Colorado skiing 08: tips from frequent CO skiers

Colorado Slopes Vacation
Officially: 7 days to go to the start of vacation. Painfully waiting for more snow to fall in Glenwood Springs/Sunlight mountain resort. Common... what's going on.... it's Colorado after all.

Preparing to the trip we made a car reservation at Alamo. Being in CO a year earlier, we made sure to rent a 4-wheel drive SUV. The roads get icy quickly and you need to carry a lot of stuff - rental equipment and etc. Space comes in handy. When we arrived to Denver, we discovered that at at Alamo you can choose any car from the lot - neat feature. We picked Toyota Highlander, a great car with some useful for CO features.

We have arrived! So did the snow... plenty of it...

A night before checked in at Sunlight Mountain Inn (ok). The photo to the left is the panorama of the lobby. Here's the review.
+ located literally minutes away from the Sunlight Ski Resort, which makes skiing there very convenient. (the inn is about 4 hour drive from Denver)
+ good quality breakfast in the morning with variety
+ place nicely decorated for the Holidays
+ plenty of toys in the living room if traveling with kids, the TV is there as well
+ rooms clean except for flies here and there
- rustic to old style room decor
- no fridge, TV, microwave or hair dryer
-  difficult to control the temperature of water in the shower
Worth staying there only if you ski at the Sunlight Mountain Ski Resort.

First thing in the morning went skiing to Sunlight Mountain (double great)  - our favorite hidden treasure skiing destination two years in a row. Mountain is located 30 min drive from Glenwood Springs and is favored by the locals.
+ not a commercial place, more like a skiing area for locals
+++ (triple plus per my husband's request) you can drive all the way to the base of the mountain in your car and park it there for free. On the way back you can literally ski all the way to your car, which also makes eating snacks from the stash in the trunk easier
+ you can rent great equipment there cheap and then use for skiing in the other resorts (2 rental shops, one at the base of the mountain, second - in Glenwood Springs. choose the one at the mountain - much better quality of equipment)
+ trails are just great with most of them marked blue (a lot of black ones if you dare)
+ well groomed terrain
+ affordable ski school, ask for Larry as your trainer - he is the best
+ no crowds - you can easily be the first one leaving your trace on the groomed trail
- slow and old lifts - be prepared from the start
- food in the cafe is just bad, save yourself and bring your own

After a day of skiing drove to Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse (great)  in Glenwood Springs. Actually we drove to the Riviera Supper Club, but saw Juicy Lucy's first.
+ fantastic atmosphere - very cozy and warm
+ good menu with a variety of satisfying items (my pork with cider sauce and baked apple was just delicios) every item on the list seemed to be something that is just a good idea to eat after a day outside skiing
+ serve Fat Tire - great local beer
+ favored by locals
+ quick service
+ affordable for the quality and size of plates that you get (paid $65 for two with drinks)
-  tried just one desert - creme brule - but it was not good consistency
A side note: if possible make a reservation. We got lucky but the place got full quickly.
In general, highly recommend.

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