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 →