Alpine Village Suites — Hotel in Taos Ski Valley

My experience with this hotel started a week before our arrival, when I wanted to ask some questions about Taos Ski Valley in general and the hotel in particular. Mike was very helpful, answering all my questions. A few days before our arrival, I decided to change the duration of our stay, and they were very accommodating with that as well. We got there around 5:30 pm. Apparently the staff goes home at 5 pm, which we thought was odd considering you can't even check in until 3 pm. But they called to let us know that they would leave our check-in package by the front door, so that was okay. Our room was charming, I thought. It had a vintage ski chalet/mountain cabin vibe. We got a one-bedroom suite. There was a pretty creek right below our balcony window, a kitchenette, and a separate bedroom (which oddly enough had a small window that looked into the rest of suite - not outside). We had brought a bunch of food to cook meals with, because Mike had warned us that eating out would be slim pickings. Ah, travel in the era of Covid. When we cooked our first meal, we found the first thing we didn't like about our room. No proper ventilation. You could smell what we cooked out in the hallway! We were travelling with our son and his wife and they had booked the small studio loft. Fortunately, their room had two fans, so we borrowed one. The second thing I didn't like about the room was that there was not much in the kitchen by way of tools and utensils. The built-in two burner cooktop did not work. We found a portable two burner cooktop under the sink which did work, so we used that. There were plates and glasses and mugs and bowls, forks, knives, spoons, but only one set of skillets and one tiny pot. No measuring cups or spoons, colander or strainer...I mean, I wasn't expecting a gourmet kitchen but we have stayed in a ski resort hotel before and their kitchen was well stocked. Our son's room had a larger pot and we had to borrow that as well. I have to say, though, that I am confident that if we had told Mike all the things that were lacking in the kitchenette, he would have found them for us. The property is dated, and even though you can see they've made an effort to update it, it could use more sprucing up. The greatest asset this hotel has is its staff, especially Mike. He was outstanding. Finally, it has no airconditioning, which is typical of a ski resort hotel. In mid-August, the bedroom gets warm at night. We had to keep the door to the bedroom and balcony open, to keep it comfortable at night. It's short drive up the mountain to the hiker's parking lot where you can take a 2.2 mile hike to Williams Lake and/or go another 1.5 miles or so up to Wheeler Peak. In spite of all the negatives, the hotel is a good deal for the price and when ski season is in full swing (if it ever gets back to normal), it would be a great...

We had a wonderful stay at the Alpine Suites Chalet. The trip started out terrifically well as we were driving into Taos for a quick weekend getaway with the family. It was dumping snow (yay in terms of powder) for the final leg of our journey, for which we received a phone call from the Alpine Suites inquiring if we were ok, and on our way. Of course the primary driver was to coordinate check-in given it was very late in the evening and the staff were looking to wind down for the night (and their own safety I assume). I personally found this to be a very nice touch, immediately took away the commercial feel of a hotel and it became quite personal in terms of checking in on us. When we finally arrived, we were very easily given our keys for check-in and guided to the chalet so we could settle in. This was the first possible very pleasant surprise - the Chalet so far as I can tell is the closest free standing [available to public] home to the Main Chair lift - not exactly ski in/ski out - but definitely the shortest distance to a ski lift I've ever seen; which would definitely qualify as ski in/ski out if you are willing to slide down the road for 30 feet to the lift. The Chalet itself is so charming, and you can't beat the outdoor hot tub with the mountain vistas in front of it - truly majestic. The chalet has obviously been there for a while which means it's not new, but it is perfectly apportioned. For our entire stay, we had no reason to call or interact with the staff - which in my opinion is a testament to how well curated the Chalet is (we did ask for fire starters for the fireplace). It was also nice to see the steps and deck shoveled after the snowfall. If you are looking for a cozy, warm, homely chalet that provides endless opportunity for family bonding, games, and fun meals - the Chalet is for you. If you'd prefer more high-end hotel type services (e.g. room service, room cleaning, turn-down, concierge, etc.) maybe this isn't the place for you. For our family, it was one of the most memorable ski trips...

We stayed in a loft suite for the high $300s (close to $400) per night during February. The area is beautiful, and the guy at the front desk was nice and helpful. Pros:

1. great location with beautiful views. Within a 2 minute walking distance to the tavern, 5 mins to the market, ski lift, and coffee shop
2. very helpful and friendly front desk staff
3. free self parking
4. bathroom in the suite is updated and clean
5. quiet and peaceful in the village area, nice fire pit areas Cons:
6. the room is very dated. Very dark and felt stuffy. Dark green grimy carpet. The room felt so gross and smelled like someone had been smoking in there even though there are no smoking signs up. The smoke permeated my clothing and stuck to my skin.
7. the room was hot. Even with the fans on it felt stuffy. I opened the patio door to air out the place, but that’s not realistic to leave it open all night in 20 degree weather.
8. furniture looks like it’s from the 80s. Needs an update for sure.
9. even though self parking is free, it is a bit of a walk to the space. Sometimes we had to park pretty far out.
10. as mentioned, walls are very thin. You can hear your neighbors.
11. balcony is tiny. Barely wide enough for a plastic chair and leg space.
12. upstairs loft sleep area is…interesting. The ladder going up to the loft is hazardous-straight 90 degrees, no slope at all. If you’re tired at the end of your ski day, this will further work your leg muscles.

If you’re looking for a nice upscale room, this is not it. The whole place-halls, lobby, everything is very dark and grungy looking. I felt very uncomfortable sleeping in the bed because it just felt dirty everywhere. The old green 80s carpet isn’t helping-trapping all that grime and yucky smells. However, if you just want a place to stay and don’t mind an old outdated place, then you...