Advice for Vail ski trip

My wife and I are staying in Edwards, CO for a week in February for work. Her company is paying for a nice hotel near Vail. We planned to add on a weekend stay on either end to ski. We've both been skiing as kids and are super rusty beginners.

We just started planning the vacation and I feel like a huge chump for learning about Epic passes 3 days too late. I had no idea lift passes at Vail were so expensive.

It looks like there are some cheaper places to ski closer to Denver. Is there a downside to driving an hour to Cooper or Loveland and skiing there to save money? Is there something special about skiing at Vail that we'll miss out on? Should we book a hotel on the weekend closer to the cheaper ski resorts or it's staying in the Vail area nicer? TIA!