Affordable Ski Lodgings in Winter Park, Colorado Are Plentiful

Heading to the ski areas in wintertime can be expensive, to say the least. Certainly you can choose to blow it all out and have an expensive, and indulgent, time. But for a simple weekend getaway to the slopes, you might have something a bit more, ahem, frugal in mind.

In Winter Park, Colorado, there are many options for affordable lodgings. You need not spend an arm and a leg just to rest your slope-weary bones here.

For a European feel in a small hotel, consider Gasthaus Eichler. There are only 15 rooms here, but they are all styled in the elegant yet simple style of European ski lodge rooms. Rates range from $127 to about $270, but in the winter will likely average around $160 for a queen room.

Gasthaus Eichler presents itself as a bed and breakfast type of establishment, so you get a full breakfast each morning to get you fueled for your day on the slopes. Breakfasts usually include a hot entrée like French toast or pancakes, some fruit, a meat product and juice, coffee and tea. Cold cereals are also provided.

Gasthaus Eichler is located right on Highway 40 and there's a ski shop adjacent. The inn also features a full-service restaurant for lunch and dinner and on Friday and Sunday evenings there's live piano music to soothe you, though the newly added outdoor hot tub might also do that.

For reservations, call the lodge at (800) 543-3899.

Another popular option for lodging in Winter Park is Olympia Lodge, a motel lodge located in the center of town. Rates here range from about $100 a night to $150 a night, even in the peak winter ski season. Rates include a continental breakfast and a shuttle stops outside that can take you right to Winter Park for skiing.

Olympia Lodge offers an interesting promotional deal in the winter - reserve three nights and get the fourth free. If you purchase three days of lift tickets, you get the fourth day free.

Call the lodge at (800) 548-1992 for reservations.

Beaver Village Resort will provide you with full lodge amenities smack in the middle of town. Right on Highway 40, the lodge provides an old-time ski lodge feel where the accommodations are unpretentious and the staff friendly. It's rustic, not luxurious, but will provide - for a fair price even in the thick of the season - a comfortable place to hang your skis.

Rates here will run you in the range of $150 a night (or even less) in the winter months, and for that you'll also get a continental breakfast. It's located just 2 miles from the ski areas, and four miles from Fraser Tubing Hill, a favorite among Winter Park's visiting families.

For reservations, call (800) 666-0281.

At The Vintage Resort, you are closer to the ski action that you might expect to be. The adjacent ski shop is just 300 years from the chairlifts at Winter Park. There is also complimentary shuttle service to the various ski areas.

After a long day of skiing, you can rest your body in the hotel sauna, or the hot tub. Unlike the other hotels and lodges, this one does not offer a complimentary breakfast, but its breakfast buffet is well rated by its paying customers.

Best of all, this hotel can boast of a true "ski resort" feel but features rates that don't back up ski resort costs - rooms can be had here in January for as little as $140 for a basic room (even the "deluxe studio" which features almost 600 square feet of space, is only $180 during peak season).

For reservations at The Vintage Resort, call (800) 472-7017.