Stellar Steamboat Springs

Anyone who loves to ski will have heard of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. After all, it's known as "Ski Town USA" because so many Olympic athletes have lived and trained in the area.

In fact, the local educational system has evolved to accommodate the demands of the super elite by having coaches identify the truly talented in their midst and get them into a "ski schedule" at a young age. If good enough to qualify for this program, students attend classes only in the mornings as the afternoons are reserved for training on the slopes. Keep in mind this option is only open to the very best athletes in the country. However, with ski school open to kids of ALL abilities as young as three, many Colorado children quite literally can't remember a time when they didn't stand on skis that were pointed down mountains. So all the kids might give you a skills complex.

With that said, the beauty of Steamboat for the REST of us who only get to play in snow for a week or two a year is that the resort is well suited for all abilities and has a good record of consistent snow-fall. In fact, it touts the consistency of its "champagne powder", and I must admit. Skiing here is lovely.

Also smaller than some of the other towns with ski resorts closer to Denver, Steamboat Springs is a quaint place with a Western downtown that seemed more tasteful than touristy to me. (The year-round population is still under 10,000.) I mean, sure you can find shops to buy a "Ski Town USA" baseball cap, but there's nothing gaudy or "clearance priced" about the storefronts... even when there is a sale.

Do you want to take a day off from physical activity? You can rest up by visiting inexpensive, leisurely attractions like the Tread of Pioneers Museum located at 800 Oak Street. It's open all year from 11-5, Tuesday-Saturday. Further details at www.treadofpioneers.org.

Quick Tips:

Privately owned vacation homes like Ski View Haus (www.skiviewhaus.com) often offer a private hot tub/sauna and are located close to the ski resort. This is a way to get great luxury accommodation with amazing views at an affordable rate for a fabulous family vacation in both the winter and the summer.

For smaller groups, condos abound as well as regular hotels.

While not exactly an epicenter of nightlife, there's plenty to keep kids busy in the evenings. Dinner sleigh rides, tubing, and hot springs are activities to be enjoyed by all. Or, perhaps, the adults would prefer a morning massage at a local spa while the kids are in ski school?

Speaking of ski school... In my opinion, the trick to enjoying snow sports is simply learning how to be comfortable on the slopes. Steamboat Springs offers an array of excellent classes for little ones through teenagers at what can be an amazing value. Private lessons are also available at all levels, so it doesn't matter if you're just trying to keep your balance or learning how to navigate bumps. The resort has a teacher who can help you.

The gondola that was originally "weight tested" by loading down its cars with beer (!!!) is a fast and pleasant ride to the top of the mountain.

Few lifts take groups to a point without multiple ability runs back down, so the advanced skier can choose a black while his partner goes green with the promise to meet at the same point at bottom.

Did I mention the fabulous snow?

Oh... yeah... On weekdays, Steamboat's rarely crowded.

This is an amazing family resort.

Best Way To Get Around:

We had a car, which is perfect if you aren't in a "ski-in/ski-out" facility.

While I should say no where is a long way from anything in Steamboat Springs, your own vehicle gives you flexibility when seeking out evening entertainment like tubing at a local ranch or just going to the movies.

However, public transport in Steamboat Springs is FREE. Most hotels/condos also offer bus lifts to the ski resort.

Denver is 180 miles away if that's the airport you have to use, but Hayden with its airport is closer if you want to just get a shuttle into town.

Celebrity Resorts Hilltop is actually a timeshare facility (RCI Exchange), but they also rent condos like a hotel when owners are not in residence. I found a good internet special (25% off a 4 night stay) that made Celebrity very attractive indeed, so we decided to give it a go despite mixed reviews I'd read on other websites. After all, this meant we'd have a kitchen.

So what was the reception like? Well, we got off to a bumpy start because we arrived "after-hours." The front desk is only manned until 11 PM, and a long drive from Denver meant we didn't get there until after midnight. With that said, there is a sign beside a phone that tells you exactly what to do in such a situation. We called a security guard who arrived in quick time to look for our packet and get us settled in a condo. She found our packet... but no room key. This led to a series of phone calls that had us waiting in the lobby with our luggage for much longer than desirable. However, she eventually worked it out and escorted us down the hallway.

What was our room like? The condo in which we stayed was great. The building is, admittedly, a little bit dated... but we didn't care about that. The cute but simple decor of our condo fit the "Wild West" with cowboy wallpaper in one bathroom. Our kitchen was well stocked with all the dishes we needed to cook. The coffee pot had a basket with hot chocolate, coffee and tea for our first morning in residence. The master bedroom had tons of storage space and a comfortable bed with TV. Our son was happy on the fold-out couch with his own full bathroom and personal remote control. We had individual heating/ac units to control the temperature. Our view was of a not-so-spectacular parking lot... but we'd get lots of scenery when skiing. All was clean and comfortable. On our last night when we were completely exhausted, we enjoyed using the DVD player and watching a movie we'd bought at Safeway.

(Note: Housekeeping is only once a week, so you're going to wash your own dishes unless you pay extra.)

Pluses Worth Mentioning? Once we actually met the desk staff, they were nothing but apologetic about the difficulties at check-in, and every other interaction was completely professional and efficient. For instance, when we asked for extra pillows and blankets, we had them within minutes. Check-OUT was easy. I also loved being across the hall from the laundry room because I took full advantage and washed everything before packing. (This made UNpacking a lot easier later.) Operating the machines was free. Detergent was available in a vending machine. My son enjoyed borrowing a sled for use on a small hill behind the swimming pool. (The pool is kinda small, so don't expect to do laps.) My husband watched him build a snowman through the glass windows from the hot tub. The ski resort is pretty close as well. I'm talking under ten minutes. While we had a car so opted to drive to ski each morning, a shuttle takes guests to and from the slopes at regular intervals throughout the day at ski season.

Bottom Line? We got incrediable value for money---Celebrity had the most affordable CONDOS still available in town at the time we visited in February 2008---and we enjoyed the one-bedroom unit in which we stayed.... great for our family of three. Layouts vary, so if unhappy, ask for a switch! I'd certainly stay at Celebrity again on another vacation.

If you need a place to hang your cap and scarf the night before you fly out of Denver after a vacation of skiing any of the myriad resorts in the area, the Denver Marriott City Center is an exceedingly comfortable place in which to do it. After visiting Steamboat Springs 180 miles away, we booked a nice evening here so that we wouldn't have any problems getting to the airport and our international flight the next day. It was one of those brighter moves during the course of our vacation because we had a stress-free final day in the United States.

What is the Marriott like?
Expect the comfort you always get at a Marriott.

If you have a car, the place doesn't have its own parking deck, but there is valet available for off-site parking. This sets you back $20 unless you get it included in a special fare as we did. (The Marriott often runs Internet specials, so be sure to check their website.) We never had a problem getting our vehicle out when we needed it.

As for the room... it was modern, comfortable, and came stocked with the extra feather pillows we had requested ahead of time. The bathroom had marble counters with Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy shampoo, conditioner and lotions.

My husband was happy to have high-speed internet available so that he could get a little bit of work out of the way, but my son was equally as thrilled to find internet-connected computers available for free for guest use near the business centre. Of course, fax machine, copier and printer are found there.

The fitness facilities are also fabulous and opened long hours. A lit-up pool is overlooked by a bubbling hot-tub. There's plenty of equipment to meet both cardio and weight needs. Towels and such are provided in the gym.

If you've forgotten anything, a convenience store is downstairs. However, one of the great things about this hotel is its location near other ammenities.

We had a few hours so we decided to take a wander around Denver. We were only a block or two over from a giant pedestrian mall, so we did a little window shopping. Continuing on, we also stopped by the Denver Art Museum. The DAM as it's nicknamed has one wing housed in a modern building that looks just like a castle. The Denver Mint is also close along with some other downtown tourist attractions.

In the morning, we had breakfast at the Marriott. They provided an excellent breakfast buffet with pretty much everything you'd want in this large American meal. I opted for oatmeal and fresh fruit while our son hit the waffles and omelets. (Where do teenagers PUT all that food?!?)

The Marriott is also close to evening restaurants.

Our drive to the airport took less than half an hour but do plan for more traffic if leaving around a Denver rush hour.

I would certainly stay here again.

After a day of skiing, we still weren't tired of playing in the snow. So, we grabbed a bowl of hot soup at our condo, left on our ski suits, and headed out in the car to Saddleback Ranch. It was a pleasant 15-20 minute drive from downtown Steamboat Springs in the opposite direction of Denver. (You can also catch a bus out to the ranch, which requires a phone call and a reservation.)

Following the signs, we twisted through a narrow road, white snow blanketing the hills around us. Finally in the parking lot, the first thing we noticed was the pen of long horn cows by the ticket office. The sun was still out, and a group of children were laughing, dragging red tubes to a rope pull that would drag them back up the tubing hill. Our son practically bounded out of the car so we could join the fun.

Tickets were $15/pp for an hour. Granted, I guess you could say we could have gone to Wal-Mart, bought a sled or tube to keep, hiked up a hill, and just gone to town anywhere on public land. But let me tell you. After two days of hard skiing, we didn't want to have to hike up anything. We didn't want to have to deal with purchased equipment either. It was way easier to just have everything set up. And the mother in me could see it is safer to slide on a rubber doughnut without any brakes down a groomed run rather than a random mountain!

So basically what you do is go to the "lift." You sit in your tube. The lift operator attaches a pull to a drag rope, and you are slowly dragged up the mountain.

If you want to know the truth, this was my favorite part. I loved the gentle ride up to the top of the hill because the sun was just going down, turning the mountains pink. I could watch a dog running in the snow as a sleigh of revelers were getting grouped up for a tour. I could just relax, look at the immense beautiy of Colorado spread beneath me. And the lift operators were pleasant, too. (Saddleback Ranch is family owned and operated.)

At the top of the hill, you can choose one of three runs named after the 3 Stooges. The funnest thing to do is to hold hands on one run and go in a group down the mountain. We did this the most... screaming, laughing, holding tight, whizzing down a chute of snow and ice.

As for the hour... it was a perfect amount of time for us in the evening. There's also a nice club house area to get snacks and warm drinks.

While we didn't have time to do them, Saddleback Ranch offers a ton of different activities including snowmobile tours and horseback riding.

More information can be found by visiting www.saddlebackranch.net or calling 879-3711.

This really was perfect family fun.

Steamboat Springs offers glorious, consistent snowfall. There are reasons that so many Olympic athletes live in the area, and the consistency of the "champagne powder" would certainly be on the list. With that said, I am no elite athlete. I am from a warm climate, and I am lucky if I'm able to get out to the slopes once every couple of years. Still, I learned how to ski when I was a girl, so I am fairly competent on most runs. In the end, while I've been on more difficult slopes, I think Steamboat Springs is a fabulous family ski resort that caters to a variety of levels.

How easy was it to get to the resort and park? Keep in mind that public bus transport in Steamboat Springs is completley free. If you're there on a more crowded weekend, you might want to leave your car parked at the hotel and catch a bus. However, we had a car, so we drove each morning. There's a multi-deck car park right in front of the resort. It set us back $15 a day to leave our car there, and we never had a problem getting a space. (We are also early morning skiers, so we never got to the resort after 8:30 AM.) Keep in mind that Steamboat Springs is a compact town. Some of the nicer house rentals are less than two-three miles away. If you stay "downtown", it will still only take you ten minutes to get to the resort.

How much do the lift tickets cost? Well, the lift tickets aren't cheap, but skiing isn't exactly a cheap sport. At the height of the season, adults pay over $80/day, but there are some great deals to be had if you have kids with you. 12 and unders can ski FREE with an adult purchase. Teens get a discount as well. Colorado residents might want to look into season passess. For the rest of us not blessed with living in the state, multi-day tickets can garner small reductions. And, of course, the rates go down outside of the primest times.

Are the lift tickets worth it? Absolutely. The resort isn't huge, but I loved the fact that a lot of the lifts (and the gondola) took us up to sections of the mountain with different level runs going down again. This allowed my husband and I to take some steep, fast blacks while our less-skilled (at this point) son could opt for a blue or green and meet us at the bottom. Perfect for family skiing. Each lift is well marked as well so that no one goes where he shouldn't. If you want bumps, they are there. If you want trees, you can find them. If you're a snowboarder, there are plenty of glades and a terrain park. Beginners will find tons of variety both near and away from the base. My favorite runs included "Rolex", which our instructor told us can grow big bumps. While we were there, it was groomed, straight, steep, and short enough that I could do it fast in one go without my legs giving out. Fabulous. "Valley View" was a great, long black to the base. My son liked "Vagabond", a fun intermediate that, by the end of an ungroomed day, bordered on blue/black and the gentle greens in the "Sunshine Area."

Any shortfalls? I am a strong intermediate skier who is comfortable on black runs. For the crazy advanced guy, I would think that Steamboat Springs doesn't offer quite as much variety or challenge as a resort like Jackson Hole in Wyoming. I loved all the tree runs that were accessed through the "Pony Express" lift. This is where I'd point a more advanced skier.

Restaurants? We ate at one of the restaurants on the mountain our first day. Everything you'd expect is there like hamburgers and fries and hot drinks. It's all comfortable enough and we were glad for the rest. Expect to pay $10 for a grilled cheese sandwich. The next two days, we packed lunch. I noticed some choices for food were cheaper at the base, i.e. a slice of pizza for less than $5.

Any extras worth checking out? We were impressed with the ski school.

If at all affordable, I am a huge advocate of getting a lesson every time a person goes skiing. I also think it's very important to get a child into ski school to gain the correct skills he/she will need to enjoy the slopes. Knowing this, I made reservations with the Steamboat Springs Ski School before we ever left on vacation.

How much does ski school cost? This varies. Group lessons for kids seemed very reasonable to me, especially since a teen gets a really cheap lift ticket when bought in conjunction with a day in ski school.... less than $150 in total including lunch. To give our kid some confidence, these hours of instruction were worth every penny. Private lessons are much more expensive. They can run over $500 for a session! My family opted for an "early bird" class, which comes with a heavy discount. The trick to this is to make sure if you go with another person(s)--i.e. your husband or kid---you are at close to the same levels so that you can really take advantage of the instructor's time.

What were the lessons like? Our son loved ski school. He had fun being with other kids around his age. There wasn't any pressure to keep up with his parents. He liked the classes so much that we put him back in ski school on our third day as well. I also liked the "report card" that gave me an idea of what skills he had mastered. On our final runs, we saw massive improvement in his form. As for the private, early bird lesson... This was also useful. Less than 2 hours long with just the three of us and an instructor, we still had time to ride a couple lifts and get a good assessment of our abilities. We did drills such as bunny hops on one ski to work on balance, and the lady who helped us pointed out some basic problems in form that made a huge difference for us when corrected. Though I've always been a controlled skier, I can honestly say that my last day of skiing was prettier and faster because of the lesson we took.

Anything important to know? If you think that your teen is going to take multiple days in ski school, buy the lift tickets and lessons at the same time to get the best value for money. As we'd already purchased a teen lift ticket for our son's third day, we basically threw away $40 because we weren't able to get the ski school discount he would have otherwise gotten on his lift ticket when he went back to ski school. Reservations are important... essential for private lessons. The number is 1-800-299-5017, and I found the guy who helped me figure out what I wanted/needed to be very helpful and courteous. After making a reservation, you simply show up at the ski school building the first day you're on the slopes and sign forms.

A good ski school is important at a family resort, and Steamboat Springs did not disappoint.