A seriously mixed and costly experience--it would seem East West lapsed this year, both in terms of property upkeep and some *shocking* customer service incidents. In my case, minor maintenance problems did not seriously impact the overall experience; instead, it was East West's failure to return nearly $3,000 in unauthorized charges to my card that ruined the stay and sullied their reputation. I can only imagine the tough snow season impacted the resort and forced them to use an unskilled accounting service. Below I review the lodging & incident separately:


The Highlands Slopeside Property: The property is not Beaver Creek's newest, but has been recently renovated. The price may mislead some into expecting inclusive service; think self-sufficient--there is no doorman, baggage, or assistant--but you get privacy. If you want a more pampered service, Ritz/Park Hyatt Residences may be better, but be prepared to pay.

--Pros: The kitchen is fabulous (think: stainless steel everything/granite counters). Bathrooms well decorated but in keeping with lodge. Fast washer/dryer. Ample closet space. Ski in/ski out is maybe the closest you'll get from a lodge (vs. hotel) with a *competent* beginners way down. The two story great room with fireplace was excellent! Small deck and BBQ--very appealing.

--General pointers: Conditions tips--late March can = limited ski-out and intensive all-night-long grooming under your window (snowfall-dependent). Distance--leave ample time to get into town as you will need to wait for the shuttle; it's not that fast to get in walking!

--Cons: Master toilet temperamental; showers backed-up; no air con (high 80s upstairs); linens were abrasive; ski locker did not lock. Basic and annoying problems that jeopardize the high-end feel and experience of the lodge.

Service: "If we make a mistake, tough luck!" Friendly at first upon check-in--verified the entire stay was pre-paid in advance, confirmed 0 balance due, and took my card for incidentals--there were none at check-out. However, they demonstrated incompetence and customer disregard after conducting an unauthorized transaction of nearly $3,000 to my card a week after leaving the resort, refunding the amount to the wrong person, and then failing to remedy the situation when all they had to do was a simple reversal. The end result of my vacation: tying up the money in the wrong financial institution for months. Very unfortunate.

Conclusion: A difficult review. On one hand, the property is pleasing--I recommend it, GIVEN some of the fixes that shouldn't have been left for me to discover. More serious, however, was their mistake and consequent attitude. Serious managerial action is necessary in order to maintain the standards that Beaver Creek advertises--otherwise this review will be the least of their problems. The resort has strong potential, and previous reviews attest to this, but, given high-end hospitality with an equally high-end price, I shouldn't have to be writing a review at all. I should be eagerly booking my next trip to the resort! A vacation is meant to be fun--the Park Hyatt achieved that twice this year and exceeded my expectations--it's a shame East West were unable to follow suit.

We selected East-West once again for our spring break ski trip in March, 2012. We were in Village Hall, which comes with services at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek - including room service, bellman services, ski valet, use of pools, spa, etc. This property is very close to everything in the village, the main Centennial lift and with the additional benefits of being a part of the Park Hyatt - Village Hall is a great option for Beaver Creek. We rented a specified unit with East-West on this trip, as we had issues and other families had experienced issues with making general, unspecified reservations for units in the past. The rental rates during the spring are expensive - you pay a higher rate at Village Hall, even though it is an older building, for the location and the amenities.

Most of the premium units with East-West are expensive and there is an expectation on behalf of the customer that the accommodations will reflect the price. This is not always the case with East-West Resort units. Each unit is individually owned, and East-West allows units that do not deserve to be in the categories such as deluxe, superior or luxury to be placed in their rental pool. I think they try to require certain standards, but many of the units I have seen and stayed in fall below a "reasonable" expectation in my opinion. During peak times, the rental rates on many of their properties would dictate that the properties be of a higher quality. Yet, they do not meet this expectation. Some problems occur with East-West, because of this issue ... I have witnessed this myself on multiple trips and with various groups. Typically, East-West moves the guest or works to accommodate the individual as best they can. In most cases, the guest has not been guaranteed a particular unit, so the resort also falls back on this as an excuse for less than expected (maybe the guest saw a represented photo on the web) accommodations, as well.

We have used and recommended East-West resorts as a source for condo options in the Beaver Creek Area many times within our family and ski groups. East-West holds a large number of properties with many options in the BC Village area, so it is a popular choice and actually hard not to consider, if you are going to that area with a family or group.

If you are looking at properties with this company, I would suggest that you try to gather as much information as possible about the exact location (they often say ski-in and ski-out, but this may not be totally accurate) in relation to the Village and the main lifts at Beaver Creek. Some units say they are in the Village, but that may mean exactly in the town or could also mean a shuttle ride away. Look at the map of Beaver Creek and pinpoint the properties for yourself. The information EW provides can be a little misleading on this, especially if you have never been to Beaver Creek. Staying literally in the walking area of the village is a big plus for families or groups, so paying a little extra for this location is a good choice.

Also, you might want to spend some time talking with the EW management about the particular units in the building you are considering and put in a request for a particular unit. Believe me, they can vary greatly! Ask about the quality of the furnishings, bathroom and kitchen updates, when furnishings or linens have been updated, whether the units have a problem with being too hot (this is an issue in several buildings at BC) and also inquire about mattress and bedding quality. We have had several issues with scratchy sheets, plastic pillows, dirty comforters, mattresses that were as hard as boards or terribly uncomfortable - horrible really. Hard to imagine that the owners ever came to those units and I doubt that they did. Harder to imagine that quality control at East-West would allow the owner to continue to be in their rental pool, without getting things in the unit up to par.

Our last trip with East-West in March was such a disappointment, mostly due to the way the management dealt with our family that we are not likely to ever use their inventory again. We had an issue with the heating, with carbon monoxide testers going off, elevators not working, with bedding and with something causing allergies from within the unit. It would have been easy to switch, but no other units were available at Village Hall or at the Park Hyatt and no other reasonable options were available really until the end of our stay.

We have had issues before with this resort company, but in the past ... the manager in charge has made whatever adjustments were necessary, if possible and worked to show concern and to keep our group satisfied. Even though we were disappointed and actually finally had to move out of our very expensive unit into a smaller, less expensive unit ... no adjustment was made to our account, no real apology offered at the end of our stay, no gesture at all about the trouble that we had during our rental stay. Being a repeat personal customer and an individual in charge of multiple stays for groups in the past, I found this lack of concern very telling about the current management at East-West.

What we would have preferred, was for the management at East-West to really inspect their units and know their inventory and then represent the inventory in a way that matches the price and type of traveler that typically comes to Beaver Creek. Handling issues BEFORE a guest checks in, is of course, the best! When problems do occur, listening to guests and asking their opinion in a caring way means a lot. EW could have gathered some really useful information to make future guests comfortable, had they bothered to ask us about our stay.

RESERVE only after you do your homework, please and do try to get the management to request an updated, comfortable unit for you. Focus your inquiry on: Location in relation to Village, Proximity to lifts, Updated Baths/Kitchen, Updated Bedding/Clean, Quality Mattresses, Heating/Ventilation issues (i.e. - is this unit known to have problems being too hot or too cold?) and Price in relation to other options. Check for special offers on the web and mention any deals you found at EW or with their competitors for a discount. They have some totally fantastic units with EW and if you are lucky, you will get a wonderful place to enjoy one of the best ski resorts in the country!

We yearly go skiing as a family vacation and to all the places we've been Beaver Creek is the best and we keep coming back for a week.

East West Resorts has the best properties on the mountain and manages and maintains them well. They are also extremely friendly and always happy to cater to any needs.

We often stay at Slopeside and have never been disappointed.