Hi, just some of my favorite restaurants....

"Up the creek"

"Sweet Basil"

"garfunkals" this is a casual/bar atmosphere

And there is one on the way to beavercreek in "The Pines lodge" called "Grousse mountain grill" (My personal fav)

Have fun! And i do believe they take reservations for all.

All good questions that I would love to hear answers too.

The trail map on the Vail website is SHOCKING to say the least, they say it low quality and it is. They should have a few versions of the trail map like

Low Quality

High Quality

Flash version

For such a major resort their website this year seems disapointing

Park Meadows is an economy lodge near the Vail Cascade. It's probably an 8-10 minute walk to the Cascade chairflift. It's not a bad place - but it's not high-end either.

Sweet Basil, La Tour, Larkspur and Montauk are some personal favorite restaurants. You DEFINATELY need reservations on a weekend in January. The concierge at the lodge should handle this for you to save you some time!

Rent skis in advance - try Vail Sports at www.rentskis.com. Charter Sports is also located in the Cascade Hotel, but it's a smaller shop.

Trail Map - Vail.com has a great one, but as the previous person mentioned, you need high speed internet access to truly appreciate the website. It's very flash-heavy and not great if your computer can't keep up.

Agree with previous poster about ski rental.

Park Meadows is "economy' .... you won't be spending much time there anyway> just get out of there & enjoy.

Have you checked www.snow.com for the trail map? The problem is Vail is SO HUGE it has to be reduced to fit, Snow.com allows you to zoom in on the map in designated areas.

My local favorite Vail restaurants are:

Kelley Liken, Larkspur, LaTour, Terra Bistro and La Bottega. Most will take rezzies in advance with a credit card.

Have FUN!!

vailskier: Thanks for the advise on resturants and rentals, much appreciated:

Dont forget The Bully for a GREAT burger. In adddtion to the others mentioned, Splendido in BC is (or was) EXCELLENT 2 years ago. We also like Grousse Mtn Grill. For Vail along with Kelly Lichen, Larkspur, Sweet Basil and Bottega, last year we tried Cucina Rustica and loved it (the antipasto bar on its own was great).

this site has links and info about local night life and dining...

http://geocities.com/thinkvail/

We use American Ski rental which is a family owned business. Great staff and reasonable prices. The contact info is on the thinkvail site.

http://geocities.com/thinkvail/

re ski rentals--many of the lodges and condos offer discount coupons. Ask before you rent.