Originally Posted by
Boraxo
Don't disagree with the hotel review but I think you are a tad bit harsh on Northstar. To be fair this was a very busy weekend due to several factors - good weather and road conditions (which was not the case earlier in the month) and spectacular snow conditions, which we did not see last season. There is a lot of pent up demand and many people buy the season passes now lowering their marginal cost for another day. So Saturdays will be busy this year. I know we have grade inflation in Tahoe compared to Aspen/Vail, particularly on some black runs which might be harder blues in Colorado or Utah. But Northstar has many advanced runs, particularly on lookout mountain and a few down the backside. I know a lot of expert skiers who have season passes, so it isn't just fun for low intermediates and plenty of variety to explore over a long weekend. That being said if you are a really good skier it is hard to top Squaw on a sunny powder day, but those are not easy to predict when booking in advance. Northstar is known as a family resort and obviously not nearly the size of Vail/Beaver Creek, or Aspen/Snowmass, or Park City/Deer Valley.
As for kids there is an ice skating rink in the village as well as smores at the end of the day but yes, don't come to northstar if your kids don't plan to ski. There is a daycare near the golf course for very young children but it costs almost as much as lessons.
I don't disagree with anything you are saying. I really enjoyed the terrain at Northstar. They have fast lifts available for beginners as well (Arrow and Vista), which is awesome. The gentle progressions in difficulty is fantastic. Better than Park City or Beaver Creek. But the resort itself is not as great as the others you mentioned. Northstar is pretending to be in the same league as Deer Valley/Beaver Creek based on the lift ticket prices and hotel brands (Ritz Carlton). It simply doesn't deliver the same experience as Beaver Creek. I think right now it is more like Keystone Colorado. Keystone caters to families and it is better than Northstar for small kids. It more activities for kids like their Kidtopia. My daughter (3.5) doesn't have the energy to ski all day. So we need other activities to keep her entertained. The RC Tahoe location was not conducive to that.
So if someone is going for a 2-3 day trip to Tahoe, RC Tahoe is appropriate. But if they are going for a week, I recommend putting in the travel time to go Utah or Colorado. It really pays off. Tahoe snow follows a feast of famine pattern. Colorado/Utah have more frequent small dumps. It's hard to win in Tahoe. If there are no weekend crowds, that's because the snow is no good. If the snow is good, you will battle the crowds on slope and delays on the highways (weather as well as human).