The Block Hotel & Commons — Attraction in Silverthorne

My boyfriend and I stayed here for four nights while skiing at Abasin and had a great time. We’ve stayed at a decent number of hostels, airbnbs, and Vrbo style places and the Pad is definitely on our return to list. We stayed in one of the coed bunk rooms and had a great experience. I was super happy to find every bunk had its own charging port, light, clothing hooks and locker which made storing stuff really easy. I never felt like there wasn’t enough space to store my stuff even with it being a shared living space. The space was also kept very clean and tidy which I appreciated. I will also say, nothing is worse then having a place skimp on pillows and the ones at the pad were super comfy. There was also a great view of the river from our rooms window. The only thing with the shared room is I wish that there had been a privacy screen or partition. I was the first bottom bunk coming into the room so everyone had a direct look into my bunk when they came in, which wasn’t too bad, just a little awkward if I was in there. Besides that though it was great. I was also super impressed with how clean everything was. We used the kitchen to cook all of our meals and staff were constantly tidying the kitchen and wiping stuff down. The kitchen was also extremely well equipped. There were times where three or four groups were making meals at once and it was never an issue because of how well the kitchen was set up. I was also super impressed with how clean the bathroom was. We saw staff deep cleaning common areas and bathrooms every day we were there and everything was always spotless. There is nothing worse then coming back from a day of skiing to take a shower in a grimy bathroom so I was super psyched to find everything spotless and super clean. I definitely really appreciated the care they took to keep everything so nice. In terms of location we also couldn’t have asked for a better place. We opted to not rent a car this trip and we were able to use the public transit to get to and from the mountain each day. The bus stop was just over a five minute walk with sidewalks the entire way making it super easy. My boyfriend and I come from a place where public transit isn’t the best so we definitely aren’t well seasoned when it comes to public transportation. However, we found with a little bit of research it was all super accessible and easy to use. We were able to get to the mountain every day no problem. It was honestly kind of nice to not have to deal with finding a place to park and having to pay to park at the mountain. There is also a target less then a half mile away from the Pad with sidewalks the entire way so getting groceries was also really easy. There are also really nice common rooms with a variety of setups, all of which were surprisingly comfortable. I sometimes find that furniture in common spaces are a little lacking when it comes to comfort but all of the ones at the Pad were super comfy. While staying we also met a bunch of super cool people, all of whom were super friendly and happy to be hanging out. We found everyone to be super welcoming and laid back. Over all a great stay, we hope to...

My girlfriend and I chose to visit The Pad for a few days in July and had the worst hotel experience we've both ever had. Turns out, The Pad is a hotel, hostel and event space, but unlike most businesses who will cancel other bookings for a private event, The Pad will welcome you in without warning and you get to endure whatever event they are having on your own dime. First off, The Pad is a relatively small space with lots of common and shared areas so if an event is taking place, you WILL be a part of that event whether you like it or not. Our room was located on the 3rd floor and we immediately noticed an event company setting up for a wedding reception in the "shared" space and completely over ran our floor which was where the hot tub was and other shared spaces which at this point was no longer shared but taken over by this wedding party. We were really hoping for a nice relaxing few days in the mountains which is what you are probably hoping for as well, but this wasn't our experience at all. The event company, caterer and wedding party completely took over the floor and by sundown we were enduring a raging party which we had no intentions of being a part of, complete with a DJ blasting horrible wedding songs which shook the entire hotel. There was no escaping it, it was incredibly loud and as we tried to sleep our room was vibrating to "Baby got Back." We finally had enough and went to complain and was told that curfew for the party was 10PM but the party went well to 11PM and then we got to enjoy all the wasted party goers, not even staying at the hotel, wander around being drunk, talking loud, and keeping guests awake. The owner/manager offered to allow us to come back for a better experience and sent me an email but when I responded to the correspondence on 3 different occasions I was completely ghosted. Long story short, we drove 14 hours to endure a ridiculous party which we had no desire to be a part of and management could have easily shared this with us before arrival and we could have chosen to support a business who understands Hotels and their purpose. After complaining, we were lied to about curfew and the opportunity to make the situation right. As a business owner, I always try to support local businesses instead of big box companies but this is a beautiful example of how the lack of proper protocol costs you money and ultimately squeezes these types of businesses out. If you are traveling to this area, stay somewhere where you are treated like a guest and not a commodity. Too many lovely places to stay without taking the gamble of ruining your experience, wasting your money, and worst of all being looked at in the eye and lied to....

Cons: I reserved the dorm room with two bunk beds that sleeps four on the first floor and expected it to have a sitting area and large window with a view to a nice gathering space and creek with flowing water as depicted on the hotel website. The truth is it has no sitting area which makes it feel very cramped. The smaller than depicted window in this room looks out to the parking lot instead of the gathering space in the back of the hotel. This room did not meet my expectations due to its website depiction versus what it offered in reality.

It took multiple requests to switch rooms the morning after my first overnight stay to one with the seating area and view of the outdoors depicted online without incurring additional cleaning fees but was eventually granted.

I was shown into two other dorm rooms that also had parking lot and construction zone views before finally being shown into a dorm room with the view of the gathering space and creek view.

The hotel can be noisy at times. I heard lots of thumping from the floor above me. I’m not sure if it was kids playing or something else but it went on for hours at a time. The heavy hotel guest room doors can be heard slamming shut frequently. This noise carries throughout the separate wings of the hotel.

Pros: I do want to recognize the website for giving a very accurate portrayal of the conditions of the common areas of the hotel. These areas are very well maintained and accurately depicted. Sometimes website photos can be very misleading but this hotel delivers on its marketed appearance.

The shared kitchen was an excellent gathering space and offered opportunities to socialize with other friendly hotel guests and share meals. This shared kitchen may just be the most underrated hotel amenity. I used it many times during my stay.

The shared bathroom was very nicely outfitted and always clean. There were always plenty of private shower stalls available. One of the showers was quite large. It was for handicap accessibility I would guess. The shared bathroom was conveniently located right next to the dorm I was assigned after my first night.

I stayed in the mixed dorms every night but only shared the room with another traveler one of the nights. We talked briefly upon first meeting but did not see much of each other after that.

Overall, I was pleased with my stay. The dorms and shared hotel amenities offer a lot of value for the asking price. I have not stayed in other room types offered by this hotel that may be more appealing to couples or families traveling with children. I travel very budget consciously and bunking with others is an option I would recommend if you are a...