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Send a ComplimentAbout Me & My Family
I'm a stay at home mom living in the Bay Area of California. I love exploring new places and restaurants (a foodie for sure, but not a snooty one!). I'm a laid back girl, with a techy hubby, creative kids, and a awesome cat. I'm an advocate of progressive education and LD support, indie music, and photography. And if that's not enough I love to organize neighborhood social groups, too (bookgroups, playgroups, supperclubs, you name it ;0) So catch me around The Valley or on The Web...I'm sure we'll have something mutually interesting to share or lament!
Our Family's Travel Personality
curious, pampered, relaxed, simple, independent, energetic, spontaneous, sophisticated, easy_going, scheduled, artsy, social_butterfly
We Just Got Back From
Napa, CA
A Place We'd Love To Visit
South of France for a summer
Websites I Like:
Kid-friendly Ski Trip to Squaw
I have to preface that this trip was partially compensated by Squaw Valley and arranged by Trekaroo in exchange for an honest, un-biased review by yours truly. Our lodgings, lift tickets, lessons and rentals were comped. The rest of the $$$ squandered is something that we did of our own volition, but believe me, totally worth it regardless of the free diggs! In fact we had such a good time (again, un-biased) we're thinking about buying a time share...nice work Squaw Valley!
If you’re thinking of a trip to Squaw with the kids, I could not recommend it more highly. In retrospect, Squaw wasn't fantastic just because of the fancy diggs, or the world-class mountain, or even the tasty restaurants. It was how it all fit together and fit our family’s needs in one all-inclusive place. It truly has something for every interest at any age. Shopping and spa for the accident prone like me, great winter sports and challenging terrain for the seasoned veteran like The Hubs. There was ski school for the kids and those just starting out. And there were safe places to explore and play for the younger ones, and amenities and communal gathering spaces for groups of families and friends both big and small.
1960 Squaw Valley Road
Olympic Valley, California
reviewed on: November 12 2010
"We can't wait to go back..."
I have to preface that this trip was partially compensated by Squaw Valley and arranged by Trekaroo in exchange for an honest, un-biased review by yours truly. Our lodgings, lift tickets, lessons and rentals were comped. The rest of the $$$ squandered is something that we did of our own volition, but believe me, totally worth it regardless of the free diggs! In fact we had such a good time (again, un-biased) we're thinking about buying a time share...nice work Squaw Valley! If you’re thinking of a trip to Squaw with the kids, I could not recommend it more highly. In retrospect, Squaw wasn't fantastic just because of the fancy diggs, or the world-class mountain, or even the tasty restaurants. It was how it all fit together and fit our family’s needs in one all-inclusive place. It truly has something for every interest at any age. Shopping and spa for the accident prone like me, great winter sports and challenging terrain for the seasoned veteran like The Hubs. There was ski school for the kids and those just starting out. And there were safe places to explore and play for the younger ones, and amenities and communal gathering spaces for groups of families and friends both big and small.
We went to Squaw Valley for a weekend of snow and fun and had an AWESOME time! Actually, it was more than that. Really I could proliferate non-stop for hours with adjectives describing how great it was, and still not be able to adequately come up with the right words. My son was convinced it was the best from the moment we first drove in, "This place is beautiful! It's fantastic! I love it here...can we live here forever?" And considering he's visited many ski-resorts in his short life, that's saying something!
- The location is easy to get to.
- There are lots of activities for you kids to do even if they aren't skiing.
- They have a strong focus on environment and green initiatives (geothermic heating for the win!).
- It's an all-inclusive destination (unlike Oregon skiing where there are no lodges or shops due to building protection laws).
- There are lots of things to do at night.
- The skiing/boarding is top notch with lots of runs to choose from and lots of levels to explore.
- The kid school is pretty great!
- Each of us can't wait to go back to Squaw for different reasons...Me: Spa. Son: snowpark jumps. Husband: fresh powder. Preschooler: skischool.
PO BOX 2025
Olympic Valley, California
reviewed on: November 12 2010
"Everything you'd expect and more from a top ski resort"
I have to preface that this trip was partially compensated by Squaw Valley and arranged by Trekaroo in exchange for an honest, un-biased review by yours truly. Our lodgings, lift tickets, lessons and rentals were comped. The rest of the $$$ squandered is something that we did of our own volition, but believe me, totally worth it regardless of the free diggs! In fact we had such a good time (again, un-biased) we're thinking about buying a time share...nice work Squaw Valley! FURNISHINGS WERE HIGH END ALL THE WAY
Our suite was large with designer paint, quality fixtures, tasteful furnishings, and a contemporary Craftsman's feel. The fully outfitted kitchen with granite counters, dishwasher, and full sized stainless steel fridge and stove/oven/microwave was impressive.
YOUR GET WHAT YOUR PAY FOR
Honestly, this the unit we were in had furnishings that were on par with some of the more ritzy hotels we've stayed in (sans kiddies, even), and totally cleaned the floor with the renowned Disney Hotel we'd just paid way too much money to book, and had been thoroughly disappointed with a week before.
VERY SPACIOUS
There was more than enough seating for our family of four (kitchen bar with counter seating, and a dining table for 6). There was also a patio terrace that had views of the mountain and a small patio set to enjoy some fresh air. The living room had a gas fireplace with stone surround, a pull out sofa bed, and a television. We could have easily fit another family of four in here with us.
The two bedrooms were great: the master had a king sized bed, large closet, tv, and a bathroom attached. And then way on the other side (haha) the other bedroom had two twin beds and a nice sized closet, too. There was a separate bathroom with shower/tub across the way.
WARM FEET ON THE RADIANT HEATED FLOORS
When I ran the kids a warm bath, and they were super stoked about the radiant heated floors (no cold feet!), and the large soaking tub had Alexi singing, "I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" in no time. One bedtime story, and they were conked out, fast asleep in no time!
THOUGHTFUL EXTRAS
I explored the suite a little more after the kids went to bed, and noticed small touches that definitely, in my opinion, made the place stand out as "family friendly" luxury accommodations. 1. There were hooks for towels everywhere. How many hotels have you been to that ask you to "hang up your towel and save a tree," but hide the towel rack so you have no choice but to leave it on the ground? 2. Toilet paper was 2 ply. My big peeve with the last hotel we stayed at was they used crappy toilet paper (no pun intended) and you were paying an arm and a leg for it. Not so at Squaw! 3. Shampoo and soaps were nice quality, smelled great, and gentle on the kid's sensitive skin 4. There was an old-school warm air humidifier under the sink. How fantastic is that? 6. There was a small collection of board games for the kids to play with. A mean game of Connect Four ensued nightly 7. Since it was a winter resort I liked that the place had plenty of places to hang jackets and helmets, dry snow boots and gloves, and lockers to house snowboard and ski equipment.
STAFF: DOWN RIGHT CASUAL AND PERFECTLY NICE
The front desk staff was super nice, arranged for a doorman to meet us in the garage to help us with our bags, and told us we still had time to grab dinner at the restaurant we'd decided to check out while we were driving up (score!). Doorman turned out to be very cool. He joked with the kids, chased the one son down the hall, and had the other one giggling like mad; even despite the fact the kid was on the edge of a melt down from hunger. I wanted to hug the doorman before he left, but thought it might freak him out.
NO CONS
The only cons about the unit I could come up with were the TVs were a little dated and...well...that's all I could come up with for cons.
1960 Squaw Valley Road
Olympic Valley, California
reviewed on: November 11 2010
"Kid Loved It"
I have to preface that our trip was partially compensated by Squaw Valley and arranged by Trekaroo in exchange for an honest, un-biased review by yours truly. Our lodgings, lift tickets, lessons and rentals were comped. The rest of the $$$ squandered is something that we did of our own volition, but believe me, totally worth it regardless of the free diggs! In fact we had such a good time (again, un-biased) we're thinking about buying a time share...nice work Squaw Valley! I feel bad leaving such a glowing review since our experience was very much the opposite of the previous poster :0(
While we were not there during peak season everything from drop-off to pick-up was great for our son and he said he couldn't wait to go back.
Our son was very connected to his second instructor, but found no qualms with the first, and made significant progress in just two days after being off the board for most of the season last year. The instructor realized his current board (the one his Uncle had just gifted him) was still a bit too big and resized him to the right size. This made his turning much easier, and helped with his stopping skills, too. While we opted for half days, since our son wanted to do runs with his dad in the afternoon, ski school started on time, and he was on the slopes immediately. I followed our kid up so I could see him off, and he looked pretty happy and came out even happier. While I agree the instructors are laid back, I did not feel that the kid's best interest or safety was at anytime not considered a top priority.
In all, we had a great time, and we are already eagerly looking forward to enrolling our kids back into the program this winter.
1850 Village South Rd
Squaw Valley, California
reviewed on: November 11 2010
"For Tahoe, not bad"
On our last day at Squaw, after showers and packing up the suitcases we headed to one last restaurant for an early dinner before returning to the Bay Area. Mamasake was a sushi spot with lots of creative and tasty rolls and a wide selection of Japanese-fusion dishes. Typically rockin’ at night, the restaurant in the afternoon was rather mellow. The kids didn’t seem to bother anyone who was there despite insisting on using the chop-sticks like they were auditioning for drum corps. The kids ordered a bento box to share, and Math enjoyed some shrimp tempura. The hubs was pretty pleased with his sashimi, and I with my yummy Korean lettuce wraps. For Tahoe, pretty good sushi.
1995 Squaw Valley Rd
Olympic Valley, California
reviewed on: November 11 2010
"Soup's on!"
One afternoon, my son and I decided to get some lunch, per the suggestion of the Lather & Fizz sales woman, we tried out Soupa. Oh, so good! Homemade soups made daily with local organic ingredients. We got the tomato bisque to share, and I also ordered half a warm grilled ham and swiss sandwich. The best part was the ham wasn't deli cut, chipped ham...it was thick slices, between thin pieces of bread with gooey, melted cheese. (Yea, I had to go on a major diet after the trip)
1850 Village South Rd
Olympic Valley, California
reviewed on: November 11 2010
"Fantastic"
I arrived at Trilogy Spa in a state of frazzled disrepair because I tripped over myself on the way out of the elevator. I'm accident prone, it had nothing to do with the elevator. Oh, and I was half afraid my Hubs was going to change his mind and call me back. I silenced my phone (hey, sign says "please silence your cell phone upon entering"), slipped into a cozy robe and headed for the steam room to detox. Geeze, spa locker room might be small, but it was fantastic! There's no sauna, but the steam room was full of thick, dense steam and my sinuses were singing when I got out. There are private shower stalls (with doors, not curtains! I'm a prude, I know). Each stall had rain shower heads, and great smelling products. There are lots of towels, and a ton of nice amenities at the sink. I wandered into the waiting room with some citrus water and was greeted by my therapist shortly after. She was soft spoken, friendly, and super professional. I signed up for a signature treatment that involved a macadamia nut honey scrub, detoxifying seaweed mask, and then I was wrapped up like a burrito for a warm body wrap. Then I soaked it all off in a private bubble bath, followed by an upgraded massage. I returned back to my room ready to take on anything my 2 year old could throw at me. Seriously, fantastic spa!
1985 Squaw Valley Road
Olympic Valley, California
reviewed on: November 11 2010
"Great lunch!"
We had lunch at The Fireside Pizza Company. Just like all the other establishments at Squaw, we were greeted by a hostess with the most-ess. She grabbed some cool flip puzzles, and seated us at a table where we could again park our stroller. All the boys ate their weight in pepperoni pizza and fried green beans. Totally, yum! I had a delectable pear/gorgonzola/arugula pizza, and did not share a single sip of my iced lemonade, either.
The Village at Squaw
Squaw Valley, California
reviewed on: November 11 2010
"OMG, yUm"
We walked in with a wiggling and whining tot, but the hostess didn't bat an eye. She sat us down at a great table that allowed us to park to the stroller said kid refused to sit in, handed the children menus and a fresh pack of markers. My kids LOVE markers. Crayons suck in their opinion, and probably because crayons don't leave permanent marks on skin, furniture, or the cat... In any case, we are here! We're in Squaw Valley, and we got ourselves settled into a fantastic suite apartment. We're at a restaurant, the kids are busy, and now the husband and I look at each-other and concur we're both in desperate need of a drink. Margarita's at 22 Bistro are yummy (we each had 2!).
