Perennial Vacation Club at Tahoe Village

We stayed here with family during the summer of 2007, and had a wonderful time. The units had been freshly refurbished, and there was a nice loft upstairs over the 2 bedrooms where the kids slept . There were two flights of stairs to our unit; not bad, and it gives the sense of being amid the treetops. We spent time horseback riding, touring the lake by paddle boat and goofing off at Camp Richardson. A wonderful family get-away.

I stayed here in a three bedroom unit in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 during the third week of March (spring break). I am a long, long- time owner. The three bedroom units are in the top floor of the Woodrun Building. There aren’t that many units in the building so it is quiet. When I’m here, I definitely feel like I am in the mountains, on vacation and away from the city.

BTW, the furniture and appliances have been updated. I’ve put eight people around the kitchen table at dinner (the new tables in the three-bedroom units are definitely bigger than mentioned in an older post). It was a little squeeze putting eight around the table, but very manageable. In fact, dinnertime was a great – since we had family from around the country. I do think eight people in a three bedroom would be a crowd in my opinion, (8 people for two showers and 8 people in a relatively small living area).

These units are ski type condos. Small compared to a Marriott resort, but very, very convenient to Heavenly Ski Resort – Stage Coach lift.

The big advantage of being close to Stage Coach is that the lift line has always been negligible during my spring break visits (whereas the morning line at the Heavenly Gondola is something else; during my one week experience in 2007 – the morning gondola lines were about 30 minutes). BTW, I’ve always found the lift lines (excluding the gondola) to be shorter at Heavenly, than at the Colorado ski resorts during spring break.

Now when a storm comes in and the wind kicks up, Heavenly frequently puts the Tamarac and Gondola lifts on hold. Stage Coach has the nice advantage that the lift will always run. Another option to consider is going to Sierra-at-Tahoe on a windy, stormy day.

The drive down/up the mountain is easy and short (10 min?).

On a sunny day, which the vast majorities are, the views of Lake Tahoe from Heavenly are absolutely stunning. And even in winter, I’ve always tried to squeeze in a drive over to Emerald Bay.

You may want to consider sleeping 4 adults in 2 bedroom and 6 for a 3-bedroom because the sleeper sofa is in the living area (dining, TV, living room). The beds have always been good. Skiing and mountain air may have something to do with that.

In conclusion; Pros: * This is a great ski location and in the summer Tahoe Village will have cooler mountain air than in town. * The price is good for this size and type of unit. I think it is a fair, reasonable value. By comparison Marriott by the gondola would cost at least twice as much (Five-star Resort Hotel vs Three-star Mountain Condos). * You're in the mountains, wonderful fresh air. * The vacation club appears to be very well run. The staff has always been very friendly and responsive. * If you like water and beautiful lake scenery,… well I recommend you add Lake Tahoe to your destination list.

Cons: * A person out of shape and not used to the altitude probably/definitely would not like the stairs. Albeit, my 70+ year mother from Colorado who stills skies, is in shape and lives at altitude had no problem. * No wireless Internet yet. * The hot tub / swimming pool area is not in walking distance. * The Casinos and restaurants are down the mountain (not in walking distance).

Wherever you go, play hard and enjoy. Life is short.

This timeshare "resort" is not a great place to stay. The rooms and furniture are old and the electricity kept going off during our stay. The spa is 1/2 mile away and when we visited it we found broken glass inside and outside the spa. It is close to the Heavenly North ski lift and convenient if you are a skier and spend little time in your room. Otherwise, look for something else.

August, 2005 we stayed in the 2-BR Ridgeway Unit'B'. First off, these buildings are old, ski dormitories ie. you walk up the stairs (our unit's trek was 66 stairs, the folks on the 3rd floor were more of course) and onto a breezeway which connects all the rooms' entry doors (sort of a 'Motel 6' feel to the place). The walls and ceilings are paper-thin and not soundproof at all. There is no air conditioning or balcony and if you feel like a BBQ, you should pack your own!

Regarding the "staff"...it's one guy, Jason, and he hangs out at Eagle's Nest which is a building only about a half mile away. The week we were there the advertised Orientation Breakfast was cancelled (short-staffed) and the for the advertised Owners' BBQ at Eagle's Nest we got an invitation left on our answering machine the afternoon of the great soiree which of course we didn't get in time because we were out.

The unit does come with a free parking pass for Round Hills Pines Beach, which is the best beach in South Lake Tahoe, complete with a quaint beachside bar&grill. Again, these ski units are OLD and not resortlike at all. Our dinner table measured 42" by 30". Bon appetit! Hey, if your group is 20-something College skier/partyers...well, rock-on!!! But if you are travelling with a couple kids like we were, this place is very ordinary. Also, we were at 7500' elevation....no doubt the end unit down from us had a great view of the valley. Us? Hey, nice parking lot, eh? We might stay here again....and pigs might sprout wings someday too!

The 2 bedroom had an upstairs loft that made it like a 3 bedroom. Small spiral stairway to the loft. The livingroom area was small. This is more of a ski type condo then a resort which is what we used it for. Staff was very nice and accomodating.