Ski Week in Vail

Vail is a great place to go and ski. It's a little bit less expensive and glamorous then Aspen (also in Colorado, another place I frequently visit) at least in my opinion. There are still great ski hills, perhaps a few less, but there are still a wide variety of different levels of hills (easy hills straight up to black diamonds for the expert skier). It's often sunny here as well, so you can typically ski in jeans and a ski jacket. There is one main ski resort that is a fantastic place to ski, and you can usually stay right at the resort (of course you pay a premium for this) so you can look out your window and see the ski hills, and get right up in the morning and go.

It's best to get up and go skiing earlier in the day so you can avoid the crowds- you will get a lot more runs in because you won't have to wait in lines for the ski lifts to go up the hills. Since there isn't a ton to do at night anyway—why would you need there to be when you ski all day?—it's better to get this early start.

They have basic ski lodge food and fare available all day—delicious hot cocoa and a warm fire to rest beside. You can get burgers and delicious hot soups and other foods of the type that you would expect at a ski lodge.

It's best to buy a weekly pass if you plan to stay and ski for the week. This is cheaper then buying daily ski lift passes. These are not necessarily cheap—it's expensive to ski—but you get a whole day of fun for the ski lift pass, or a whole week at a bargain.

You can also rent skis and get ski lessons for additional fees. You can check with the hotel you stay at and see if they have any kind of package deals where you can get a certain amount of skiing and lessons for a set price—which might be a good deal depending on if you need the lessons and the skis. There are different qualities of skis you can rent to, some fancier and thus more expensive then others, but unless you are an expert the basics should be fine.

Quick Tips:

Get a weekly ski lift pass to get a bit of a bargain, although it's still not cheap, it's definitely cheaper.

The ski instructors are really fabulous here and it's worth taking a lesson if you need to learn—check with you hotel to see if they have a package deal for a ski lift ticket and ski lessons.

Get up early to get in as many runs as you can before it gets crowded—you'll get more value for your money and you can take a nap later in the afternoon when the runs are more crowded.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will mostly be staying at the ski resort I think—so you'll just be taking the ski lift up to the top of the hill. There are restaurants and a ski lodge right by the mountains (and usually by hotel) so you can walk over to them.

If you want to go into town—which you might because its' cute—check with your hotel to see if they offer a tour or excursion- mine did and it was not that expensive (cheaper then renting a car for the whole week when I only needed the transportation for that one day).

This hotel was simply lovely. It offers both regular rooms and hotel suites so there is something for every price range- well, maybe not every price range because even the regular rooms are not that cheap. The hotel is conveniently located near several great ski slopes and close enough to downtown Vail. The hotel offers package deals that include transportation to skiing locations or ski passes as well, so when you are booking a room make sure and ask about this because this doesn't necessarily come standard and they wont' always tell you about it, especially if you book online.

The hotel was not particularly unique or quaint. It was pretty much like every other Holiday Inn you will stay in. This can be a good thing if you are looking for a predictably nice, clean place to stay where you know exactly what to expect. The decor and rooms were like any other holiday inn- double beds in the room which are nice and comfortable but nothing too special, the usual hotel room decor- nothing too beautiful but nothing dated or unattractive either. The rooms were clean- daily maid service and I felt like they did a good job, everything was freshly vacuumed, sheets and comforter had no stains or anything, towels smelled freshly washed.

The hotel offered standard amenities- swimming pool, room service, small hotel restaurant that offered your standard Americana food and nothing too extravagant. A continental breakfast was included in the price of our room which was decent--- you have to be up before 9 to get it, but you get coffee or tea or juice and a wide selection of serials and pastry type items. We ordered room service one night when we were too tired to go out and it was reasonable and they had a pretty nice menu (again standard fare- pizza, sandwiches, salads- we had Cesar salads and they were comparable to your average mid-priced restaraunt, but then again its hard to mess up Cesar salad.
The staff was friendly. They helped us to arrange a day trip and the hotel does offer different trip packages- I believe this is through a 3rd party company that they work with; but its still nice because they pick you up at your hotel and arrange everything and its all included in the price.

If you are looking for a cute bed and breakfast or something- this is not it- and you can certainly find an abundance of those in Vail. But if you are looking for a hotel where you know what to expect for a good price- this is it. And since Vail is a place where you go to explore the city and you don't spend a lot of time in your hotel- I think this is a fine place to stay and probably the best value for your money.