Willow Vistas 6

Ski out the door You are on the upper mountain at Kimberley Alpine Resort, which means the run is the path you take rather than something you drive to. Boots on at the door, one push, and you are on snow. At the end of the day you come back the same way, drop the gear inside, and the walk from your last turn to the hot tub is measured in steps.

One level, no stairs to fight The whole condo sits on a single floor. That sounds like a small thing until you are carrying skis, a toddler and a bag of groceries at once, or travelling with someone whose knees have had enough of mountain architecture. Two bedrooms and two full bathrooms give two couples or a family of six real privacy: a queen in the first bedroom, two twins in the second, and a sofa bed in the living room.

The hot tub and the green space Your hot tub is private and it sits on your own deck, facing the open green space that runs behind the building. There is no neighbouring balcony looking down at you and no queue for a shared tub. In summer that same green space is where the kids end up while dinner is on the barbecue.

A kitchen you will actually cook in Granite counters, a full-size oven and stove, dishwasher, microwave, toaster, kettle, blender, real pots and pans, crockery, cutlery and wine glasses. Kimberley's Platzl has good food in it, but six people eating out twice a day adds up fast, and this kitchen means you do not have to.

The rest of the year Winter is the obvious draw, but the Kimberley Nordic Centre trailhead is a short walk away, with groomed cross-country track in season and running and mountain biking on the same ground once the snow goes. Trickle Creek Golf Resort is minutes down the hill and Bootleg Gap a little further. The Bavarian-themed Platzl in town has restaurants, a brewery and the Happy Hans clock.

Practical Free parking on site, Wi-Fi at 100+ Mbps, in-suite washer and dryer, an indoor fireplace for cold evenings, ceiling and portable fans for warm ones, board games, children's books and toys, and stair gates if you are travelling with small people. There is no air conditioning here; the fans handle the Kootenay summer.