This is more my kind of West Vail house: contemporary architecture, aspens outside, a private hot tub and enough distance from the villages that the house actually feels like a retreat. Vail Meadow Brook Drive is a five-bedroom, five-bath home for twelve with modern living spaces, a fireplace-centered lounge and a private patio surrounded by the alpine landscape. The architecture feels cleaner and more current than the traditional heavy mountain-lodge look, which lets the setting do more of the work. I really like the aspens. In winter, they give the house that tucked-away mountain feeling. Come summer and fall, the same setting changes completely. This isn't where I'd stay if walking to dinner were the priority. It's where I'd stay if I wanted to spend a month in Vail and have an actual house to come home to.