We stayed here the first week in February and were thrilled. It's the perfect combination of private, peaceful vacation accommodations and easy access to resort amenities. The house has great character w/ unique decorations (e.g a snowboard chandelier) and cozy spaces so it feels like a home instead of a generic rental. At home, our daughter usually doesn't like to sleep upstairs alone, but she LOVED the lone bedroom on the top floor, a converted attic space with fun angles. It has two twin beds in their own ends of a long room, so though it's a shared space, it felt private for each person. She slept great all week! The kitchen was well-organized (even the knives worked!) w/ a small bar area open to the dining and living room, so visiting over post-skiing appetizers and drinks was easy.

With Kirkwood just a couple minutes away, dashing back to the cabin for lunch was as convenient as dining on the slopes. With a wall of boot warmers near the front door, a roaring fire in the woodstove, and an awesome view of the meadow & mountains, lunches were so much more comfortable and quiet than staying at the resort (not to mention reasonably priced and healthy). We'd head back out to the slopes for the afternoon with toasty toes and happy tummies. During the weekend when parking was limited, the shuttles arrived so frequently, we weren't slowed down a bit and the large wagon w/ benches towed behind a truck was very exciting for the kids.

We took a day off to relax and recuperate by using the cross-country gear in the garage. There are 80K of trails that can be accessed right out the back door (literally, you could hold your breath from the house to the trail out back). Staying at the house allows free access to all of the trails (normally $20+/person each day). I strongly recommend taking advantage of the trails, especially the ones across the road where it felt like you were a million miles from civilization and the views were incredible! We didn't expect our "day off" to end up one of the highlights of the trip for the whole family.

For a relatively isolated resort, we were pleasantly surprised by all the evening options available. Access to the gym & rec facilities were included with the rental, the outdoor hottub was great. We also took Jim & Karen's advice and cross-country skied to the Kirkwood Inn for dinner - dreat adventure & great food. At the cabin, LOTS of recorded movies on direct tv, a cupboard full of games, & shelves of books.