Help for Keystone (Denver, Steamboat Springs, Vail: credit, condos, hotel)

[jbs32]

Hi everybody, I'm Juan from Barcelona, Spain.

Next February, we'll (me and my wife) spend 10 days skiing at Keystone, Vail...

I'm looking for information about restaurants, pubs, etc. in Keystone, becasuse our hotel is there.

Please, we'll be very thankfull if you could send me some internet links about maps or guides about this zone, because we've been looking for it but the information we have now is very poor...

If you could explain us a bit about the check in zone at Keystone (for the Condos) The route from Denver Airport to this check in zone (we've rented a car...), without doubt, it will be a big help for us.

Well, thanks in advance, and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody!!!!

Juan

[bashep]

I do not know much about Keystone, I know it is beautiful! I hope you enjoy your stay there and if I hear of any helpful tips I will pass them along!

[COflower]

As a former part-time resident (my parents had a cabin up in the area) of Keystone (their cabin was actually in Blue River).

Don't limit yourself to Keystone, since you are renting a car (only about an hour from DIA under good conditions) you have the entire area to open up to.

Take a trip into Breckenridge (you can utilize their bus service and it's actually pretty good) or Frisco. I guarntee that the locals will be more than happy to help you. But yeah, the Briar Rose is a good place to eat. Get into Breck and eat a good pizza at Fattie's. There used to be a pasta bar in Breck but I don't know if it's still there or if it's still any good. I used to go there back in the 90s.

Now there's the Breckenridge brewery. http://www.breckbrew.com/food/locations.html They have some good food as well.

Don't miss the shopping in the Silverthorne outlet shops but don't discount the other stores available in Breck, Frisco and such. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant (which I am 95% sure is still there) in Frisco, it wasn't the blue comubine but something similar that is so good.

If you want to take a day trip, provided the roads are in good shape, take a day out and go up to Steamboat Springs. It's about, roughly a two hour drive but the drive itself is filled with so much beauty. I took that drive a lot and I swear, rarely did I not drive up that way and not see a fox or a coyote or an eagle. Take your time along that route and I hope (Rabbit Ears Pass has a bad rep but it's doable most of the time) you see some of our wonderful wildlife.

Just do me a favor, drink a lot of water (you think I am kidding, I'm not - also limit your alcohol intake) and limit your activities for the first two days. High altitude sickness is the major problem with people coming here for the first time. Just take it slow and I hope you have a good time while visiting our state. People, though, forget the water and it's one of the best ways to avoid the headaches and feeling of being dry. We are a pretty dry state despite the snow.

Regardless, welcome to Colorado.

[COflower]

Ha ha I found Fatty's (I misspelled above) website:

http://www.fattyspizzeria.com/

The Briar Rose doesn't have it's own website but here's where you can get more information:

http://www.breckenridgediningguide.com/search.asp

[jbs32]

Dear friends, first of all, thank you very much for your help. I have no doubt that my travel to your state will be perfect, and the american people will make us very happy.

Thank you again and, I'm sure that we'll publish our post after this travel. (with photos, of course)

Juan

[Fuzz]

Have you checked Keystone's website at http://keystone.snow.com? It'll give you details on restaurants at Keystone, and lodging check-in procedures. As mentioned above, definitely check out the surrounding towns as well.

[jbs32]

Yes, Fuzz, but I was looking for aid from people who are living in the area, more "genuine" aid, not only for tourists.

Now I'm looking for check-in procedures, this information is very useful for me.

Thank ou very much.

[Fuzz]

In Keystone, you'll find more locals at The Goat and Snake River Saloon.

[jbs32]

Thank you so much, Fuzz.

[momof2dfw]

What kind of "check in procedures" are you looking for? Trying to check into your condo? Or getting ski passes?

We have skied Keystone MANY times (I grew up staying in that area as a kid and it has grown so much).

Traveling by car from the airport in Denver is not too bad. We stop at a grocery store in Denver called King Soopers to get our ski passes. They have the best prices and any passes that were unused we could return on our way back thru to the airport. I'll look up the King Soopers we stopped at as there were several restaurants right by it that one could grab a bite to eat before hitting I-70 West towards Keystone. Oh, there is an Apple Jacks in the parking lot w/ the grocery store that is a HUGE beer & liquor store so we could stock up before heading out.

Going out I-70 for the most part can be pretty easy. They keep the roads clear but when there is a massive snowstorm it can close down as happened recently. I LOVE going thru the Eisenhower Tunnel (which was featured on Mega Structures).

Once you come into Silverthorne you will exit off of I-70 to take the road up to Keystone. This is where the Outlet Shopping Mall is located along w/ the largest grocery store in the area and many restaurants. Some of the condos we have stayed at had offices in Silverthorne to check in at to get our keys and directions to our unit. There are also condo offices up in Keystone. What is the name of the condos you are staying at? Checking in to the condos is pretty easy. I'm assuming you already have reservations so once you go into their office you will sign all of the forms and give them a credit card to run. They will give you your keys and a map and directions to your condo. Pretty easy really and takes all of 5 minutes max.

Frisco has another large grocery store for shopping and several restaurants and shops as mentioned earlier.

Breckinridge is awesome. I love parking at one end of the main street in town and walking down one side going in all of the shops and working my way back up the other side to our car. Lots of neat shops and some good restaurants. As many years as I have skied at Keystone we have not skied Breck. One day we were going to and drove over and the lines before the lifts had even opened were unreal. The parking lots were all full so we headed back to Keystone.

Cooper Mountain is not far on further west on I-70 and has some great skiing. I just LOVE Keystone because of the night skiing. It is so peaceful and quiet. If you have the time I recommend taking a day going out to Cooper Mountain just to do something different.

Keystone Village is not a ski/in-ski/out condo but it has some neat shops and an ice rink. All thru Keystone there are tons of nice condos and they are all served by the shuttle if you are not close enough to walk to the lift. You can drive and that is doable w/ plenty of parking.

You can rent ski equipment all over the place but if your skiing at Keystone mainly I'd suggest renting right there at the resort. They have an overnight storage available for your skis and we take advantage of that. It is right there by the lifts and makes it easy to hike back and forth w/o having to carry your skis. Even if you plan on going over to another resort for a day you can park pretty close by and go claim your skis and take them with you for the day.

Good luck and have fun