Posts Tagged ‘condos’

Once you have decided to go to Park City for your winter ski vacation, the next thing to do is deciding which of the many great lodging choices is right for you. All three resorts offer a mix of high end and moderate properties, as well as a variety of homes, condos, and hotels. Whether you desire a ski-in/ski-out rental or a condo closer to downtown, there are several lodging options to suit your needs in Park City Utah.

Many travelers elect to book a hotel room in the hope to keep their vacation free of worries and minor details. The advantage of a hotel is the access to services and amenities that help in making your holiday convenient and worry free. The concierge can provide recommendations for dinner and other winter activities while the ski valet stores your skis and housekeeping makes sure your room is clean and tidy. Deer Valley, Park City, and The Canyons all provide several hotels for your stay.

Winter ski holidays often include extended family and long-lost friends, in which case a house or condo is probably the best lodging option for the trip. As opposed to hotels, the larger, freestanding rentals offer more room, either for privacy or quality time, depending on your vacation needs. The convenience of a full kitchen means the ability for some healthy cooking instead of eating out at pricey restaurants every night. No matter your housing needs, you will find the perfect rental condo or home in the greater Park City UT area.

If you find yourself traveling with a larger group or small children, you will need to think about the possibility of renting slope side lodging to make sure you have easy access to the ski lifts and ski school. A modest budget means you will probably want to sacrifice proximity to the slopes in order to find a better quality condo rental for a lower rate. If your winter vacation is as much about the dining and bar scene as it is about making powder turns, consider booking a vacation rental near downtown, for better access to the restaurants and shops of Historic Main Street.

Vacationers interested in skiing the top-rated ski resort in the country should consider staying in and around Deer Valley. The lower base area at Snow Park Lodge consists of both slope side lodging options like Black Diamond and Trails End, and units within walking distance, including Powder Run and the Red Stag Lodge. The upper base area at Silver Lake is home to a wide array of lodging opportunities with incredible views and easy ski access, including Royal Plaza, the Goldener Hirsch, and a variety of private, secluded homes.

With its convenient access to town and great central location, Park City Mountain Resort is a popular choice of visitors and locals alike. Book a slope side rental at the Marriott Mountainside or Loft at the Mountain Village and catch first chair every morning. The new Silver Star condos and lifts offer a more private ski-in ski-out experience for travelers looking for peace, quiet, and no lift lines. To take advantage of the ice rink, restaurants, and shops of the PCMR base area, make your reservations at Loft at Mountain Village, the Snowflower, or Edelweiss.

The Canyons is the locals favorite of the 3 Park City area winter resorts, which is a huge benefit to vacationers who choose to rent accommodations near this fantastic resort. Less crowds, combined with the largest skiable terrain in Utah, translate into lots of laps on the mountain! Stay at the Grand Summit Hotel for slope side access to the Flight of The Canyons Gondola, or consider the Sundial Lodge or Dakota Mountain Lodge, where you will enjoy a high level of service at just a short distance from the lifts. The Red Pine and Park West condos are perfect for budget-conscious travelers, allowing you to hop on the free shuttle or walk to the parking lot gondola.

The unique nature of Park City and its three ski resorts provides an abundance of lodging opportunities available for all budgets and preferences. If it is a slope side hotel at Deer Valley that you are interested in, you will find it. Or, if a beautiful home on the shuttle route better suits your needs, you will find that, too. The endless collection of Park City lodging ensures that your winter vacation needs will be met.

Alyson Monetti lives in Northern Utah and works as a professional travel writer. She recommends Local Tourist for information on Park City lodging.

Are you paying too much for your hotel room? The short answer is, most likely. If you are like most travelers and only shop at one of the leading online travel sites you are probably paying too much.

Yes, its true that Expedia or Travelocity may offer the best rate for a specific hotel in a specific destination. However, if you do not comparison shop, you wont know if you are getting the best rate possible. Travelocity and Expedia can be very valuable, but if you were buying a car would you only go to one dealership? Let me answer that for you. No, you wouldnt and thats because you know you save money when you create competition. The same holds true for hotel rooms.

Visiting only one travel booking site before buying travel products is typical behavior. Travelers become loyal to that one site or may not know that other options exist. However, recent data released by hotelicopter.com shows that if you book your Thanksgiving holiday hotels at one of those sites, you will pay on average 23% more than if you comparison shop through a hotel search engine.

What does this mean to your wallet? According to hotelicopter.com, if you are planning to spend 4 nights in a NYC hotel this Thanksgiving and only seek rates through one leading online travel booking site, you will pay on average $62 more per night ($248 for a 4 night stay) than what you would find by comparing rates across up to 30 different sites.

Here are some other savings you could experience for Thanksgiving week:

- Los Angeles hotels: save $37 per night (30%)

- San Francisco hotels: save $32 per night (28%)

- New York hotels: save $62 per night (23%)

- Chicago hotels: save $39 per night (22%)

hotelicopter found the same pattern holds true for Christmas break as well. In NYC alone, you could save, on average, a whopping $86 per night (36%!) off the rates found on one leading booking site. Thats almost a $350 savings for a four night stay. Whats the moral to this story? Comparison shopping for hotels can add up to big savings.