Grand Timber Lodge

We just returned from GTL after a week (2/20/2010-2/27/2010 and found the resort to be fantastic. Two adults and two boys (17 and 14) shared a 2 bedroom unit. There was plenty of room. The ski in/out was literally about a 2 minute stroll from the bottom of the elevator of the building we were in and can't be much more from any building on the property. We skied down to the Beaver Run chair each morning. The return was a little tricky but thanks to a friendly co-visitor we found the return trail (it's easiest if you take the "exit" trail at the sign that ONLY has GTL on it off Lower Sawmill) and it was easy and extremely convenient. You end up at the Lodge Pole Restaurant/Bar for apres ski where the staff was great, the food and beverages plenty, and the entertainment on Tues and Thurs very enjoyable. Breckenridge Resort has plenty for every level of skier. We arrived from NH and one of our boys unfortunately got very altitude sick. There is an MD (Dr.David Gray) who made a house call and was awesome at getting him back on his feet in a day or so. We would strongly recommend anyone to discuss with their Doctor at home about taking medication which can ease the transition to the high altitude. We were coming from about 75' above sea level in NH and there was an adjustment to be sure even for the other three of us. We stopped in Idaho Springs off Rt.70 on our way up for groceries. The grocery store in Breckenridge was fairly priced and could have done the trick. If we had any complaints at all it would be that on Sat night of our arrival the curfew on the outdoor hot tubs was not enforced and the noise was marginally acceptable at 11:00pm on one night and unacceptable at 2:00am on another occasion. If you want to get a huge break on lift tickets, sign up for the time share presentation. For $169 for the first person and $199 for each person after, you can get a 4 day ski pass which reduced our cost per day for lift tickets by nearly 50%. The tour and presentation was truly done in 90 minutes and the return on that investment in our time was significant. It allowed us to ski as much as we could handle (we added an additional day at the end) in that we may not have skied 5 straight days had we been paying full rate ($93/adult per day). The sales person (James) was fine at the beginning but then got a bit obnoxious at the end. Any sales person who acted the way he did when he didn't make a sale on us should consider going back to sales person class and study up on "manners". Parking was great under our unit and once there I wish we had used the shuttle more. The shuttle picked up our son's on two separate occasions when we wanted to stay downtown and they wanted to return to the condo. The shuttle was there in 5 minutes after we called. To say that you could walk to town is a bit of a stretch. It is quite a hill to climb after a long day of skiing but I suppose the ultra-fit would say it is easy. I don't think it would be and we didn't try it. But again, the shuttle is the best deal going. Call them, they come, and they are prompt, courteous, and careful. We never used the ski locker. We stored our skis in our car in the bottom of the building in the parking garage and would grab them in the morning and drop them in on the return in the afternoon. At lunch we left them in a rack at the ski in/out starting area. We had a humidifier in our unit and used it a LOT. The air was extremely dry and that helped some. We would return in a SECOND and found the entire experience to be superb. We are Eastern skiers so we are used to snow conditions and ice that are nowhere near as nice as what we found at Breck. The bowls, moguls, soft snow, new snow, lift operations, trail options, and staffing is first class and I can't imagine a nicer place to ski. JDP, Stratham NH

We are here now and the biggest gripe I have is the wi-fi service is only free in the main lodge. They have it available in your room for $5. a day or $20 per week. In today's day and age this is a huge draw back and I will not book here again. We are Marriott owners and will go there next time. The rest of the place is nice and the location is the reason we wanted to try something new. Also, we are in a studio and it's the poorest excuse for a studio; no thought to people who like to time share due to eating in vs. eating out all the time.

WHAT A WONDERFUL RESORT!! My family and I just spend 1 week at Grand Timber Lodge in a 3/3 bath unit and we LOVED it!!! The unit was large and clean with a wonderful layout and bigger than most timeshares we have stayed in previously. The ski in/ski out access is ideal, all you have to do to get to peak 9 is ski down from Christiys Ski shop to beaver run lift or to get to peak 8 walk in front of the hotel, put on your skis and ski down to Snowflake lift. Talk about easy!!! But if you don't feel like it, wait for a few minutes for the shuttle and they will take you anywhere you want to go in a few minutes. Being from Florida, the shuttle was easily accessible and it was so nice not to have to drive around a rental car in the snow!!! This is truly a five star resort!! The resturant, pools, spas and common areas with a pool table, big screen tv and fireplace are a nice place to unwind. The underground heated parking was also a plus. We are definately going to return next year!! We loved it!

Stayed here last weekend for a spring ski trip. Everything was great. Unit was well maintained. Front desk staff and all the service personnel were friendly - everywhere we went, the staff said hello and asked if there was anything they could do for us. The pools, steam room, hot tubs, dry sauna and locker rooms were all in great shape. Nothing more exhilarating than an evening swim in a warm pool in the brisk mountain air!

I don't understand some of the comments that this is not a "true" ski in - ski out resort - these people do not know how to simply cross the street and ski out to the Snowflake lift, or ski in off Lower Sawmill. Just ask at the front desk and they will tell you where to ski in/ski out. Also there are TWO fitness rooms with equipment - perhaps some of the other writers did not know this.

Heated sidewalks, heated underground parking, bar and grill with happy hour to watch the NCAA games after skiing, free shuttle to anywhere in town, large comfortable one bedroom units - not sure what more anyone could want.

We stayed at the Grand Timber Lodge from March 7-14. This is a resort I am comfortable recommending to others. Pluses are 1)the convenience to the mountain (although as others have pointed out this is not a true "ski in/ski out") and town, 2) on-site amenities (nice hot tubs in Building 5, nice bar/restaurant, nice rec. room with pool table and big screen tv, heated parking garages, outdoor grills for anyone's use, etc.) and 3) room quality (I was in Building 8). Minuses are the inadequate amount of lockers for ski equipment and "service issues" such as periodic towel shortages in the pool/hot tub area, clutter left in the pool area and garage area, and unfriendliness of certain front desk personnel (not all like this though...some very helpful and friendly). Relatively speaking, the pluses far outweigh the minuses, hence my high rating. The minuses keep this from getting a 5 star rating.