My Life Outdoors

They say you get what you pay for. I guess it’s true when it comes to Taos Ski Valley Lodging. Last Wednesday and Thursday we stayed in a one bedroom one bath condo at The Snow Bear Condominiums in Taos Ski Valley. You couldn’t beat the price at $100 a night for ski in ski out condo at the base of the Mountain. That was down from the original $125 we were quoted on the phone and $150 as it is listed on their website.

I don’t want to be one who complains, but we had a rocky start with Snow Bear. First of all when you walk into the room you can’t help but notice the bed is In the way of the bathroom. You literally have to step over the corner of the bed to get into the restroom. Don’t even try to find it in the dark…you will hurt yourself. The other bed in the room seems to slope down toward the head. If you try and investigate you will find the box spring has fallen through its frame and they have stacked sheets of plywood underneath to keep it from resting on the floor. The mini fridge had an open can of fruit cocktail left from the previous guests, and there were cheerios all over the floor. You couldn’t tell the last time they had vacuumed.

 

When we woke up the next morning we received our tickets from Snow Bear and took the convenient shuttle to Terry’s Rentals. We had purchased everything through Snow Bear. The rentals were a breeze, but when we got in the line for the lift they told us our tickets had expired. When we informed them we had just received them that morning from Snow Bear they investigated and realized Snow Bear had bought these tickets in bulk during low season pricing. They were no longer good due to a different price season had started some time ago. At this point we just wanted to get on the mountain and didn’t want to bother tracking down our contacts at Snow Bear to sort everything out. Thankfully the lift attendant made a few calls and replaced our tickets on the spot charging it to Snow Bear.

 

With all that being said, we did have a good time. The owner/manager was always nice and polite and our room was extra clean the second day. The ski in ski out was nice. You ski in from the White Feather run and ski out (through narrow trees, at least intermediate skills needed) to the base of the Rueggli lift on the bunny slope. You then have to ski to Lift 3 (another short, beginner lift) before you reach anything that will take you up the big mountain. It is a little out of your way…but sure beats driving in from town and parking.

All and all if you are more budget then quality minded then the Snow Bear may be the best bang for your buck. Especially if you can get them to discount the room.