If you love mountains, if you love snow, if you love hiking, if you love biking, if you love being treated right and feeling like you're at home, then you'll love this house in Vail. No kidding. It's about the best place to stay in Vail bar none and that includes all the fancy hotels. Why? Well because it's like going home and being at home. There aren't cheap pots and pans, a nasty toaster, a crummy coffee maker, horrible dishes, cheap silverware and no dishwasher. Nope that's all at the other places on the mountain. In this house, where we stayed this summer with my folks and my in-laws and my kids and where I've been staying for years and years because it's the best place to stay in Vail (did I already say that?), you get to feel like you've gone home and that happens to be about 100 steps (150 in ski boots) from the mountain. If it's winter you strap on your boards, zip down to Lionshead and you're off for a day of bumps or powder, or, hopefully, both. If it's summer, you can get your bike out of the garage (yep, you can put your bikes in the garage, how sweet is that?) and zip down Forrest road to the bike path that either goes up Vail Pass or down river towards Beaver Creek, either is a good choice. There's also plenty of mountain biking, either cross country or downhill, depending on which bike you brought (or both if you love to bike).
So that's all the cool outdoor stuff, but the house itself is just great. Besides the awesome kitchen utensils that I already noted, the sheets on the beds are soft, there are lots of beds, we had ten people sleeping over and it wasn't even close to being crowded, there are plenty of bathrooms so only the kids have to share and there are some groovy photos from the 1970s when Vail was young and still trying to establish itself as a cool place to go.
Heather, the manager, rocks. She lives down the road in Eagle, but she let us in right when we got there and made sure my folks were comfortably accommodated, got my in-laws into the next best bedroom and showed my kids around so they felt like they were at home in about 5 minutes. There was some wine in the 'fridge that we immediately drank before we walked down the hill for dinner at a restaurant that Heather recommended.
I've been here in both summer and winter and I love the house. If you want to go and ski in Colorado then you really ought to consider staying here. It's cheaper than a hotel and you get to cook all your own food, which after a day of skiing or hiking is going to be way better than going out because you get to eat more for less, which, in Vail, is a pretty big deal. The house is ideal for a big group and Heather will make sure that you have the absolute best time possible (unless it rains in summer or there's no snow in the winter, but that never happens). Anyway, this is a for sure place, so if you're going to Vail, stay here, you definitely won't regret it.