I have to admit I was a little concerned when I read some earlier complaints. Now that I have stayed at Zephyr Mountain Lodge I think those complaints were unjustified and probably from hard to please people. We stayed in 5 condos for 5 nights and we all LOVED it! The only valid issue might be the grooming machines but, HELLOOOO!!! you are right on the side of a ski run. It would be nice if they groomed close to the condos earlier in the evening. We all left wanting to come back next year. Truely Ski IN & Ski Out. We walked out the door and skied down to the lift then made sure our last run took us right back to the same door. Awesome convenience. Ski lockers right by the door and hot tubs. Zephyr has its own FREE shuttle and it is alot better than the clunker shuttle buses that run around town. If you take it to the store then you just call 10 min before you are ready to leave and they come back and get you. If you expect someone to sit in the parking lot while you shop then you better pay for a taxi and let the meter run. We loved this place and would come back in a second.
We are not big night life people so can't really comment on that. The only meal we ate out was on the mountain at the top of Zepher express lift. The texas ribs were great with real wood smoked flavor. Was it a little expensive? Sure it was but come on...do you expect walmart priced food when you go to Disney? We bought the bachelor type easy to make food and crashed in the room after eating.
Shanna at the front desk was a pleasure to work with and made us feel right at home. Undergound heated parking is a nice feature and we appreciated it.
Spoil yourself a little bit and stay here. If you are a church group then consider using skidaddy to coordinate your trip. This was the first time we used them and they made the recomendation to stay here and coordinated everything. They were awesome and they saved us alot of trouble and money.
Shopping is some what limited but who cares. I want to ski and relax.
Over all I would have to say this was one of the best vacations I have been on and a great place to take your friends and family.

We spent 5 nights at Zephyr Mountain Lodge in a 1 bedroom/1 bath condo. It was adequate space for 2 adults, a 15 year old girl and a 12 year old boy. The first night we stayed we did not get a roll away bed which we had requested back in November, so we made do with couch cushions and extra sheets and blankets from housekeeping. The second night we received the roll away after some other guests departed and we had no complaints from then on. The ski slopes are literally outside your back door. There was a free sledding hill and free sleds provided for children. Hot apple cider greeted skiiers and snowboarders when they stored their equipment in the on site lockers. Large gas fire pits were scattered around the grounds and there were several places to eat and buy a few groceries (resort type prices, of course). The gondola ride to the top of the mountain on Friday night ($10 each) was one of the highlights of our stay. The ski and snowboard instructors we interacted with were just great. Everyone was friendly and helpful!

My husband and I arrived at 8pm and check in was fine.We stayed in 1402 Riverside - 1bedroom facing the divide. Asked for dinner options and was advised Docs or Lime. Next day we went to Safeway to stock up on supplies. The free shuttle service was offered and we took it. Upon return we had to wait 20mins for the driver to return to collect us - we should have just caught the free shuttle buses that run around the area.

The room was lovely and big....but NO AIR - could not open windows bar one we had to force open. The snow graders start up sometime in the middle of the night....but nothing reallly too bad like the groomers in the other building....also, the snow train or freight train runs right past blasting its horn at god knows what hour in the early hours.....

The maid service was a couple of times over the 8 days - which was fine.

The kitchen was fab and had everthing. We had breakfast, lunch and 4 dinners there. Too expensive too eat slope side. We ate at Fontenots, Hernados Pizza and Docs - all very good. Got free shuttle into downturn without any problems. You also need to go to downtown to buy grog (at safeway it is not the real deal) from liquor shop.

The convenience next to the lifts is fantastic - and this is why we could come back for defrost for lunch. The fireplace was a god send.

The lockers are crap and there are no boot warmers - you have to do this in the room.

All in all, a fab holiday and a great resort as we had the majority of the slopes to ourselves during the week and it was only the weekends that were busy - but we got around this by using the old style lifts and finding runs that are only open on the weekends anyways!

Ok-

We just returned from Spring Break (2 adults + 2 young children) in Winter Park after staying 7 nights at Zephyr Mtn Lodge (ZML). I learned to ski 18 yrs ago at Winter Park and last visited while the Zephry Lodge was under construction and there was little to do at the base except board the ski train.

First DIA has the catering to skiers down perfect. We were away from the airport in rental car (Hertz) in under 30 minutes---even having checked bags!!! The trip to Winter Park was uneventful, although be mindful of winter/ spring storms before driving over Berthod Pass---which can be hairy with 29 switchbacks in a blizzard. Watch for speed traps in Empire, Co. Upon arriving it's nice to see Winter Park develop an active ski in/ ski out lodging area and vibrant base are part of Intrawest's Village at Winter Park---shops, lodging, dining, etc. Checkin at the lodge was a breeze. Parking is heated underground and the bellman was quick and courteous. The room was EXACTLY as the virtual tour shows. It is dated a bit but clean and well kept. We were given 1 bedroom in the Slopeside---room 1507.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT STAY IN ODD # SLOPESIDE BUILDING ROOMS 1301-1309,1201-1209, 1401-1409,1501-1509, 1601-1609, 1701-1709------THE FIRST NIGHT, EVERY 15 OR 20 MINUTES SNOW CATS AND GROOMERS PASS DIRECTLY BY THE WINDOW FROM 10PM-3AM.......IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO SLEEP.

In the morning (while groggy and irratable) we quickly requested another room and I offer a huge thanks to Ki and Mike (managers on duty)------we were immediately moved to the Riverside building room 2606------and all in the middle of a rush of families rushing to check in during spring break. The staff was amazing. The snow grooming noise and slight oversight in REGULAR DAILY maid service were the only negatives. Other than these 2 hiccups, the ZML is great.

A few tips:

-If you are skiing w kids in ski school, arrive no later than 3 pm mid afternoon the day before you plan to ski. It takes a good 1-2 hrs to get registered, equip, etc etc for the kids. We wasted half a day trying to get the kids situated then get our own equipment. If you knock this out on your arrival day, the next morning is a breeze.

-Recommended restaurants: Lime (surprisingly good tex-mex in the village), Hernando's pizza (a local favorite and worth the wait---get take out), Fontenot's (good cajun---no wait), Doc's Roadhouse (good pancake bkfast, great lunch)

-Groceries: If you plan to cook, drive to Fraser for the Safeway.

-Other Activities: Snomobiling w Trailblazer Snowmobiles in Fraser----do the 2 hr tour, Tubing in Fraser------overrated!

-On Fri & Sat: Pay the $10 ea and ride the Zephyr gondola to the Lodge at Sunspot for an after dinner drink. Bring your camera----incredible alpenglow views at sunset!!!!

Summary: Winter Park might not ever be an Aspen, Vail or Breckenridge, but it's local feel and low key flair with world class timely convenient ski slopes still remain one of mine and Colorado's favorites.