After reading the reviews of the slopeside Alta places (Rustler, Lodge, Peruvian, and then the Snowpine), we opted to stay at the Snowpine – especially since the prices are almost 50% less than the Rustler or the Lodge. I’ve written many times for the Tripadvisor.com and come to trust the reviews of others.

The ‘curb appeal’ of Snowpine was dreadful. You walk in from the street access, which is on the top level of the building. You were greeted by smelly garbage (their garbage holding area is just to the right of the top door), a small landing, and sets of stairs the badly needs a fresh coat of paint or stain. I know the place is cheap compared to the Alta slopeside options, but what does it cost to put on a coat of paint or stain? There’s also a 15% service charge tacked on the room rates, which from what the staff told me does *not* go to the staff – it goes to the hotel. They really should explain this upfront, because I felt a bit sorry for the staff because not too many people were tipping during breakfast nor dinner.
You descend down the stairs to the main Snowpine lobby. The lobby is decent, coffee/tea seems always available and cookies on most afternoons. The desk staff seems friendly and helpful enough. But, even though the two desk staff were just reading the paper or a book when I arrived (mid-afternoon), they didn’t offer to shovel a parking spot for me, and instead showed me where the shovel was so I could clear my own parking spot for my vehicle! Yes - I know they discourage people from driving their own vehicles. However, an older lady checking out asked for assistance with carrying her bags up the flights of stairs to street level. One of the desk staff told her ‘If you can’t carry it, you shouldn’t bring it’, and didn’t help her at all (but someone else from the staff did eventually help her).

The rooms are *very* small. We had a room with a private bath, and I’ve never stayed in anything smaller - ever. Well, maybe a tent camping. There was no desk, just an old beat-up dresser. We got splinters opening the dresser drawers. When we checked-in, there were a bunch of people using their laptops on their lap in the common living room. There is no internet access (we knew this), so I don’t know why people bothered to bring laptops. There are also no phones nor TVs in the rooms (we also knew this), but cell phones worked fine. The beds were comfortable enough but they could have changed the sheets at least once (we were there for 5 nights), and my bed had a couple of bugs. We had to ask for extra towels - odd since there were 2 beds in the room. The cleaning staff did clean the rooms daily (but did not change the bed sheets).

The full breakfasts and dinners were very good. Breakfast had adequate choices and was quick, although maybe they could extend the breakfast hours a tad. Dinners (soup, salad, main course with veggies, dessert) were also very good, but you only had one choice – whatever they made that night. You could request a special meal if needed, but no one we saw did that (we did not). Service at both meals was excellent. They showed an old movie each night and there are plenty of boardgames in the common living room. We did not miss not having a TV at all.

It’s a ski-in/ski-out place. The ski boot room, and the ski room, was about as decrepit as the entrance from the street. Be sure to place your ski boots upside down unless you want someone else’s wet boots dripping on the inside liners. It wouldn’t have taken much to make this part much more appealing. The outdoor hot tub was decent and clean. We had our own bathroom but we did check out the common bath areas, in case we stay here again. The common bathrooms were fine, we might try that next time.

Overall I consider this place adequate. You can’t beat ski-in/ski-out access on the lightest powder on earth (I ski 70+ days a year). We also visited all the other slopeside places (Rustler, Lodge, Peruvian) to get a basis for comparison. The Peruvian looked nearly as rustic as the Snowpine. The Rustler was beautiful. The traveler would have to decide whether the higher room rates of the other places are worth it. We would stay at the Snowpine again but only if still on a tight budget.

What an amazing ski lodge!! Everything you need under one affordable roof: ski-in ski-out convenience at the base of Alta's magnificent slopes, delectable dinners, a cozy haven, outdoor hot-tub, dry sauna...don't go anywhere else!

My two stays at the Snow Pine Lodge have been simply awesome. They are very affordable, the small staff is amazingly friendly, their dinner every night is fabulous and the location is amazing. Ski in and out. They only have accomodations for approximately 50 people, and whether you stay in the men's or women's dorm, the smaller rooms or their few suites I highly recommend you consider the Snow Pine, it's the kind of place you'll make a tradition.