Vail is home to several private residence clubs and fractonal homes. The current major investment and "transformation" in the village will add even more fractional residences.

Vail locals say: "We came for the winters, but stayed for the summers." Whether you go to be pampered or to actively enjoy nature, the Vail Valley will satisfy every whim. The winter welcomes skis and boards to the largest ski area in the US with its famous back bowls providing plenty of open powder for avid skiers. There's also dog-sledding, cross country and other mountain recreation. Summer days are perfect for long nature walks, mountain biking, horseback rides, golf and Colorado River rafting and kayaking. After a day's adventure, many gravitate to the fine dining restaurants, spas and shopping in town for a relaxing evening. The area certainly can please a wide variety of vacationers.

The town of Vail, has some of the original private residence clubs and will soon have some of the newest, which provides a great choice for prospective members. Fractional buyers can select from one to four-bedroom homes, with most of the residences being 2 or 3 bedroom homes, and fractions vary from 1/5 to 1/12 shares for prices of $218,000 to $850,000. We looked through the multiple listing service (MLS) and found the following Vail fractionals for sale.

Vail has garnered an international reputation and when you sit on the lifts or eat in the mountain restaurants you'll hear a wide variety of languages and dialects. When we spoke to some of the local residence clubs they told us owners and buyers are from all over the US and internationally come from Europe, Central America and Latin America.

New Clubs

Vail is currently undergoing a major investment and transformation - some estimates have talked of a $1bn level of investment while others have been as high as $3bn.

Both the Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton are in the middle of building new resorts in Vail. Both of these resorts will include a private residence club. The Four Seasons is located in Vail Village while the Ritz-Carlton is at the other end of the resort in Lionshead.

The Solaris development is another brand new project that is under construction just by the Vail roundabout. This will have 77 residences of which 19 will be part of the Club at Solaris, which plans to have 5 members for each of its residences. The club offers guaranteed access to members who reserve 30 days ahead of their travel time.

The Willows, a new club that opened last Fall, has just two of its 36 quarter share fractions still for sale.

Single Family Homes

Vail is also home to numerous single family homes that are available as fractionals. We found the most common structure to be quarter shares and half shares in single family homes. For example MLS listings showed $339k for a quarter share in one three bedroom home or $295,000 for a one third share in another 3 bedroom home.

So you get more time for your money in a single family home, but the trade off is usually far fewer services and amenities (compared to a private residence club) and you're generally farther from the mountain.

Overall, Vail has a fabulous selection of places to choose from if you're looking to buy your share of a vacation home.

This earlier article covers fractionals in Aspen, Colorado. We also have listings of both destination club and fractional homes throughout Colorado.