Attention, city dwellers, spring is here. Enjoy the thaw and head out for a quick mountain getaway.

SONNENALP
Location: Vail
Rates: $175-$825; spring/fall; $325-$1,165 for adventure packages, which include lodging, breakfast and a coupon for a spa treatment, golf or dinner.
Highlights: Sophisticated, with a European ambience nurtured by longtime hoteliers from Bavaria. Stunning spa (no extra charge for guests) and Fondue or Raclette in The Swiss Chalet.
Contact: www.sonnenalp.com or 866.284.4411

WHY:Springtime weather can be iffy, but if you're relaxing on a lounge chair in front of the fireplace in the Sonnenalp Spa, you won't care what's happening outside. The spa menu is extensive; there's an indoor pool with a link to the outdoor pool, whirlpools, steam baths and saunas. The Sonnenalp Golf Course, in Edwards, the region's "banana belt," usually opens in mid-April. After this wild winter, you might be able to ski one day and golf the next.

STAY:Think bigger – room- or suite-wise – because rates for these varied accommodations are much cheaper in the spring and fall seasons. Snuggle together in front of a fireplace in a pine-walled Lodgepole junior suite, or grab another couple and choose one of the two-bedroom suites that overlook the Gore River. Suites have luxe bathrooms with oversized tubs and heated floors.

THE TUDOR ROSE
Location: Salida
Rates: Rooms $81-$185, spring/summer; chalets $200-$300 nightly.
Highlights: Victorian ambience, in the countryside but 1.5 miles from Salida's historic Main Street shops and restaurants.
Contact: www.thetudorrose.com or 719.539.2002 | 800.379.0889

WHY:A hideaway in the woods framed by mountain ridges, The Tudor Rose sits on 37 acres, but is less than 2 miles from Salida's historic Main Street. It's in an excellent location for rafting on the Arkansas River, hiking Fourteeners, horseback riding or soaking in the Mount Princeton Hot Springs, about 20 miles north.

STAY:The main house has six guestrooms of varying sizes, including the Henry Tudor Suite where you can enjoy a glass of bubbly while soaking in the two-person, in-room hot tub. Children under 10 and pets aren't allowed in the main house, but welcome in the five new and attractive chalets set among Pinon trees. Horse-lovers come here because there's stabling in barns and plenty of room to ride.

BROADMOOR
Location: Colorado Springs
Rates: In April, from $240; May-October, from $420. Three-night jazz package starts at $507 per person.; Mother's Day Weekend Fine Arts Show and Wine Tasting packages start at $135 per person.
Highlights: Three golf courses, luxury spa, fabulous food in Summit and the Penrose Room.
Contact: www.broadmoor.com or 719.577.5775 | 866.837.9520

WHY: Even if you stay in one of the least-expensive rooms, you feel like a pampered A-Lister at the Broadmoor, the longest continually-running AAA Five Diamond and Mobil 5 Star resort in the country. Choose from three exceptional golf courses, including the East Course, where the U.S. Senior Open will be held July 31-Aug. 3. Luxuriate with one of the multi-treatment Spa Indulgences collection choices. Dine at the sleek Summit, an American Bistro, one night; the next, dine and dance in the Penrose Room, Colorado's only AAA Five Diamond restaurant. A "Weekend of Jazz" is April 4-6. The Broadmoor Fine Arts Show and Wine Tasting is May 9-10.

STAY: The Broadmoor has more than 500 rooms in several buildings around a small lake. Request a South Tower deluxe room or a suite, which includes a large room with a seating area and fireplace (all have touch panels to operate motorized drapes and lights); a cozy room in Broadmoor Main; or a suite in the West Tower.

FAR VIEW LODGE (AT MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK)
Location: Mesa Verde National Park, Mancos
Rates: $118-$123 per night, standard lodging; $145-$150 per night for Kiva rooms
Highlights: Surrounded by ancient Puebloan ruins to explore, and trails to hike before the summer heat descends on the Mesas and the crowds arrive.
Contact: www.visitmesaverde.com or 888.896.3831

WHY: Some claim that when staying in the park you can feel the presence of the "Ancient Ones." Wake up and you're in the heart of the park near ruins you'll want to explore, instead of spending 45 minutes driving up the winding road from the entrance. You can snag tickets for the Spruce House or Balcony House ranger-guided tours long before the day-trippers show up.

STAY: The Far View Lodge is set atop a cliff 15 miles from the park's entrance. If you want to see a sea of canyons from your room, ask for a room with a view. The newer Kiva rooms, which have hand-crafted furniture and pillow-top mattresses, are nicer but don't have views. Dinner in the Metate Room Restaurant, where the menu has a Southwestern focus, is pricy but delicious.

CLIFF HOUSE AT PIKES PEAK
Location: Manitou Springs
Rates: $145-$275 April; $199-$475 May 1 through Oct. 31.
Highlights: Romantic rooms with Victorian ambience, but modern amenities, at the base of Pikes Peak.
Contact: www.thecliffhouse.com or 888.212.7000 | 719.685.3000

WHY: You step back to the 1880s in the stylish Cliff House, which deserves the many awards it's received for its mood, dining and fine wine. The inn is just steps off of Manitou Springs' Main Street, where you'll find antique and sports stores mixed among shops with requisite tacky tourist items. Head uphill and you reach the Pikes Peak Highway in minutes; head downhill and Colorado Springs museums and attractions are 10 minutes away.

STAY: Choose one of the "Celebrity Suites" (really extra-large rooms), named after notables who have stayed in the rooms since the stagecoach stop was turned into an inn, which Travel+Leisure's readers placed on the magazine's 2006 Top 100 Hotels list. The Buffalo Bill Suite has a bed in a tepee, while the opulent Jenny Lind suite has a gas fireplace and gilded mirrors in the bathrooms. Even the lowest-priced studio rooms have heated toilet seats here.