Colorado Where Would You Stay Breckenridge, Vail, Avon & Beaver Creek

[Thirsty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Thirsty]

I am looking for some opinions about the following resorts and the near by towns. How close are they to Yellowstone (it looks like about 60 miles from any of the resorts). My wife and I are planning on driving to Colorado in late June or early July.

After reading several reviews on Trip Advisor and Tugs I don't think I can go wrong with any of the these resorts. The first number is the Trip Advisor average score the second number is the average score from TUGS.

1. Grand Timber Lodge 3.5----8.97
2. Hyatt Main Street Station 4.5----8.71
3. St. James Place 4.0----9.43
4. Hyatt Grand Aspen 4.5----10 (Only 1 review)
5. Poste Montane At Beaver Creek 4.0----9.07
6. Marriott's Mountain Valley Lodge at Breckenridge 4.0----8.22
7. Hyatt Mountain Lodge 4.0----9.38
8. Park Plaza at Beaver Creek 4.5----8.89
9. The Residences at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek 4.5----8.89


Thank you,
Mike

[PigsDad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PigsDad]

I hope you missed a "0" on that number of miles to Yellowstone -- it is over 600 miles away.

And no, you can't really go wrong with any of those resorts. If you are trading, some of those will be very hard to get into! Personally, I prefer Breckenridge to the other towns, with Vail being a close second.

Kurt

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

If you are really interested in Yellowstone, try Jackson Hole.

Me, I prefer Steamboat Springs first and then Breckenridge (or any of the Summit County areas for that matter). You can get a better deal staying in the Dillon area and then use the free shuttle bus.

Cheers

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

I would stay at any of those resorts. I noticed that trading into Grand Timber Lodge is very easy in the summer. I am so curious about that one, but we don't really stay anywhere but Val Chatelle when we go to the mountains. We really love Breckenridge, don't get me wrong, but....... I would rather stay at Val Chatelle than any of those, but we own five weeks there, so I might be biased. The private hot tub on each deck is the BEST. But our resort is old, has no pool, and has no clubhouse. It is just six units that are maintained extremely well. It is walking distance to downtown Frisco. Love Frisco restaurants and shopping! Breckenridge is very close to Frisco, just a few minutes' drive.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Does Val Chatelle have a website? What is the elevation of Frisco? My wife had real problems last summer at Breckenridge because of the elevations.

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

What is the elevation of Frisco? My wife had real problems last summer at Breckenridge because of the elevations.

Frisco and Breckenridge are around 9000 feet. Steamboat Springs is around 7000 and Vail is around 8000.

Cheers

[Thirsty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Thirsty]

This is a good point. I never gave it a thought. I will have to do a search for elevation sickness. If you don't mind sharing in what way did it effect your wife?

Thanks,
Mike

Does Val Chatelle have a website? What is the elevation of Frisco? My wife had real problems last summer at Breckenridge because of the elevations.

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

Val Chatelle is managed by Americana Resort Properties, so I guess you would say the management company's site is the only thing Val Chatelle has. I doubt Val Chatelle is more than a mention on the site. The pictures on RCI are laughable, from years ago. We have had two different sets of living room furniture since the living room picture was taken. The new furniture is that new suede-look fabric that wears like iron.

Very attractive interiors, though I think the oak kitchen cabinets need replacing because they are out of style. The board says they are in great condition, very sturdy and match the rest of the place. UGHHHH! I should have taken a picture on our last visit. They are in good shape, but I would replace the kitchens and counters, anyway.

Val Chatelle is managed by the BOD, but they don't clean the units. That is about all they don't do. I am actually lying because they don't send out the billing statements either. They do choose the furniture and even pick it up in their pickup trucks, believe it or not! They actually replaced the dining room furniture that way. The board went shopping, found something they liked at Kacey Fine Furniture in Frisco (that was going to be delivered), then they went back to Denver, stopped by American Furniture and found a table and chairs they liked better. So they loaded up and drove back up to the hills to install the sets in the dining rooms. I think that is a little OCD, but they manage things so well that you just have to laugh. The average age of the board members is probably 75. One guy is 90. Our fees are very low ($440 for summer weeks, $416 for fall/spring, and $460 for ski). The units are very large, with 3 stories on the interior (2 story with a loft that is accessed with a wrought iron, circular staircase). They are townhouse style with garages and the private hot tubs on each deck. They were built to be lived in. If we sold the units outright, we could get $420K for each of them, according to a Realtor that owns a week there.

The old guys go bargain hunting and have a single handyman that does plumbing and painting. Perfect for those of us who own. Rick is going to get involved on the board when he retires because he wants to continue the tradition of the "hands-on" board. I think what they do is very commendable. We attend every board meeting we can to keep up with the resort because we own 5 weeks. We have a reserve that is enviable. We had one SA of $200 to replace all of the hot tubs, the shingles, and the flooring throughout. I wish Twin Rivers was that great.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

This is a good point. I never gave it a thought. I will have to do a search for elevation sickness. If you don't mind sharing in what way did it effect your wife?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike,

Do some research on altitude sickness. At 6500 feet in Park City (not overly high) , I get headaches and GI problems. Not insurmountable, but uncomfortable. An internist can prescribe something (usually a diuretic), but it d/n help me. I live at sea level, so the jump to 6500 is a big one for me. Also the lower oxygen at higher levels causes fatigue. My DH just did Breckenridge for a few days and was very tired. One way to minimize the effects is to go up gradually -- for instance, he flew into Denver and spent the night there before ascending up to Breckenridge.

And remember the number one rule of high altitude: DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Most people adjust in a 3 or 4 days. Oh, the number two rule: Alcohol at those altitudes exacerbates the altitude adjustment problems... (Utah's strict liquor laws actually help the visitors out, though they don't know it)

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

Anemic blood can be a real problem when you're at high altitude. Also, your doctor can test your breathing ability. Rick and I both failed miserably at our breathing tests, so neither one of us can hike anymore--doctors' orders. Neither one us ever smoked, but all of our parents did, so we blame them.

We live in Denver at 5280 feet, so we breathe so much better in Orlando, Hawaii, California, etc. But in the mountains, it is harder.