Suggestions for skiing in mid January next year in Colorado needed. We're a group of 10 and would like a ski in/out chalet with fireplace and outdoor jacuzzi. Steamboat Springs or Vail sounds nice.

Hi Carol,
Bonnie Rozean from the Grand County Colorado Tourism Board. Not wanting to commercialize this forum and I agree, Steamboat Springs and Vail are nice places but have you ever thought about Grand County? Better value, uncrowded and equally beautiful. Feel free to check out our site for lodging, Specials & Packages and our Calendar of Events or contact me directly if I can help with specific questions.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Rozean
Administrator
GCCTB
http://www.grand-county.com

Oh Christ, travel agents, B&B owners, tour operators, travel book authors, travel webmasters, now people from local boards of tourism and the chamber of commerce. This board is overrun with people who have come here to promote, steer and profit. And in the same breath they use to protest mightily that they are not promoting, they give their sales pitches.

Fodor's, either enforce your rules or just get rid of them and let this site turn into another Frommer's, but please don't keep saying that your site of free of commercialism when that is so obviously not the case.

blah blah blah - if you're not going to contribute, don't post! Complain directly to Fodors!

Carol: While January is an off-season, you are going to pay a premium for a true ski-in/ski-out property. In both Vail and Steamboat, ski-in/out generally means hotel rooms or condos. Not "chalets" as such.

In skiing parlance, "ski-in/ski-out" means you pop on your skis at the door of the lodge and you're on snow. If you're willing to walk 50-100 yards, the price will drop dramatically. If you take the shuttle, it will drop even more.

On that note, The Lodge at Vail has mostly hotel rooms, but some condos. It backs directly onto the snow and fronted by the Vail Village. Its also the most expensive property in town. And not IMO a good value. The Lion Square Lodge in Lionshead also is considered ski-in/ski-out and is a condo property. If you want some names of less expensive condo properties let me know - there's a ton of condos, however they're all individually owned and many can use a remodel.

Regarding Steamboat, we have always stayed in the town vs. the village. The Village is where hotels, shops and restaurants are at the base of the lifts. The town is a couple miles away, on a shuttle. Prices are less, nightlife is better and we've never had a problem taking the shuttle. b

For a group your size - Special Places of Steamboat offers terrific houses and duplexes - that become affordable as you divide up the costs. Most have hot tubs, etc. and are wonderful. While few of these homes would be considered ski-in, ski-out - the shuttle system at Steamboat is easy to use and very reliable. Also, a number of year's ago, we took a group of 12 to Steamboat and stayed in the Scandanavian Lodge Penthouse condo. It was huge and while it wasn't the easiest ski-in/out, (the trip to the base require a bit of "poling" over some flat areas) the place was great and really pretty reasonably priced. Have Fun!

Hi Carol:

I'm not commercializing this site either, I believe that's totally wrong, but Vail is the top ski area in Colorado, and for good reason. Bonnie has her head up her ass. Feel free to check out the Vail web site and all the fabulous condo deals and if you need ANY help at all, I'd be only too happy to profit from your group of 10 well-heeled -and-willing-to-spend-lots-of-dough group!!! Cowabunga!

The poster above somehow thinks that his vulgarity is somehow less obnoxious than information from Bonnie.

The main ski area in Grand County that Bonnie refers to above is Winter Park/Mary Jane. It is also a wonderful ski area - whose primary visitors are Colorado natives - Winter Park is owned by the City of Denver. It is one of the Largest ski areas in Colorado and the terrain compares very favorably to any of the major resorts. You certainly can ski and stay at Winter Park for much, much less than Vail. And Bonnie is correct when she says that the scenery is as beautiful as Vail -- It is more beautiful! Winter Park does not look down on the dry, commercialized valley that carries Interstate-70. Some travelers who are not accustomed to high mountain, narrow road travel might not like traveling over Berthoud Pass to get to Winter Park - That is probably why so many native Coloradoans love it!

Don't get me wrong - I really like skiing Vail - But you will save money, enjoy the views, and avoid the glitz of Vail at Winter Park. Winter Park is quite popular, though, so I can't say it will feel much less crowded than Vail. Have Fun!

We have stayed at several different resorts in Colorado and our favorite is Steamboat Springs. I think they have the best "true" ski in/ski out for the price. We booked through Mountain Resorts and stayed in a 4 bedroom townhome that was ski in/ski out. Had a balcony that overlooked the main run coming in and if you quit early you could sit out there with your drink and watch everyone racing (and falling) down the mountain. We loved it. Also a really neat town with lots of shops and good restaurants.

Steamboat and Vail are great. You will enjoy either. Vail is definitely more expenisve. If you contact the ski area you might find a package. Recently, I read that staying at some hotels will give free skiing to kids. Call their tourism board and find out the current deals. Vail definitely has the largest amount of terrain. You could ski all day and not go on any trail twice. But, you do pay a bundle to ski there (and to park). Discounted skiing is around, but bargains are few. You can get check Entertainment Books and see if they have discounts. But, I believe a regular ski ticket is more than $50 a day. And has Bonnie mentioned, Winter Park is a great ski area also. There's plenty of fun terrain between Winter Park and Mary Jane. However, personally, I do not find Winter Park as good for apres ski activities. Another place to consider is Glenwood Springs as a base. Sunlight Ski Area is very small and certainly not glitzy. But, they have great deals for families. I don't think there are any ski/ski out facilities there. However, Glenwood Springs is located half way between Aspen and Vail (one hour drive either way)giving you some other options. Our family also loves a winter soak in the Hot Springs there. If money is no object, choose Aspen or Vail. If you want the middle ground, choose Steamboat, if you need a budget vacation, choose Glenwood Springs.

You might want to check out the Beaver Creek area as they have lots of ski-in/ski-out resorts and are still on the Vail mountain.