Beaver Creek or Palm Desert?

Neither town has a sea, so this is a draw, and in both places swimming means a hotel pool. In Beaver Creek the pools are heated and often outdoors with snow and mountains in view. In summer, the small and chilly sandy area at Nottingham Lake in Avon is the only open water.

In Palm Desert the pool is the centre of the stay, with lounging under the palms for much of the year. Reaching the Pacific means a full day out, with about two hours' drive each way.

Both towns offer polished resort dining rather than a local cuisine, so they are level here, but the setting differs. Beaver Creek serves mountain fare such as elk, Colorado lamb and trout. Its most memorable dinner is at an on-mountain lodge reached by chairlift or snowcat sleigh, and everyday taquerias and brewpubs are down the hill in Avon and Edwards.

Palm Desert's steakhouses and Californian bistros on El Paseo are best enjoyed on a patio on a warm January evening. Its one true regional speciality is the Medjool date and the date shake from the groves near Indio, where family-run Mexican places add some local character.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Palm Desert gives you a little more. Beaver Creek is a planned ski village from around 1980 that you can see in an hour, with outdoor art around the plaza. For real history you have to drive to the old mining towns.

Palm Desert has a branch of the Palm Springs Art Museum with a sculpture garden, as well as the galleries on El Paseo. Palm Springs, twenty minutes away, adds the main museum and its mid-century modern houses, which is enough for a morning or two.

Both towns go to bed early, but Palm Desert offers a few more options late in the evening. In Beaver Creek the evening is après-ski by a fire pit on the plaza and a hotel lounge after dinner. Vail is the nearest place for a busier bar in winter.

Palm Desert's patio wine bars on El Paseo also close early. However, the valley's tribal casinos keep bars open into the small hours, and downtown Palm Springs, with its well-known gay scene, is twenty minutes' drive away.

Beaver Creek's mountain is the bigger draw, and it works in more seasons. Its ski terrain climbs to about 3,500m and links to Bachelor Gulch, Arrowhead and Vail. In summer the lifts open up trails into aspen forest, the Gore Range and the Holy Cross Wilderness, and there is fly-fishing and rafting on the Eagle and Colorado Rivers.

Palm Desert's landscape is still a real reason to go. The Santa Rosa Mountains rise straight from town, the Indian Canyons hide palm oases, and Joshua Tree's granite boulders and night skies are about an hour away. It is superb from October to May, but the summer heat limits outdoor time to the hours around dawn.

Palm Desert's outings are more varied. From Beaver Creek the choice is mostly other mountain towns: Vail, the Victorian mining streets of Leadville, Breckenridge and the old spa town of Glenwood Springs. They are pleasant but much alike.

From Palm Desert you can choose between mid-century Palm Springs, the tasting rooms of Temecula, cool Idyllwild, the old Western film set at Pioneertown and the painted folk-art hillside of Salvation Mountain, each a different kind of day.

For families, and especially families who ski, Beaver Creek is the easier choice. It has a large ski school, gentle children's terrain, an ice rink, warm cookies when the lifts close, and a car-free plaza where older children can roam. In summer there are ropes courses and mini golf. Its weak points are bad-weather days and the altitude for small children.

Palm Desert's biggest attraction for children is The Living Desert, a zoo and garden worth a full morning, along with resort pools and the tramway. Beyond that, the valley is aimed at golfers and adults, and every outing means a drive.

Beaver Creek is far easier to get around once you have arrived. The village is pedestrian, with outdoor escalators between the levels, ski-in ski-out lodging and free shuttles to the hillside lodges and Avon, and valley buses run to Vail. The catch is getting there: Eagle airport is half an hour away, and the road from Denver crosses passes that winter storms can close.

Palm Desert is spread out along wide boulevards and, apart from a few blocks of El Paseo, it is not made for walking, so a car is essential. At least the roads are uncongested and parking is easy.

Palm Desert is the clear choice for shopping. El Paseo is a proper shopping street, lined with palms, fashion boutiques, jewellers and galleries. A large mall covers the familiar chains, a designer outlet centre is half an hour west, and Palm Springs adds vintage and mid-century furniture shops.

Beaver Creek has only a small and costly cluster of shops around the plaza, selling technical ski wear, western boots and bronze sculpture. It is good for browsing on a rest day and not much more.

Beaver Creek is far harder on the budget, because the mountain itself charges by the day. Lift passes, equipment rental and ski school are paid again for every day on the slopes, on top of slopeside rooms and dinners priced for a wealthy clientele. Buying passes well in advance and sleeping down the valley in Avon or Edwards take some of the edge off. A summer visit, when the trails into the Gore Range cost nothing to walk, is the gentler way to see it.

Palm Desert is no bargain either, but much of what people come for costs little: the resort pool, a dawn hike in the Santa Rosa Mountains, a night under the stars at Joshua Tree. Most of the money goes on the hire car you cannot do without, on green fees and spa treatments, and on room rates that climb in the winter and spring season, steepest around the Coachella weekends and other big valley events.

Each town has one good theatre and a well-known festival season, and they differ in timing and style. Beaver Creek's intimate Vilar Performing Arts Center runs touring shows in winter and summer. Summer is the high point, when Bravo! Vail brings orchestras and chamber musicians and the Vail Dance Festival fills Vail's open-air amphitheatre.

Palm Desert's McCallum Theatre brings Broadway tours, ballet and big-name singers in winter, and the casinos add concerts. In spring, Coachella and Stagecoach take over the polo grounds in Indio for a few weekends. Classical music lovers should look to Beaver Creek in summer, and festival-goers to Palm Desert in spring.

Palm Desert is the more natural place to slow down. The whole valley runs on resort spas, afternoons by the pool and early nights. Half an hour away, the small spa hotels of Desert Hot Springs fill their pools straight from mineral springs, and the dry, warm winters are part of the appeal.

Beaver Creek's large resort spas, hot tubs in the snow and quiet car-free evenings are good for recovering after skiing. The historic hot springs pool at Glenwood Springs is about an hour away. Even so, relaxation here usually complements an active trip rather than being the point of it.