Hideaway Mountain Lodge — Hotel in Four Corners States

If I were limited to a single word to describe Hideaway Mountain Lodge it would be "Wonderful!". Quaint old mountain lodge feel but modern enough construction to not have typical old mountain lodge eccentricities. The owners, Mike and Carla, are the nicest people ever. Our off-season stay meant fewer guests so I had a chance to visit with them every morning. It's always fun getting to know the folks who run the place, especially when they are so pleasant.

The location is great. It feels remote without actually being so. The lodge is just far enough out of Fraser to make it quiet and peaceful but still close enough to be convenient. It's a five minute drive into town at the most leisurely of paces.

We were in the Preserve (room 14). Being an upper floor on the back of the lodge meant it didn't have the great view afforded some front rooms, but the upper driveway gave us super easy right-at-the-door access for loading/unloading. A nice touch for us flatlanders not used to the altitude. The room was spotlessly clean, everything worked, supplies were well stocked, and the bed comfy. Possibly a bit firm for some tastes but fine for us. Their claim of non-smoking is absolutely true. We didn't detect a hint of cigarette smoke, old or otherwise, anywhere on the property. The owners might consider adding a suitcase stand but otherwise the room was great.

Carla is a wonderful cook and Mike serves a mean cup of coffee. We were there four days and every breakfast was superb. The expansive deck was a lovely place to enjoy the stunning view while surrounded by ever-present hummingbirds. We didn't use the pool or game rooms but they were large, clean, and appeared well-maintained. I expect families or younger couples will find them quite enjoyable.

The only caveat relates to internet access. The lodge's rural location means data service is still DSL-based. Speeds are fine for light remote officing or occasionally checking email, but can be limiting for anything more bandwidth-hungry like watching movies or livestreaming. We weren't there to camp in our room so it didn't bother us at all, but folks more tied to streaming services might take heed.

The lodge positively drips Pride of Ownership from every wooden beam, the location is lovely, and it's obvious Mike and Carla are truly committed to their guests' comfort and enjoyment. We WILL be going back.

A couple of asides about local attractions...

If you decide to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and want to get there before the 9am "reservation required" restriction, beware of travel time. The Grand Lake entrance is a solid 50 minute drive in light traffic. We were almost too optimistic, flying into the entry station in a cloud of dust with a mere two minutes to spare. That merited a wry smile and good-natured "Cutting it a bit close this morning, are we?" from the park ranger. Give yourself at least an hour.

There's also a nearby scenic drive I'd never even heard of. It's Trough Road which begins just south of Kremmling, a town about half an hour west of Granby (a pretty drive in it's own right). If you're going anywhere west from Fraser, consider taking Trough Road. It's a cut through the mountains roughly following the Colorado River. You end up back on a main road 45 minutes or so north of Wolcott. It's unpaved but you couldn't tell. It's prepared gravel and in better shape than most of the highways (avoid I-70 between Idaho Springs and Vail at all costs. It is truly awful in both traffic and road condition). Jaw-dropping views, especially on the western half as you drop down into the canyon. White-knuckle types might want to up their heart meds first but it is ever so worth it. I would travel a significant distance out of my way to drive this road again. I-70 at Wolcott is in much better shape and less heavily traveled, plus it put you just up the road from Glenwood Canyon, an...

DO NOT STAY HERE! i feel on their icy deck when I was there. They had not sanded or put ice melt down and it was ice snowing/raining. When we told them what happened, they blamed it on me and said the shoes I was wearing were at fault. Hmm. No, they had not made the place safe for guests. Another guest witnessed me fall and affirmed it was slippery. My husband also slipped but did not fall. I wrenched my back, causing back spasms, which are debilitating, and badly injured my knees, but they did nothing! Instead, they continued to make excuses and said, "its the mountains" and "no one else said anything". Really? No offer to call a doctor or credit the room rate or anything. Oh, and there was another door that I could have gone into by walking over a gravel area instead of the deck. Here's what they said, "that door is hard to open". Really? They made me walk down some stairs, with an injured back and knees, and have my husband drive around to pick me up instead of helping and opening the door. At the very least they should have offered to credit the room rate. We had to threaten calling an attorney and they still didn't want to do anything. Wow! My husband had to ask for credit, which they finally gave, but they never said they were sorry or anything. Go somewhere else, the owners have bad attitudes and do not care about...

This is our 4th 10+ day stay at Hideaway Mountain lodge, and we're already planning another stay next year. Mike and Carla are excellent hosts and make every guest feel like the Lodge is their home. The breakfasts are amazing, with lots of choices (The orange French toast and raspberry crepes were delicious). Not to be missed are fresh baked cookies with a cup of hot coffee or cocoa by the fire in the afternoon after a day on the slopes. Lousy weather or bad ski conditions are no problem. The Lodge has an indoor pool, a hot tub, billiard table, plenty of family/kid's games, and a library of over 700 movies. This year, we borrowed a couple of sets of snowshoes and went for a short trek in Rocky Mountain National Park (rather than skiing on Saturday when the slopes are packed). We prefer the upper-level rooms where you can park next to your door - makes loading and unloading much easier. Keep an eye out the windows at breakfast as we've seen moose in the meadow, just a couple of hundred yards from the Lodge. It's a short, easy drive from the Lodge to Winter Park, so if you are chasing first tracks, grab an earlier breakfast and you'll be there to catch that...