELIN Key. The St. Regis Aspen Resort is Four-Star, and Hotel Jerome and Mollie Aspen each hold One Key, per Forbes Travel Guide and the MICHELIN Guide.
What are the best downtown Aspen hotels?
Hotel Jerome on Main Street has 101 rooms and holds One MICHELIN Key, per Forbes and MICHELIN. Mollie Aspen, with 68 rooms, is a short walk from the center on Garmisch Street and also holds One Key.
Are there 5-star hotels in Aspen?
One. The Little Nell is the only Aspen hotel rated Five-Star by Forbes Travel Guide for 2026, with 92 rooms at the base of Aspen Mountain. The St. Regis Aspen Resort is Four-Star, per Forbes.
Which Aspen hotel is ski-in/ski-out?
The Little Nell sits at the foot of the Silver Queen Gondola with ski-in/ski-out access, per the MICHELIN Guide. The St. Regis is not ski-in/ski-out, per Forbes. In Snowmass, Viceroy and Limelight both offer ski-in/ski-out access, per their sites.
Can I fly a private jet to Aspen in 2027?
Not between April 4 and November 19, 2027. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport closes to all commercial and general aviation operations for runway reconstruction from 11:00 p.m. on April 4 until 7:00 p.m. on November 19, per aspenairport.com, November 2026.

Sources

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