North America

Lodging Review: Beaver Run Resort, Breckenridge, Colorado

For my final ski trip of the ski season my club chose to stay at the enormous Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, Colorado. The resort has a great location, right beside the Beaver Run chair and is marketed as ski-in/ski-out though that’s technically only true if you’re staying in one of the four buildings.

Beaver Run Resort (photo credit: Breckenridge Real Estate)

Location

The resort is located on Village Road which is a fairly active side road in the town. The free public buses do travel this road and there’s a major bus stop right across the road from the resort’s residence buildings, next to the Beaver Run lift. While you can walk into town (it’s about a half-mile) if the weather’s not great you can easily catch a bus at this spot or schedule the resort’s own bus and have them take you wherever you like in town for free.

Layout

The resort is comprised of four buildings with residences that are all connected via covered walkways and/or tunnels and what is called simply the Main Building that has the resort’s front desk, the conference rooms and the bars, shops and restaurants.

As you can see in the photo below, Building 4 is on the far left. It has its own heated pool and large hot tub. The red dotted line just below it represents the Beaver Run lift. This is the only building that is truly ski-in/ski-out as you can ski down to the left of the lift and take a side entrance into Building 4. While that’s certainly convenient, if you’re in Building 4 it’s quite a walk to be able to get to any of the other buildings and to the conference building without going outside. You can see the covered, elevated walkway that goes from Building 4 to Building 3 in the photo (it goes right through the word “Village”).

Layout of Beaver Run Resort (Google Maps)

Building 3 has residences and on the very bottom floor has the entrance to the indoor/outdoor pool as well as the small gym and The Spa at Beaver Run. The floors above all contain residences. This is also where you can access the many smaller hot tubs out on the deck. There is a common lobby, called The North Lobby, that connects Buildings 3 & 2 and from there you take a covered walkway over to the conference building. In this covered walkway you’ll find The Hub, the Deli/Market, a small bar and the steps down the ski lockers for Buildings 1-3. From there it’s a short walk across a plaza to the slopes.

Building 1 is located on the right of Building 2. As I did not go over there I’m not sure what kind of lobby or connector there is.

The resort provided this video which can help groups orient themselves to the layout. I found it extremely helpful. Continue reading

Categories: Breckenridge, Colorado, Condos, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: avid Hotel – Denver Airport Area

As I was shopping for airfare for my final ski trip of the season I found a really good fare arriving in Denver the Friday night before the trip was due to begin on Saturday. Since I had several free night certificates from my credit cards, I shopped around for a hotel with a free airport shuttle and free breakfast. I ended up selecting the avid Hotel Denver Airport, which is part of the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG). I have an IHG credit card that is no longer available so essentially I paid the $49 annual fee for this room, which is a bargain.

avid Hotel – Denver Airport Area

Airport Shuttle

Once I got my bags I called the hotel for the shuttle before I even left the building. I was told it would arrive “shortly”. I dragged my two giant bags out to the proper island and waited. And waited. When the shuttle finally arrived the gentleman driving did a good job of getting my two bags loaded. It had taken so long for the shuttle to arrive that I thought he must have been picking up other folks but the shuttle was empty. Let’s just say he was a very cautious driver. We then had to go to the other side of the airport and pick up several other parties. This shuttle services several hotels that are adjacent to one another and, naturally, the other parties got dropped off first. This was probably easier since my bags would have been at the back/bottom of the pile of luggage. The hotel is 5.6 miles from the airport, per Google Maps, and the drive should take about 10 minutes. Continue reading

Categories: avid, Colorado, Hotel, IHG, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: EconoLodge, Gunnison, Colorado

If I want to get from Crested Butte to Memphis in one day I must leave on the morning United Airlines flight or the midday United or American Airlines flights out of Gunnison. That means if I want to ski on the morning on the final day of our long weekend that I must overnight in Gunnison and fly out the next day.

The past two years I’ve stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Gunnison. Last year I checked their website to ensure they had an airport shuttle before I booked and as soon as I made my reservation I emailed to let them know I’d be needing the shuttle. This year they didn’t list airport shuttle as an option on their site and I confirmed with them that it is no longer offered as they just don’t have anyone to drive it.

(As a side note, it seems odd to me that in a college town – home of Western Colorado University- that they don’t have anyone to do things like drive hotel shuttles and run Uber/Lyft services. But I digress.)

So this year I tried one of the other two hotels available on points, the EconoLodge in Gunnison.  EconoLodge is part of the Choice Hotels system.  All of the Choice points I have were brought into the system when Choice acquired Radisson Rewards and this is my first opportunity to use them.  No, it’s not an aspirational use but I thought I’d give it a try.

Update July 2024: this property is now a Quality Inn which is still part of the Choice Hotels family.

EconoLodge Gunnison
photo credit: TripAdvisor

 

Location

The EconoLodge is located on East Tomichi Avenue, one of the two major roads in Gunnison. The hotel is located next to the park with the covered outdoor skating rink and across from the visitor information center. It’s actually just down the street from the Holiday Inn Express but is closer to Main Street, the other major road, which leads to the ski resort that’s about 30 miles away.

As my family wanted to get back to Denver in time for the Super Bowl, our Sunday ski day was much shorter than normal and they’d deposited me at the EconoLodge around noon, well before the posted check-in time. In fact, when I handed the desk clerk my ID and credit card she seemed to think I was checking out, not in! Even though I was early they managed to find a room for me. I’d requested a king room on the ground floor and one was available, although it was an accessible room and so had features I didn’t need. But that was fine with me.

As I made my way down the hall to my room, I was especially glad I’d asked for a ground floor room as I did not see any elevators, only stairs, leading the second floor. I’d packed all my stuff into my skis bag and a large backpack for this weekend trip. Since we’d come practically straight from the slopes and had to cram our gear in the mini-van pretty much any way it would fit, my skis, poles and boots were not in the bag and I needed a luggage cart just to get everything in one trip. It would not have been fun to have to go up and down the stairs multiple times! Though Gunnison has a lower elevation than the resort, for a flat-lander like me the air is still thin! Continue reading

Categories: Choice Hotels, Colorado, EconoLodge, Hotel, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

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.

Emmons Building Exterior and Parking Lot; Hot Tub is just above the building name

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.  Continue reading

Categories: Colorado, Condos, Crested Butte, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Snow Flower Condos Unit 43, Park City, Utah

Our ski club stayed here for a week in early January. The property is older but the location is fantastic.

The property is comprised of four buildings along Silver King Drive with Building 1 being the one closest to the intersection of Three Kings Road and Building 4 being furthest up the hill. Each building has an underground garage and one parking space allocated to each unit.

Our motorcoach brought us to the Building 1 garage entrance and, since we’d paid for porterage, the staff met us there and collected all our luggage. So it was left to us to find our rooms and our bags were delivered shortly thereafter. If you are being dropped off by a shuttle or otherwise not being taken directly to your building, it’s definitely worth paying for porterage if you’re lugging giant ski bags and groceries.

The office is located at the top of the steps of Building 1 and our trip leaders commented that the staff there was extremely easy to work with.

The property isn’t especially memorable from the street level but as you can see from the two photos below, it is right at the base beside the First Time and Eagle lifts. The pool and hot tub shown below are between Buildings 1 and 2. There is another, smaller pool/hot tub attached to Building 4 but easily accessible from Building 3. All of the buildings have exterior access in the middle of the building. On the street side there’s a front door or you can walk out through the garage. Slopeside access is achieved via the ski locker room. All non-public doors, including individual units, are accessed via a key code so there’s no issue about losing your key, only your brain forgetting the code!

Continue reading

Categories: Condos, Lodging Review, North America, Park City, United States, Utah | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lodging Review: Hyatt Place Salt Lake City Airport

I came to Utah a day ahead of my ski club as I have friends in the area and we met up for dinner. I needed an airport-area hotel with a free shuttle. Since I had several free-night certificates to burn based on the credit cards I hold, I chose the Hyatt Place SLC Airport. I had stayed here once before, though it was over 10 years ago and I didn’t remember much about it.

Hyatt Place Salt Lake City Airport

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Categories: Award Travel, Chase, Credit Cards, Hotel, Hyatt, Lodging Review, North America, United States, Utah, World of Hyatt Card | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

2023: The Year in Travel

Another year has passed and I’m just thankful I got through this one without injury. I cracked my tibial plateau while on my European trip in 2022 which meant I didn’t get to ski but for a few hours this year but I still went on the trips I had planned and had a very good time anyway.

The Year in Travel – 2023

January

My first trip of the year was a visit to Winter Park, Colorado, a place I hadn’t visited in nearly 30 years. I was so looking forward to it because I really couldn’t remember much about it and had only been skiing a year when I visited last time. Sadly I spent an hour each day rehabbing my knee instead of skiing though I did get to go tubing one day.

I enjoyed a quick non-stop flight from Memphis to Denver on United and we took a bus right to the lodge. We stayed slopeside at the Zephyr Mountain Lodge where the location of your room can make a big difference.

Zephyr Mountain Lodge Slopeside Building
photo from Planet of Hotels.com

Continue reading

Categories: American Airlines, Autograph Collection, Award Travel, California, Colorado, Condos, Croatia, Cruises, Europe, Greece, Hotel, Iberia, Italy, Lufthansa, Mammoth, Marriott, Montenegro, North America, OneWorld, Ship Review, Star Alliance, Tours, UNESCO World Heritage Site, United, United States, Viking, Winter Park, Year in Review | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Juniper Springs Resort, Mammoth, California

For my second ski trip of the 2022-23 season I made my first visit to Mammoth, California. I had never been to Mammoth and was quite looking forward to it. Unfortunately I wrenched my knee in October and was still not able to ski by the time this trip rolled around so I’ll definitely need another visit.

During the time of my visit Mammoth had received more snow than any resort in the world this season, over 500 inches of snow to that point. So I couldn’t tell much from the outside as we approached the building as so much of my view was blocked by the piled-up snow!

Juniper Springs Resort

As there were three groups arriving that same day, the weekend manager was handling our check-in within one of the conference rooms. Unfortunately my room was not ready. The manager considered swapping us to a different room but when she learned there were three of us in the unit who would not be skiing, she said we’d be better off in the room we’d been assigned as it had a good view we could enjoy. That turned out to be a more important statement than I realized at the time.  I was happy to learn we could have housekeeping every day.  That was rare even pre-pandemic and is practically unheard of these days. Continue reading

Categories: California, Condos, Lodging Review, Mammoth, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Zephyr Mountain Lodge #1701, Winter Park, Colorado

My ski club stayed here for a week while enjoying Winter Park resort and the nearby towns of Winter Park and Fraser. We had a number of 2 BR/2 BA units across the two buildings that comprise the Zephyr Mountain Lodge.

Location

Zephyr Mountain Lodge is currently the only ski-in/ski-out property at Winter Park – and that’s only if you’re in the Slopeside building. The Riverside building is a short walk across the plaza to the gondola. To me that would not be a big deal but some folks may find that a hassle.

If you’re driving to the resort or are arriving on a small shuttle bus you’ll likely turn on to Zephyr Way, the circle drive that’s in front of the Riverside building. That will put you at the main front desk in that building. If you arrive as we did, on a motor coach, you’ll come in on Nystrom Lane which leads to a circle drive in front of the Slopeside Building. The property management offices are located in the Slopeside Building.

Zephyr Mountain Lodge Slopeside Building
photo from Planet of Hotels.com

The two buildings are joined by a underground parking garage and if the snow is particularly deep or it’s very icy outside you may find it easier to travel between buildings this way, especially if you’re moving luggage. Continue reading

Categories: Colorado, Condos, Lodging Review, North America, United States, Winter Park | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Fairfield Inns and Suites, Chicago O’Hare

A Quick Trip to the Northern Plains
Lodging Review: Home2 Suites by Hilton Rapid City, SD
Our Visit to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park
Our Visit to Mount Rushmore and Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Lodging Review: TownePlace Suites, Dickinson, North Dakota
Lodging Review: Fairfield Inns & Suites, Chicago O’Hare

After driving literally all day, we made it back to Chicago and pulled into the Fairfield Inns & Suites Chicago O’Hare about 10 PM. We’d booked a room here anticipating that our Chicago-based friend would drop off my LA-based friend and me so she wouldn’t have to drive us back out to the airport the next day for our flights. But my LA-based friend decided to stay an extra few days visiting another friend so I had the room to myself. Once again we’d use an expiring free night certificate for our room, booking a room with two queen beds. Shortly before we departed on the road trip we called to see if we could switch to a 1 King room but they said the hotel was nearly sold out so they couldn’t make the change. We didn’t ask about it again at check-in as it really didn’t matter at that point.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Chicago O’Hare
photo from marriott.com

Continue reading

Categories: Fairfield Inn, Hotel, Illinois, Lodging Review, Marriott, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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