Bob99b5

We've stayed there twice and are going back again next week with our family. The first time was in 1990 and the hotel in my opinion had a much warmer, wood-inspired, mountain lodge theme. Our second stay was over February vacation in 2005 with our two boys, ages 10 and 11 at the time and the decor and vibe of the hotel had changed quite a bit. The hotel, mountain, and restaurants in the village were an absolutely packed madhouse....overrun with people and kids. I'm generally a very patient person but it truly was a mess. Very difficult to get in the restaurants and the ones that were available were pretty expensive.

The upside is that the PH Beaver Creek has unbelieveably family-friendly service - pull up to the hotel and the valets will unload the car, bring your skis and poles to the ski valet storage, and will help with whatever else you need. When it's time to ski, head downstairs, buy your lift tickets inside, walk over to the indoor ski valet and exchange your walking shoes for your boots and skis. They'll even carry your skis out the door to the snow if you'd like. When you're done for the day, return your skis to the valet at the base of the mountain, return your boots inside where they'll put them on heaters for the night, and retrieve your shoes to go back to your room. So the on-mountain location and ski valet convenience can't be beat IMHO. One warning, if you intend to try the afternoon smores, it'll be a madhouse there too - lots of people with poles trying to get a spot in the fire.

Despite all the "negatives", we're heading back for another Feb vacation stay. We're combining it with Breckenridge (a nice family location) and Aspen that week.

One tip on food, if I remember right there was a pizza place not too far away by car called, I think, Zappa Za which had great food and allowed the young kids to make their own pizzas. Kind of a nice idea and keeps them occupied at the same time! We also ate at the minturn country club - similar idea - cook your own steaks on their indoor grill. Only OK in my opinion. Our favorite mexican place, Chilly Willy's, close last year.

mstrg325

Just returned from a 3 night stay. Was allowed to check-in at 12:30 (got lucky and room was ready). Had a LARGE room, overlooking the front-drive, two double beds. I've stayed here in the past and the room was very small, so I consider this some sort of upgrade.

Was told the Resort fee was waived (for Diamonds) and also, free breakfast (any kind, including room service) for all registered guests. In this case, there were four adults. Breakfast in 8100 restaurant is excellent. No issues with breakfast being on the folio, so huge bonus to management for that. Was also told "since we coulnd't upgrade you, we'll go ahead and remove the parking charges for you as well". At $40 per night, this was a huge savings and one that I was really surprised about. The management really went above and beyond.

As others have mentioned, the car valet and the ski valet are both fantastic. Top notch, very professional. No wait for either one and I never felt either was 'waiting for a tip' as you can sometimes feel. The 5 outdoor hottubs were amazing as usual and the gym is fantastic as well. The location of the hotel is the best and there are many shops/restaurants in the village just a short walk away.

Check out the Dusty Boot from 3-5 for cheap beers and good food specials. It's a great bar for the rest of the evening as well. Blue Moose Pizza is just outside the door and has excellent pizza as well and is very reasonably priced. Just a short walk down the road is "Black Diamond Bistro". I would also recommend this place for very good food and for the reasonable prices.

The hotel is very nice, but not deserving room wise of a Park Hyatt. It's an excellent hotel and the location, service and amenities more than make up for it. It is the place to stay at BC, unless you can spring for the Ritz or another higher end property. I will DEFINITELY be back.

UnitedConnection

Have a weekend stay coming up at this property at the end of March- read through this thread, but it's tough to sort out what's current vs. stale information. If anybody more familiar with this property can give me the latest on a few things I've been wondering, I'd appreciate it!

1. Parking - what options are there (and about how much $) for overnight parking during ski season? Tough to piece this together from many different reports / different seasons.
2. Driving - any reason to expect traffic issues driving to/from DEN mid-day Friday and Sunday?
3. Amenities - What does spa access included in the resort fee entail? Is ski valet free to guests?
4. Lift tickets / rentals - any up to date tips on the best place to grab lift tix /rentals? Any way to avoid paying full retail on the lift tix?
5. Overall where to set my expectations for this property in terms of service and facilities?

speedbird001

Please see my answers below in caps.

mediocre service. The hotel was opened as a hyatt and somehow they thought they could upgrade it to a park hyatt. The rooms are nothing special but the location is great.

ma91pmh

try liftopia.com for discounted lift tickets, cheaper than beaver creek web site i think

you can also get beaver creek tickets with amex membership rewards, at about a 1cpm redemption rate

spgplat21

1. I'm pretty sure in the Winter your only easy option is to valet, since you can't park overnight in parking garage except for in the summer. Unfortunately the property doubles their valet rates this winter and it's now over $40.

2. I would definitely expect some traffic from Denver on Friday and Sunday since those are the heaviest travel days for the weekend skiers who live in Denver.

3. As far as I remember the ski valet was free, and I didn't use the spa so I'm not sure what is included in spa access. I only used the outdoor hot tubs and the gym and those were free.

4. See the other post.

5. I thought the service was great on my last two trips here. I had excellent service at breakfast each morning and the ski valets were always quick and friendly. The cleaning staff came super late once, but I think that was the only problem I experienced with service. That said, the rooms are not Park Hyatt quality. As someone mentioned previously, this was a regular Hyatt and the room quality is still much more in line with a Hyatt Regency than a Park Hyatt.

TerryK

Expect some traffic on I-70 on Friday, but pretty heavy traffic on Sunday unless you leave before midday.

Spa access is not included. IIRC, it is $20 per day.

UnitedConnection

I'm guessing Friday I'll be fine since I'm heading over from DEN well ahead of what I imagine is an afternoon/evening rush. As for Sunday, when would you leave the PH if you had to make a 6pm flight from DEN?

Spa worth the cost in your opinion?

TerryK

Between 1-2PM, depending on your comfort level, on a sunny day. Add 1-2 hour if it is snowing/raining. It is also difficult to get late check out at PHBC.

Nope. The pool and hot-tubs are free.

TerryK

This property seems to have a change in policy for Diamonds.

I have stayed at PHBC for 40+ times, mostly on week long ski trips. I understand you cannot expect much as Diamonds at PHBC, but I usually receive a minor (view) upgrade, welcome letter from management and some welcome setup like drinks and chocolates which is independent of standard Diamond welcome amenity. I once received a chocolate worldcup ski statue which was pretty cool. This time, it is just an empty room. No welcome letter, no chocolate. They don't even pretend to be nice to Diamonds anymore.

Bob99b5

Must be some inconsistency because we just returned and had welcome letter, welcome card in room, a good size container of trail mix, and an apple.

Regarding the other post about traffic/travel time to denver, we experienced a closure of I-70E at Vail Pass when heading back and ended up missing our flight. Second time out of four visits where we've experienced an I-70 closure....so watch the weather forecast.

TerryK

Must have been due to your dashing look.

Yeah, that's what I used to receive. I checked with front desk but they drew a blank.

Gold Passport Concierge

Hi TerryK:

I've spoken with Ryan, the Manager on Duty, whom reached out to you about this. I hope the rest of your stay goes as planned. Please PM us if you have any further issues.

Sincerely,

Nick B.

TerryK

Thank you, Nick, for your proactive assistance.^ The welcome letter and chocolate is just a minor annoyance, PHBC is still a topnotch ski resort.

Beside unbeatable slopeside location, PHBC added some nice touches this season. Après-ski live music with s'more by firepit, plus live music at Antler's room after. Breakfast added a live cooking station where breakfast tacos, vegetable hash, omelete and corn beef hash etc are offered daily. OTOH, Cafe seems to have reduced its offering. The always wonderful ski valet installed bar code tracking for skis, boards and boots; it should reduce any possible errors yet I have never had a problem with valet. I have three more reservations for this and next season already.

SkiUtah

To my knowledge vail resorts who owns beaver creek and vail FYI does not sell discount lift tickets on liftopia.com and never has. Vail resorts does not like to sell tickets at a discount. They have very attractive pass prices and want people to buy those and visit more than once rather than discounting lift tickets.