Every year we try to take a week long ski trip to a different resort with the hopes of finding *The Perfect Ski Getaway* and, well, this came pretty close.
First off, EagleRidge Lodge & Townhomes are really very nice. We had a 2 bed/2bath unit in the main lodge (townhomes are separate from the main lodge) that included a full kitchen, washer/dryer, jacuzzi tub (master bath) and fireplace.
The decor is western and a little country, but overall tasteful. I could have done with fewer flowers (bedspread, bathroom accessories, etc) and less brass, but it was still quite nice.
The kitchen was nice and modern with new appliances, granite countertops and nice cabinets and was fully stocked with all manner of cookware, place settings, glassware, etc. We cooked a few nights during our stay and it was great to have a fully functional kitchen to work in, just like home.
The only nice thing to have would have been table linens (napkins, placemats) for the giant dining room table, but we made do with The Original Napkin - good old paper towels.
The living area was nice- comfy couch and chairs and warm gas fireplace, but it seemed bizarre that they had such a small TV. We kind of expected something a little more high end for the price of the condo. It did have a built in DVD/VCR, but we didn't use it.
We also had planned to plug our iPod into a stereo system like we had in the past, but they only had a little boombox that was too old to have the right jacks for accommodating an iPod. No biggie - it was a "nice to have" not a "need to have". Plugged into the TV, the iPod sounded crappy, so we opted not to use it.
The jacuzzi in the master bath was excellent and desperately needed after skiing daily through FEET OF POWDER. Because this is a review of the accommodations and not the resort, I won't get into HOW AWESOME THE POWDER WAS, but I will say that it was sublime and we are considering veering from our "go somewhere different every year" stance and just coming back to Steamboat to ski their AWESOME POWDER.
Ahem.
Back to the condo - the entryway was nice, with a bench and rack for shoes as well as overhead cubbies for gloves/hats, scarves and hooks for coats. Crucial for drying out all that wet gear.
Master bedroom was adequate, although the bed was fairly awful - way to bouncy and creaky - and the coverlet was scratchy and pretty heinous. There was one dresser, which suited us fine, and a large closet with hangers. The four poster-ness of the bed was sort of overdone for our tastes, and given the size of the room, was a little out of proportion, but we made do and just didn't go to bed until we were exhausted.
Parking was also fine - just parked the truck on Day 1 and left it. We never found a driveway or sidewalk that wasn't shoveled and the shuttle service is excellent.
Despite many reviews here, we did walk into the village fairly often rather than taking the shuttle, just because it was snowy and beautiful and there is a shoveled path most of the way. However, with ski gear, it pays to take the shuttle rather than clunking your way up the road. The shuttle also took us into town to the grocery store, downtown and restaurants and picked up with little to no hassle.
Our lessons learned:
-Plan to ski during the week to avoid weekend crowds which tend to begin on Friday.
-Ask ahead about any groups coming into the lodge (or town for that matter) as they will plug up the shuttle service, restaurants and mountain pretty effectively
-Hit the back side of the mountain (Morningside Park) for great stashes of powder and quiet skiing away from the crowds
-Wait out the morning gondola crowds by having breakfast at the condo and getting to the gondola around 9:30 or 10 instead of 8:30 or 9.
-Don't rely on the front desk staff to provide directions as they are clearly ill-equipped to do so.
Overall, this is an excellent place to stay and an incredible place to ski. We'll be back and we'll likely stay at EagleRidge.
