Lodging Review: Emmons Condo #428 – Crested Butte, Colorado

This was the third year in a row that I’ve been to Crested Butte and was joined by my Denver-based cousin and her family. Our first year we were at the San Moritz condos where the slopes were accessible at the end of the parking lot. In 2023 we stayed slopeside at the Gateway Condos which I did not get to review due to a late arrival. This year we stayed in the Emmons Building which is right at the base and has the best location of the three places we’ve stayed. The downside is that there’s no elevator and our unit was on the fourth floor up from the parking lot. However, that’s not quite as bad as it sounds as when coming from/going to the slopes the unit is only two floors up. Still it made it quite tough unloading the car – even for my relatives who are accustomed to living at altitude! But we were aware of this when we made our reservations and decided that the convenience of being right at the base was worth it.

Location and Check-in

The Emmons Building is located on Gothic Road just past the pedestrian bridge and next to the Lodge at Mountaineer Square. In fact, despite what our paperwork told us, check-in was actually in Mountaineer Square which is where Vail Resorts lodging is headquartered. Previously check-in had been in The Plaza and that’s what my paperwork indicated when we made our reservations in August. But when we arrived at The Plaza, there was a sign on the desk pointing us to Mountaineer Square.

I was helped right away at the front desk and after seeing Lodge guests being handed key cards I was a bit surprised to be handed actual old-school keys for our unit. It turns out that Unit 428 is the only unit in the Emmons Building that is managed by Vail Resorts and those keys would be a source of frustration later on. But I was able to get keys for the three adults with no issues.

From the resort side, the Emmons Building is right behind the Treasury Center, and that building is positioned behind the Red Lady Express Lift so it’s really hard to beat the location. Guests who booked through Vail Resorts in the Lodge at Mountaineer Square and this one condo in the Emmons Building have access to the free ski check located on the uphill side of the Treasury Center. It was nice not having to drag our skis up and down the stairs each day! While there is a ski closet on the ground floor of the Emmons Building, we were never given any info on how to access it so I assume it’s for folks who make their reservations via other means.

Emmons Building

The building is four stories. The entire second floor and a good part of the first floor/lowest level have signs indicating the space inside is only for use by resort employees so I have no idea what’s available there.

Parking

Free parking is available in the lot just off Gothic Road. Only one parking pass per unit may use this lot; a second vehicle must use the overflow lot. Fortunately we only had one vehicle.

Ground Floor

The lowest level is just a few steps up from the building’s small parking lot and there’s a deck on the second level that extends over it. It is here you’ll find the small laundry room. The washer is $2.00 and the dryer is $1.50. There are three of each type of machine.

Second Floor

After going up two short flights of stairs (that sure seem longer when you’ve got luggage and are at altitude!) you reach the second level. From here you can walk to the slopes or, if you turn back toward the parking lot and go out on the covered deck you’ll find the hot tub. I did not try it out personally but my cousin and her kids did and they said it could be hotter, at least on the day we were there in mid-February. I might have tried it out if it hadn’t meant two flights of stairs each way but I just couldn’t face the climb back up to the room while wet.

No pool towels are provided so be sure to bring some from your unit!

Third and Fourth Floors

These are the floors where the lodging units are. When you look at the building from the parking lot, be sure to note which side of the building your units are on because that will make a difference in which way you go. Then, when you reach the side of the building, there are three sets of staircases leading to the units. Be sure to select the correct one because you’ll have to come all the way back down if you go up the wrong one!

After lugging my skis bag up to the fourth floor (with frequent stops along the way!) I finally reached the door of Unit 428. I inserted the key, jiggled it a bit and then the door opened with no issue. That would be the last time that door opened so easily. Later I left 2 keys in the room and went out. When I returned I was positive the front desk had given me the keys to a different room. They had maintenance meet me there and the guy spent a good 2 minutes jiggering the key in the lock before it finally opened. The explanation I got was “it’s an old lock”. I don’t know if it’s up to the owners to change it out and if they don’t want to spend the money because the unit is for sale or what but it was an absolute royal pain for the rest of the weekend. We noticed that all the other condos we passed had locks where you just keyed in a code number. That would have been SO nice! I will be curious to see if there are more complaints about this lock.

Unit 428

Neither the unit last year nor this one are as spacious as the one in the San Moritz condos but this location is certainly better. I will say the online photos do a good job of making the unit seem wider than it actually is.

Main Floor

Upon entering the unit you’ll step into a very small entry area that’s the warmest place in the unit because it’s got the largest heater. There’s a 4-peg rack above which is a great place to hang gloves or anything else that’s wet because it will dry quickly! The shelves in this area hold the wi-fi router and some other knickknacks.

Living Room

Two more steps and you’re in the living room with a real-wood fireplace (logs provided) and the TV mounted above it. There’s a sofa and one easy chair although you can turn the bar stools around to watch the TV or chat. This room also has sliding glass doors that open on to a small balcony with a couple of chairs. The view isn’t much, only of the building next door, but I imagine it would be quite pleasant in the summer.

On your right past the fireplace is the dining table. I don’t know if it qualifies as a high-top but it was taller than usual. It had two stools on one side and a bench for two people on the other side. While the adults usually ate here, the kids in our group ate at the bar.

Kitchen

The kitchen has four bar chairs on the living room side. It’s fairly narrow and has a 2-person limit for all practical purposes. But it had a full-sized fridge, a stove/oven combo, a microwave, a coffee maker and a dishwasher, all of which we made use of. While we usually grab a pizza for the first night (shoutout to Secret Stash!), we cook in for all our other meals. I think my cousin could have used a few more pots and pans but we were able to make do with what was provided. A few packs of coffee were provided: light roast, medium roast and decaf.

Hall

Running beside the kitchen is this narrow hall. We took full advantage of this coat rack, loading it up with jackets, helmets and the kids’ ski pants. The doors on the right were an owner’s closet that we could not access. There’s no lighting in the hallway so it can be quite dark at night.

Bathroom

On the left was the main floor bathroom. It’s rather small but the extra shelving helped as storage for extra towels. The shower head is not particularly high and while I could duck my head easily enough, I’m sure my cousin’s husband, who’s several inches over 6 feet tall, had to put himself through some contortions to wash his hair.

Toiletries by Lather were provided in large bottles. I did find that the shampoo must have run out so someone added water to make it last longer but then they didn’t let housekeeping know. Since we had no housekeeping during our short stay I was able to make it work for me but made sure to make it obvious to housekeeping that the bottle needed a refill when I left.

One of the Sunbeam-dryers-on-the-wall was provided. These work well enough for my short hair but for those with long and/or thick hair you may want to bring a more powerful hair dryer.

Bedroom

Past the bathroom at the end of the hall is one of the two official bedrooms. I phrase it that way because upstairs there’s a loft area outfitted as a bedroom – it even has a closet – but it doesn’t have a door. This downstairs bedroom is painted in a sage green color that I like. Beside the bed on the wall shared by the bathroom is a bar with 5 hanging pegs. I found this a great place to hang my gloves, helmet and water pack.

The queen bed was a bit soft and could probably stand to have a new mattress. I slept on the side near the door which I assume is the side most would sleep on if not sharing the bed so it could be that side is just over-used. While I don’t know when the property was built, I have to assume it was before the internet revolution because the room needs more electrical outlets. The lamps are plugged into a power strip connected to the single outlet directly behind the bed. I had a short extension cord for my phone and thanks to my cousin’s long arms we were able to get it plugged in, but it was not easy. Of course the day we checked out I noticed there is a plug under the hanging rack that would have been simple to access but suffice it to say there is not an abundance of outlets.

Across from the bed was a large closet with bi-fold doors that opened very wide, making for easy access. Note that the bedroom door needs to be shut to fully open the right-hand door. Inside the closet were many utility items: a tall fan (like many in ski country, the condo is not air conditioned), ironing board, laundry basket, broom, vacuum, stool, humidifier and some extra bedding. And lots and lots of hangers, which was greatly appreciated.

Beside the closet was a large cabinet with four large drawers, a medium-sized drawer and two smaller drawers as well as two other compartments with doors. It was far more space than I needed for a 3-night stay but would come in handy if two folks were sharing the room for a week. There was a TV mounted over the cabinet. I think I turned it on once by accident but that was it.

There was a stool in the room which I found a super-handy place to deal with my ski boots and to just put on socks in general. The bed was a little too high for me to do that with my feet on the floor so I appreciated the stool. We’d also set it by the door so that when we returned from the slopes we could take turns removing our boots while still outside the condo, minimizing the amount of snow and slush we tracked in.

This bedroom has its own balcony too, with two chairs and a view of The Lodge at Mountaineer Square.

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Upstairs

Across from the entrance to the kitchen is the narrow staircase leading up. There is a light at the top which can be handy on gloomy days.

Bathroom

Immediately at the top of the stairs is the bathroom. It’s identical in layout to the one downstairs, with virtually no counter space. While the extra towels were stored on the shelves in the bathroom downstairs, here they were crammed under the sink along with extra tissues and toilet paper. While the back of the door in the downstairs bathroom had four hooks, upstairs – where there may be four people sharing the bath – there was only one hook. The room needed several towel racks. Seems like the decorations in the two bathrooms should be swapped!

Bedroom

The other bedroom is to the right at the top of the stairs and has the same layout as the one immediately below it although there’s no set of pegs to hang things on and the cabinet is not as large. But it also has a handy stool and a balcony. The closet had more fans and a humidifier along with extra bedding.

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Loft

To the left at the top of the stairs is the loft with twin beds. We’d originally planned for all the kids to sleep here (one on a camping mat) but the youngest decided to sleep on the (non-sleeper) sofa, which was fine.

The room had an armoire which could hold a TV but since there was none, it could be used for storage.

At the foot of the beds was the closet with more fans and bedding.

Beside the closet was this ladder that leads up to what I assume is some sort of maintenance access. This unique device was chained to the ladder to dissuade the kids from climbing up although, of course, they could have gotten around it in a heartbeat.

In the end

While having to walk up two floors in ski boots at the end of the day is not ideal, we were aware of this when we booked and feel the location made up for it. It was a little bit of a tight squeeze for six of us (3 adults, 3 kids) but we only stayed for three nights; I would not want to try to make this a home for that many folks for a week. As we pulled away we took a vote and decided that if the place is available next season for a reasonable cost that we’d try to book it again.