Four Star "Potluck"
Written: Jun 03 '01 (Updated Jun 03 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Location, Location, Location
Cons: Rooms with ecclectic style, average food, small lobby.
The Bottom Line: Four star hotel - 6 star location + 2 star room.
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| timmount's Full Review: The Lodge At Vail |
Vail
Located 100 miles from Denver, 120 miles from DIA, and only 30 miles from Eagle Vail airport, Vail is the queen of Colorado ski areas. The orginal Vail Village is the most prestigious region in which to stay, this is where it all started. Later the resort expanded to include the western part of the mountain base called "Lions Head". The Village is the heart of it all, with the most popular stores including the very expensive and sheik Goresuch store. The largest free bus system in the US connects the two villages. The bus service is always busy with good looking people going to their favorite lifts, elegant couples going to dinner or shop, and children off to the movies.
During "high season" Vail is packed with skiers and tourists. All over the world skiers come to experience the Colorado snow.
Vail Village
The heart of it all lies in a 10 block area in Vail Village with a covered bridge spanning Gore Creek, a picturesque snow covered mountain stream, as the entry way into this skiers fantasy world. Beside "Goresuch" there are many galleries and shops that provide upscale merchandise to vacationers with gold and platinum credit. In the center of this neighborhood "The Lodge at Vail" allows guest to watch the beautiful people walk by.
Lodge at Vail
Our club was fortunate enough to purchase one of the few "group rate" discounts that the hotel offers each year. As is becoming more common in ski resorts the Lodge at Vail is a condominium hotel with the rooms actually being condominiums which are sold when the hotel is initially built. The Condo are divided into "rooms" for guests at the hotel. Our room was the kitchen/living room portion of the condominium which included plenty of space, a living room area and kitch/dining area. Some of our members stayed in the bedroom part of the condo's giving them much less space and without a balcony. The furnishings are individually purchased by the owners of the condos so each had its own ecclectic style and quality. Our furniture was functional but had seen too many ski boots and poles since being purchased. The decor was a collection of disparate styles all put together without thinking. I am sure that many people have bought these units for the investment and have paid little thought to pleasing their guests.
Room service was excellent. The breakfast buffet was expensive ($19)but had every known food in abundance and quality. The location allowed us a perfect view of the main street with all the crowds of interesting people strolling the resort. Location of the hotel is in the original part of Vail Village so is close to all the finer shops and is as close to "ski-in, ski-out" as you will find in the village.
Lobby
For the hotel the lobby is beautifully decorated and comfortable but much too small for the size of the hotel.
The hotel was built in the 60's when 4 star meant something different than today.
Restaurants
We ate at "Cuisina Rustica" and "Wildflower". Cuisina Rustica had outstanding decor and service. The waiter stood over our table and made sure our every need was fullfilled.
The food was average without any originality or special flavor. From the bread to dessert there was nothing I couldn't have gotten at a restaurant charging 50% less. The food was good but this is the heart of Vail Village and I expected better. The Wildflower was not as good.
Summary
This was a great hotel when first opened in the 60's or early 70's but they have rested on their laurels and location to provide a continous supply of guests willing to
ski at Vail. There are much, much better hotels for the same price (for example the "Sonnenalp"- which is defining a new level of luxury at Vail) and equal hotels for
half the price that are located in the village of Vail.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
timmount
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Location: Columbus, Ohio
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Hard core skier, business owner in the medical field
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