Keystone employee housing - Tenderfoot (Craig, Vail: ski resort, apartment, lease)

[sandhillcrane1]

Hi all,
I was hoping that someone out there could give me advice on employee housing in the Keystone area. I have secured a full-time administrative job and will be relocating from Florida next month. I am considering the possibility of living in Tenderfoot (where I would have my own bedroom). However, after Google searching for awhile, I've read some pretty awful things about employee housing - drugs, theft, noise, etc. I am by no means against having a good time, I'm still quite young (25), but I am kind of past the whole crazy party thing, esp during the week.

I am really worried about being paired up with some psychopath that steals my stuff, eats my food, trashes the place, etc. I plan on getting up pretty early and need my sleep so I don't want to live somewhere super loud and crazy 24/7. Is it really that bad? Is there a lease, or can you leave at any time?

I am aware of the multitude of listings on Craigslist and Summit Daily - my problem is that my budget is *extremely* limited and I am trying to save as much money as possible. Plus I like the convenience of being so close to my job.

Please forgive my "newbie" questions Thanks so much in advance for any advice you can offer.

Thanks.

[Dogmama50]

I don't know that property specifically, but in general employee housing can suck. Usually the people in it will be younger than your age and have mountain jobs, they are there for the season to play and get a free ski pass. Check with HR, but I think you can lease on a month to month basis. If that's the case I would take the place for now, meet some people and explore the town and try to find a different place to live. Most people can't afford to live up here on just one job, you might want to take a look a picking up something extra if your living arrangements are a priority. Congrats and Good Luck.

[wanneroo]

I lived in employee housing for 7 years roughly. I could tell some stories.

I had to look up Tenderfoot. Looks like it has been remodeled last year, which is good as these units get heavy use.

Vail Resorts doesn't have the best housing. You get what you pay for. In general their housing is very small. I think if you are older, you would not like it. At your age you are kinda at the limit for what you would find tolerable.

When my old employer was bought out by Vail Resorts, previously we had pretty nice housing. Which was good because our company ran 24 hours around the clock and people had vastly different working hours. My company was very good about trying to hook roommates up with people that would get along and in addition having one quiet building, one semi quiet building and one party house. I give the company credit for doing their best, but it wasn't always perfect. After Vail Resorts took over, they got rid of all of the great housing and put people in their substandard housing which caused a revolt.

I don't think Vail Resorts puts as much effort into organizing all those details, so it will be up to you to make sure you emphasize you want a quieter roommate.

The upside with employee housing is that usually it is in a decent location and in your case close to work. It is also usually basically furnished and rent is easy to pay and inexpensive. I also had roommates that I became life long friends with.

The resorts attract some interesting characters for seasonal employment, so yes there are some psychos around and drinking and drug abuse could be a possibility. I lived with some pigs, noisy people playing guitars at 5 am, crazy psycho women, etc. I found my happiness was directly related to my housing situation. If I had great roommates, I was at ease, if there were idiots, it was very difficult. Again, I would be forceful that you ensure you end up with more mature roommates.

In regards to theft, a lot of times your fellow employees think because they are living in a ski resort and many people like to visit apartment to apartment to socialize, they leave their doors unlocked. Fine during the day if people are home, but at night I would lock up and hopefully your bedroom has a lockable door. We did have some thefts in our employee housing due to people leaving doors unlocked and one armed robbery at 3 AM at one apartment that didn't lock their doors.

Until you move out of employee housing, I would travel light. I would have clothes, linens, a mattress cover, a few dishes and utensils for the kitchen, a laptop and a cheap tv.

The way I would look at it is this: Use it to get started in your full time job, save some money and when you can't deal with it anymore, move on to a better situation.

[Idunn]

It has been years, but at the time I felt Keystone employee housing was a nice bonus, being convenient and relatively inexpensive. My view on that today might be somewhat different.

Do not recall the name, but these units were fairly new then, within walking distance and across the road southwest from the main hotel. Those you are considering may be different, but these were arranged two bedrooms to a shared bath, two people per bedroom, for a total of four souls. The units were clean, modern and comfortable. The employee bus, for mountain work, was easy to catch.

As mentioned elsewhere, the downside of such an arrangement will be your fellow roommates. If young and into the party scene then such proximity may be a bonus. Seemingly none of this bothered me at the time, but those preferring peace and quiet may be hard pressed in what is basically a youthful group seeking some work and maximum fun.

So, depending, such an arrangement might work for awhile. Maybe try headphones and the consolation that you are residing fairly cheaply in a beautiful area most Coloradans will never live in. Doing so gets your foot in the door, with the chance then to explore other options at your leisure.

Prior to Keystone I rented a house with a few others in Silverthorne. No one had their own private bedroom, or much cared. Among other things, we drank a lot of beer. Housekeeping and a serene environment were not high priorities. It worked perfectly fine, and one could still catch the Keystone employee bus across the street. Although consider doing that in January when a frigid morning of -10º or something.

Yours aspirations may be different. If possible you might in time arrange a condo or house with a few like minded souls, and everyone happy with their ever so peaceful and quiet home. But do not lease one near I-70, and know in advance that for all the unlooked for pluses, that any roommate can be less than perfect at times (this being a subjective thing).

Good luck.