Winter ski season is coming up quickly. Once you have decided where you are going this year, the next step is finding the best lodging. Renting a condo is the most sensible lodging for families. Here’s a few reasons why we think renting a condo while skiing is the way to go.
Our family were late bloomers onto the ski scene. In fact, I didn’t actually learn to ski until I was 39 years old and I kick myself for wasting all those years not learning this incredible sport. Now each year, we try to plan one if not two ski trips to get our fix.
Living in Texas, it’s not as easy as driving a few hours to the slopes. There is a great deal of preparation involved, the first of which being deciding where to go and more importantly, where to stay. As we were newbies to the sport, we have made a few mistakes along the way, including staying at a lodge/hotel versus renting at a condo four our family ski trip.
October is the month we typically start planning our yearly ski trip. As you begin to plan this year, we wanted to share with you some of the reasons why we think a condo versus a lodge is key to a successful family ski vacation.
Skiing with Family: Condo or Lodge?
Condos: Room to Spread Out
As we are a family of 5, we really don’t like having to cram ourselves into a hotel room(s). We look to always stay in condos when on vacation because we like being able to spread out and relax and not be on top of each other. To me, this is the biggest reason we like to stay in condos.
Lodge: Small rooms with no ability to get away from each other (yes, even on vacation, we need downtime).
One Ski Hill at Breckenridge – photo credit: Vacatia.com
Condo: Privacy
Even if it is just my husband & I on vacation, we enjoy the privacy & quietness a condo gives us. In my experience, some of the highest-end hotels can have noisy hallways and early morning door slams. When you are skiing, you need all the rest you can get to be fresh for the slopes each day.
Lodge: Noisy neighbors at 2am getting home from a late-night apres’ ski…no thanks.
Condo: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
We like the convenience (and affordability) of making our meals in the condo while skiing. It saves time to not have to eat in a restaurant for every meal. Skiing is already an expensive sport, so making meals in the condo is a great way to save money.
Lodge: That line at the coffee shop each morning is LONG!
Viceroy at Snowmass – photo credit: Vacatia.com
Condo: Spread out all your ski stuff
Skiing takes a great deal of equipment – boots, skis, coats, gloves, helmets, ski pants….. (need I go on??). Most ski condos come with a large hallway, room, or even closet to hang all your ski stuff, enabling them to dry out overnight.
Lodge: Rent a locker at the ski resort to store you stuff in each night and then drape your wet stuff over the heaters in your hotel room to dry each night equals a stinky room!
Condo: Totally Affordable
Most people think that renting a condo on vacation is pricy. In fact, I was surprised at how affordable it really was in comparison to staying at a lodge. Once you build in the cost of meals out, you typically spend the same, if not more on staying at the lodge.
Lodge: Price depends on where you stay and don’t forget the cost of every meal!
Vacatia’s Condos for Skiing with Family
Last year, I had a not-so-favorable experience renting a condo. I searched for weeks – yes, weeks – to find a condo that would fit 8 people. Sometimes, the same condo would be available on several different websites, all saying different availability. I would try to get the condo managers on the phone with no one returning my call. It was very frustrating and time consuming.
And when we finally did get one rented and took the vacation in late December, we were very disappointed. The pictures were deceiving on how big the condo actually was. It did not sleep 8 comfortably as it promised, but thank goodness we have kids to sleep on the couches. And we all were allergic to something in the condo, coming home from the trip exhausted and sick.
This year, I was excited to have been introduced to Vacatia and I am definitely booking our ski condo thru them. Vacatia is a great website to find resort residences at both timeshare & resort properties. They recently added several popular ski destinations and I was able to find a property in Breckenridge, Colorado that was perfect for our family very quickly. The properties they feature are professionally managed and serviced resort-condominium complexes, unlike a privately owned condo where you just don’t know what you are going to get.
Their website is very easy to navigate and each property has a layout and clear pictures to show you what you get. And prices are very reasonable. Vacatia made looking for a property so very easy.
And just a side note, they have properties all over North America – from Hawaii to Walt Disney World. I really like the fact that you are getting a resort property with all the amenities of a resort but the privacy of a home. It’s an ideal way to book for a large family vacation – do you have a multigenerational trips to Walt Disney World coming up?
As you start booking your family ski trip for the winter, take a look at what Vacatia has to offer.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Vacatia. All opinions are my own – especially my experience from last year.
