My sister & I wanted to getaway from Denver for labor day weekend, got a reasonable rate last minute for the Best Western Ptarmigan. When we arrived around 8pm, we checked into our room which was hard to navigate through the hallways, I got lost once. When we arrived at our room, we double check all the sheets before settling in with our bags. We found remnants of bugs & hair on the box spring and on the mattress (under the sheets). It had looked as though they hadn't cleaned the box springs since the 60's. They told us they replaced the mattresses not too long ago, but they should've replaced the box springs too. We went back to the desk to request another room, which they were completely sold out. The other room that was reserved from the people haven't checked in was the same as the 1st, we told them that we would be unable to stay there, and found another place within Steamboat that was cleaned thoroughly and felt comfy. Never again!

We booked this hotel from the Steamboat Springs Reservation Group and feel this property is completely overated and overpriced. Yeah, maybe it was stylish in the 70's, but when was the last time you saw salmon colored formica in a bathroom? The beds were hard and the pillows were crushed. Our "slopeside" room, #220, was in the basement, with a small window and a stunning view of underneath the gondola. This room is right by a stairwell, so you get the added bonus of people clumping up and down the stairs coming back in from the bars for a couple of hours in the middle of the night. The young man, I think his name was Zach, at the front desk was helpful and informative and was able to get us an extra pillow. We had a two night reservation and decided to check out and drive the 100 miles back home after skiing rather than suffer another night in the "dungeon". Do yourself a favor, book at the Sheraton which is across the street from the gondola, or go cheaper in town at La Quinta, Hampton Inn and Suites, or something else on Hwy 40. It is less than 5 minutes to the ski area, and much cheaper!

THE PORCHES have bought this little hotel and maybe after the 2007/8 season it will be leveled to make way for MORE CONDOS to add to the every spreading sprawl of condos at this once quaint western countryside that has totally lost it's western country appeal! Sadly, it is just a massive sprawl of million dollar condos on top of condos on top of condos that lack any kind of architectual review comittee's input.
The Ptarmagin Best Western is clean, cozy and has a staff that is both informative and friendly. We rented skis downstairs at the Snow Stalker satelight ski shop and it worked out great. You can ski in and out off the lobby and leave your skis and poles in a locked area overnight. The restaurant serves great breakfasts, lunches and dinners. There is an outside hot tub and heated pool.
If you are sking this year, I can tell you that we stayed here in January and it was great! We had a group of 60! No complaints....other than it's future!

Be aware of getting "stuck in the middle": We made reservations through the "TripAdvisor" web site, through links to Expedia and in turn Best Western -- but somehow the fact that some of our party were children got lost (children under 18 are supposed to stay free at Ptarmigan Inn, according to their web site).

Expedia refuses to deal with the problem, blaming it on "the property" (Ptarmigan Inn) -- the Ptarmigan Inn staff said it was Expedia's problem, and said they were unable to make any change to the reservation (even though our child was standing there in front of them). Best Western customer service has been no help, saying it's up to Expedia to resolve the issue. So we've been "stuck in the middle" for well over a month now, having had to pay an "extra guest" rate for children that was unanticipated.

Beyond that, we found the Ptarmigan Inn to be pleasant, (mostly) quiet, and our room (mostly) smoke-free. There was lots of parking (in off season), an open pet policy, and the cleaning staff was very good.

Unfortunately, during our visit the pool had been closed, but it was cold enough outside that it would not have been enjoyable anyway. (very small pool, but very nicely landscaped pool area)

The building architecture blended very nicely with the surroundings (which included picturesque fall colors).