The Crestwood, Snowmass

Simply the best holiday we have ever had!!!

Mum happy tick!

Dad happy tick!

Kids (x3)  happy tick!  

Thank you Travelplan for organising us the best holiday we have ever had. We have never been to Snowmass before and you couldn't have organised a better holiday for us and our kids.

The accommodation was brilliant.  I will never get over my 3 year old's face as he skied right out of our apartment and down to ski school for the first time - it was priceless.

On the last night we toasted you in the outdoor hot tub as snowflakes fell on our eyelashes and the sunset behind the mountain - It was truly extraordinary

Snowmass, a place to go back to

In January 2012 my wife Kerry and I went for the first time to Snowmass and stayed at the Crestwood Condominium Hotel. WOW!

We are intermediate skiers who at ages 50+ enjoy our comforts and this is the place to go and to come back to. Travelplan hooked us up with well timed connecting flights and pickups that saw us arrive relaxed and ready to ski.

The Crestwood hotel staff were very courteous and helpful right from the moment they picked us ap at the airport, to ensuring we were settled in the supurb accommodation, to giving us an area orientation, and even taking us to the shops!

The snow was great, as were the well groomed slopes and safely orgnaised lifts. No waiting, no hassles, no inappropriate behaviours.

Snowmass and Travelplan get our five star tick ... we will return!

White out!

Contrary to the title there are no white outs in Aspen/Snowmass. 

We skied 15 stays - 12 of them were blue bird sunshine days (it snowed the other 3 days).The snow in Colorado is famous for its pure light, dry powder (brought in from the jetstream weather front). 

Snowmass suited our family of 4 well. My husband enjoyed Aspen Highlands where he could ski the double black and extreme runs. Whilst our 2 sons enjoyed ski school at both Snowmass & Buttermilk. One instructor even took my oldest son's group to Aspen Highlands to ski the advanced slopes.

Having 4 mountains to choose from was idea for our family of differing skill levels. Watch out for the tipping and taxes. Many restaurants add up to 20% for gratuity plus another 10% for taxes – that’s an extra 30% on top of the listed menu price. However, on the other side of the balance sheet Travelplan provided a great value for money holiday...we particularly liked the Pay 8 Ski 14 deal (which applied to lift tickets, ski school & ski hire). 

Our first trip to Aspen Snowmass, staying at the Crestwood, will not be our last! 

Snowmass: Why we can't wait to go back!

I only got back home yesterday and I am already talking of going back next year!  I flew SYD-LA-ASPEN and Snowmass was only a 15 min drive from Aspen Airport.

Crestwood collected us from the airport, took us to the supermarket and had us checked in quickly and efficiently.

The Crestwood is a great location with a two minute walk from our front door to the slopes. I had no idea what "ski valet" was but I do now! I could leave my skis on the racks and just take my poles back to my room!

Ski down to the Gondola and start the day!

Great Location, great facilities, great resort!

Go for it!

Family at Crestwood

Fantastic location, good pool and hot tubs. 

We had a 1br + loft for 2 adults and 2 kids.  Was slightly small and only a shared laundry but otherwise great. 

No restaurant on site but there are some in Snowmass and many in Aspen.  

Might not be ideal for singles (stay in Aspen!) but excellent for families.

Our First Visit to Aspen/Snowmass

Now reaching the wrong side of 40 and having never skied in the USA, we thought it was time to take the leap and see what we have been missing. Not knowing what to expect can always be confronting to a first timer, what is the accommodation like?  Will my luggage arrive? How do I get to the accommodation? Will I look out-dated in my ski gear? and the big question when travelling to the US.....how the hell do I tip? We found the answer to most of these questions where easy....ask a consultant at Travelplan Ski! Not only did they assist in arranging our accommodation, but also lift passes, transfers and advice with our visa questions.

We stayed 10 nights at The Crestwood, which provides ski in ski out accommodation. The Crestwood was fantastic and great value for money. We had originally booked a studio that we were a little disappointed with the size, however the staff happily arranged for us to upgrade into a one bedroom apartment that was AWESOME! With ski hire, ski in, ski out and hot tubs, we highly recommend The Crestwood and are already planning our trip for next year.

Aspen/Snowmass, well what can you say, so many mountains, so little time. We mainly skied Snowmass as there was so much variety and fresh snow, why wouldn't you. However we did manage to explore Aspen mountain and Buttermilk which at the time had the Winter X games, fantastic experience.

The town of Aspen itself looks like a set of a Hollywood movie and I highly suggest a horse and carriage ride at night, followed by a pizza at Brunelleschi's.

Did I mention how many great restaurants and bars there are? Venga Venga, simple awesome sitting on the balcony sipping margaritas and watching the snow lightly fall or the Mammoth Steak House, home of the largest rib eye I have ever had and the list could go on and on and on...lucky the 4/5 hours of skiing each day managed to keep of the kilos, otherwise it would have been "excess baggage" on the way home!

The resort makes travelling a breeze, with internal transportation around the Snowmass Village every 15 mins and a wider service to Aspen, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk every 30 mins, you can travel from one mountain to another in less than the time it takes you to drive from Jindabyne to Perisher or from Queenstown to the Remarkables!

Having lived in Perisher for 5 years and been skiing in Queenstown for the past 10, I don't know how we can ever settle back into a Southern Hemisphere ski season again!

Aspen/Snowmass can't wait until 2013!  

Review of Snowmass

My husband, daughter (4 years) and i have just returned from 14 nights in Snowmass. Wow, what an incredible ski area and resort.

I highly recommend it for families. The ski school (Treehouse Kids Centre) is brilliant. Every day our daughter happily went into ski school and we would often see her on the slopes. The tuition was brilliant too.

Snowmass has such a range of slopes ideal for the whole family from the magic carpet on the nursery slopes to green blues and blacks.

The restaurants are great and located in the Mall area or base of slope. Everything was so easy.

Our ski hire at Four Mountains Sports was excellent. Mid way during the holiday we changed skis to get them edged and the service was efficient.

Snowmass is also highly accessible by bus to Buttermilk, Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlands. A vast ski area.

The accommodation at the Crestwood Hotel was excellent too. We were lucky with snow this year too and plenty of Coloradian blue sky days.

I wouldn't change a thing about our holiday.

Well done Miranda at Travelplan. We simply love Snowmass.

Thanks.

Snowmass Crestwood the perect double

We were first timers to Snowmass, the mountain is crowd free even on holiday weekends, Great groomed slopes to suit all levels, convenient and reasonably priced restraunts to eat,(we skied back home most lunch times to warm up)

Crestwood.. position perfect, staff fantasic, rooms great value for money..planning return in Feb 2012 but 3 weeks this time,ski shuttle to the other 3 mountains resorts great if you want a day from Snowmass..  Just do it.....

Snowmass, Great for young Kids

I cannot think of a better set up for a young first time skiers. The newly built Treehouse is 25 metres from the first timers slope, whilt indoors the fascilities are spot on.

For older more experienced Skiers Snowmass offers everything, and I wonder why any keen skier would saty in Aspen!

Our day at Aspen Highlands was the best days skiing I have ever had, anf the Highlands Bowl is a must, and worth the 45 minute hike in Ski boots.

Aspen Snowmass

We stayed at The Crestwood in December 2008 and again in December 2010. Our condo was great and the facilities are all you need. The staff are courteous and accommodate all requests, even an early airport drop off at 6am in winter!

We just loved it as it was close to everything and especially ski school. We could go home for lunch and warm up or eat at one of the many restaurants.

The Stew Pot and The Sweet Life were visited regularly. A new mexican restaurant Vanga Vanga opened when we were there and food and service was excellent.

People believe Aspen is expensive but after the air ticket it is affordable for a family and most enjoyable for a family holiday.