iskingolf

Could you mitigate this by driving to Big Sky with your own car? Or are there horrendous parking fees involved?[/QUOTE]


We drove from Salt Lake, stopping at Yellowstone for a winter snowcoach visit en route. There were no parking fees at the slopes, except for the extra close spaces. The jitney from parking to base ran frequently, we observed. But the road conditions from The Wilson to the slopes were noticeably more snowy than the road from Bozeman to The Wilson. If you drive, consider 4WD or at least AWD.

Muerz

Waldhaus Flims is an awesome property in the Flims/Laax ski resort. Not exactly ski-in/ski-out but a three minute van ride to/from the gondolas. Great dining, excellent spa!

Bretmd

We drove from Salt Lake, stopping at Yellowstone for a winter snowcoach visit en route. There were no parking fees at the slopes, except for the extra close spaces. The jitney from parking to base ran frequently, we observed. But the road conditions from The Wilson to the slopes were noticeably more snowy than the road from Bozeman to The Wilson. If you drive, consider 4WD or at least AWD.[/QUOTE]

If you are considering big sky this winter, don’t do it unless they receive massive new snow. A few days ago, I spent the day dodging rocks on the groomers in fairly icy conditions. Bald spots everywhere. Big Sky did not get the early season snowfall that other western resorts received and probably has the worst snow coverage in the west.

FTDDD

Hello hivemind - time for an update for 2023! Any new properties on your radar for this year?
Would also love to hear more exotic locations like Chile or Lebanon etc, if anyone has creative ideas

vanabb

Moxy Sion is an affordable choice for a skiing stay in Switzerland, especially for points. We were there in January 2022. A short drive to 4-Vallee & Verbier, Anzere, Crans-Montana.

We often ski Val Gardena & do the Sella Ronda, and the surrounding ski areas, from the Four Points in Bolzano, Italy. A steal on points with 5th night free. The Innsbruck AC hotel in Austria is another good choice.

None of these are luxurious or ski-in/ski-out, but for a family on a budget they have been perfect.

aaupgrade

The only new property that I know of that will be open for the upcoming ski season would be the Vail Residence Inn which is supposedly doing a soft open starting next month, September. However, Marriott web site is not accepting reservations for September or October yet (no skiing then anyway), but are taking reservations starting November 1. FWIW, Vail ski season operations open Friday November 10. I drove by there yesterday and it looks like it's ready to go, but I'm sure the delay in accepting reservations is a precautionary measure to insure coding/permit related approvals come through in a timely manner.

On a similar note, but not in time for the upcoming ski season, a SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites will be opening in east Avon, CO in time for the 2024 ski season. I also drove by there yesterday and it is under construction, and under roof, and will probably be ready next summer/early fall.

Sorry I don't have any info on Chile.

friedablass

Can you get to the ski areas via public transportation from these 3 hotels you mentioned in Sion, Bolzano, and Innsbruck? We did the W Verbier one winter when it was still semi reasonable to book with points, but it's totally out of our league now and are looking for more affordable options so thanks for posting. We don't do car rentals though so accessibility via public transportation is important for us if we're not in a hotel that has on site or within walking distance skiing.

vanabb

We always drive, so I never looked into public transit. There are local ski buses at each location, but not directly from any hotel. From Innsbruck it may be easiest as the AC hotel is in the centre of town not too far from the train station. It is not impossible. The hotels will have better information if you call. Less trouble to just rent a car locally, I think.

enelym1978

Swiss ski resorts are almost all reachable via bus or trains, however, you need to take into account the time needed and the changes required to reach those places... it's doable but there are time constraints.
From the Moxy in Sion, you'd have to bus back to Sion train station and catch a train or a bus to your resort. Moxy to Crans Montana is between 1h to 1h30. Moxy to Haute Nendaz gondolas is about an hour. To Verbier is 1h30 to 2h depending on the connections. So that's a minimum of 2h-3h commute each day to go and come back... To Veysonnaz is about 50min. Anzčre is also about an hour.

Most of the area ski resorts are served by buses https://www.postauto.ch/en and you can find their services and timetable. They are fully equipped in the winter to carry skis, boots and bags. But there's always a risk of a busy day and the buses will be packed or full for you to get on. Always safer to board at the starting station.

friedablass

Thank you both for your responses. I did play around a bit on Google maps to see transportation options from Moxy Sion and realized that we'd be spending at least about an hour each way to go to the closest skiing place by public transportation. I didn't check the other skiing locations mentioned, but it got me thinking that perhaps the best option for us is to book a nice clean boutique 3 star property that is reasonable and is already within a ski resort so we're not wasting that much time traveling to/ from our hotel.

We can book many of those using Chase UR at 1.5 cpp through our Sapphire Reserve so we don't have cash out of pocket cost just like we wouldn't if we booked the Moxy with Marriott points.

aaupgrade

Vail Residence Inn is open according to their web site. I guess they won't be doing much business until ski season.

No mention of shuttle to the slopes (yet) anywhere on there web pages. I can't imagine them not having a shuttle. But then again there are no pictures of their rooms yet either; however, there are room descriptions and all come with full kitchens, but only the 2 bedroom units also have an oven.

With its location just up N Frontage Rd from West Vail Mall, and with sidewalk access 0.4 miles down to City Market and 0.5 miles down to Safeway, that along with a shuttle to the slopes would be very convenient and mean no need for a car as that would save $45/night hotel parking and up to $40/day for town of Vail parking. FWIW, there is Buffehr Creek bus stop eastbound (to the slopes) 0.2 miles from the hotel on Chamonix Ln, half of that walk is slightly up hill and has no sidewalk and walking there could be a challenge in ski boots and with skis and poles (easier for snowboarders IMO). Returning to the hotel the westbound bus stop is much closer (400' away right on the N Frontage Rd), relatively flat and sidewalk all the way. Alternatively, I guess one could also pay for ski storage at the slopes, or if renting skis/snowboards store them at Vail Sports, Vail Ski Tech or from whomever else they're rented.

FTDDD

Has anyone been to the property recently and has a better picture of walkability/shuttle operations to the lifts?

Adding some comments from recent overall positive Google reviews: nightly parking 45 or 50$+tax, good breakfast, some highway noises, positive mention of hot tub/bar/breakfast.
"Parking is $45 but the West Vail Red bus that runs every 30 minutes (stop Lower Buffehr Creek) got us to and from the slopes for free, helping us to avoid paying for parking in both places."

aaupgrade

No, but I have been by it numerous times as I live right up the street from the RI. The only thing I can confirm from my previous post regarding a shuttle, is that there isn't one. TOV buses are free and there are three West Vail routes during the winter; West Vail Green, West Vail Red and West Vail Express. Here's a link to TOV Bus schedules.

aaupgrade

Here is an update from a semi/previous local friend who is staying there for 2 months. Vail RI does have 2 shuttles that go to all three base areas, Lionshead, Vail transportation center and Golden Peak. Shuttles don't start running until 8:15 AM and he said there were 100 people waiting in line for the shuttle (probably an exaggeration IMO). He indicated that due to crowds and late starting time of their shuttle, that he takes the West Vail express TOV bus from the lower Buffehr Creek bus stop, which is right in front of the hotel, to the Vail transportation center and then hops on the in-town bus to Golden Peak.

Claraj

I stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club in Streamside Vail in December 2023, which was not far from the Residence Inn. We also had shuttles, which are a game changer. We barely drove during the week we were there even though it was free parking at Vail after 3pm (offered during off peak days). Grand Hyatt has the most shuttles and we would see 2 or 3 pass by before our Streamside shuttle pulls up. It became a running joke.