|
|
|
|
|
|
Latest Reviewed Products |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Get our FREE e-Newsletter |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Reviews: 2 |
| North Humberside |
|
  5 of 5, "THE best place i've been, ever ever ever." 31/12/2008 @ 17:46:20 |
|
|
| 1 member has given this review a rating of 4 of 5 |
|
| Price Paid |
| £674 |
|
| Booked Trip Through |
| Thomsons |
|
| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
|
| Review Detail |
When we booked to go to Breckenridge, we knew nothing about the place. We had a choice of there or Winter Park, which was over £100 & half the price for a lift pass, but we read the brochures & decided Breck was the better option. OH HOW WISELY WE CHOSE!!!!
We went late feb 08 & flew from Heathrow to Denver, or at least we were meant to, until we got to Heathrow in the morning & told us all flights were cancelled. So we queued for 5hrs to rebook a flight to Chicago then Chigago to Denver, which was an arse & meant we were alot later arriving than expected. But anyway that is all besides the point. From the first morning we were absolutely loving it, conditions were amazing, pistes groomed to perfection & hardly a person in sight! Seriously, it was that quiet. We stayed at The Beaver Run Resort, which has it's own quad chair lift up the mountain & is the main lift around, yet still no queues!!! You can board litterally to the back door too. The room we had was a 'deluxe suite' which was great, massive, but like most places over there only 2 big beds between 4 guys. We're all friends though so who cares?!
When we reached the top, we couldn't believe our luck. We'd had a good 8-10" overnight on the FIRST night, & felt spoilt rotten. Was very cold on the lift though, cue turtle-style head ducking into jacket & many 'oh my f**king god!' type sayings from all 4 of us. But then we had alot of powder to play with & not many people to share it with, so all was good. I remember about 5 out of 7 days they had to bring back out the piste bashers to flatten it down again as there was about 2-3 inches ON piste, & thats after they'd groomed it during the early hours.
So all in all, it was like this all but 1 day, which was when we went to Vail for the day. Now, a few people on here are bigging Vail up, making it out to be something special. It's not. We went to Vail 2 years previous to this & quite liked it, the town was lovely, all very clean but did'nt feel like a proper ski resort. The boarding was good i guess, but we were pretty much still learning then. When we went back there to go in the 'world famous' back bowls, i hated it. It was mega over crowded, moguls EVERYWHERE & hardly any snowboarders in sight. They may as well rename it ski-ville. Its pants.
Breckenridge has an old town charm about it & is very pleasent on the eye, it's very pretty. Loads of shops too & free busses anywhere you want to go, even miles away from Breck. Our hotel also had a free shuttle bus which you could ring up any time from about 7am to 12 midnight & they'd collect you or deliver you anywhere you wanted to go! Awesome. Restaurants galore too, especially Erics Bar, which i can't recommend enough.
Oh yes, i forgot to mention about the off piste area's. If you go all the way up to the top, & ride North America's highest chair lift, there is a vast expanse of nothing, apart from pure white soft snow. From the top lift you can ride or hike around as far as the eye can see & pick your line. All in all, i can't find 1 thing to compain about, apart from no matter what you do, you WILL be wide awake at 4am, on the dot, every single day. I don't know why, you just are. Other than that it is a perfect place to go snowboarding. |
|
| Strengths |
| Almost everything about the place. |
|
| Hot Spots |
The very top off piste area
Erics Bar
Rasta Pasta
The Old Dredge - $1 pints of Miller!! |
|
| Weaknesses |
| Early morning wake ups |
|
|
|
|
| Reviews: 2 |
| Greater Manchester |
|
| 5 of 5, "What a place. Wow!" 16/10/2008 @ 13:08:45 |
|
|
| 2 members have given this review an average rating of 4.5 of 5 |
|
| Price Paid |
| £1300 inc lift pass |
|
| Booked Trip Through |
| Inghams |
|
| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
|
| Review Detail |
This review will be brief but the message I want to pass on is simply go to this resort. It is simply amazing.
The only real ball ache is getting there. With Inghams you fly from Manchester to Atanta (9 hours) and then another 3 hours to Denver. But Delta airlines is quite a cool airline (better than Monarch) and the flight did not seem too bad. Also I think BA do a flight direct from Heathrow to Denver which cuts flight down to 11 hours which is a bit better. But the drawback is your boardbag may not make it with you.
Transfer from Denver is another 1.5 hours. So when you get there you are going mental. Actually on lost bagges, my missuses suitcase missed the Atlanta Denver flight which made us panic for a bit. However at 7.00am the next day a jolly American had it at our hotel. Brilliant!
The only other thing to consider is altitude. Denver itself is known as the mile high city, with Breck base at about 2,900 metres and the majority of the good runs around the 3,500 metres mark. Altitude sickness affects people in different ways. We heard storys of people being sick for the first few days, not having any energy etc but it almost is the luck of the draw.
I got the odd nose bleed in the morning. My missus got thirsty at night. Thats about it.
However if you get over the above it is well worth it.
The mountain is massive and split into a number of areas. There are numerous groomed runs which can take a good 15 to 20 mins from top to bottom. The parks are immense. The small parks are great to get used to small kickers, boxes and rails, but the medium park has endless rails, kickers, boxes and some other things that I have no clue of the name of but look like medievel implements of torture.
The one thing we really did love though is the snow. Put simply it chucked it down every day. 6 inches was the average meaning some mega off piste.
Due to the weather though a fair amount of time visibility was average. However the few blue sky days we got I was speechless. Only other thing is at that altitude the cold feels 10x worse. On a few of the windy days going up in the lifts was very painful. However to get over it just grab a hot drink every couple of hours and make the day last longer.
The Breck Pass allows you to get to A Basin and Keystone for free which are a free bus ride away. A - Basin is small but worth a go. Keystone seems to be quite skier orientated. Not much groomed piste but alot of snow. Still fun.
The Breck pass also covers you for Vail. For that you have to pay for a bus to take you there and back (about $30) but it is well worth it. I still cannot decide whether Vail is better for snowboarding than Breck as the day we went was towards the end of the holiday and I was shattered. The area is massive and you could easily spend at least 7 days there and still find new runs you have not done.
Turning to Breck town, it reminds me of places like Banff where there is a main street on which all the bars and restaurants are located. Plenty of top food and many bars serving great beer with pool tables and darts etc. Also a good number of snowboard shops.
We stayed at the Tannhauser Condos which I think is the cheapest accommodation in the Inghams brochure for Breck. They are spot on - in essence a 1 bed apartment right in the centre of Breck, about 5 mins walk to chair lift.
When compared with Vail (which is purpose built and mock swiss) Breck has an authentique and nicer feel to it. And probably food and beer prices are a hell of a lot cheaper. As such it would be feasible to stay in Breck and just pay the bus fare to do Vail if you want for a few days to get the best of both worlds.
So in summary go.
|
|
| Strengths |
Snow Snow Snow Snow.
Great town.
Ease of access to other resorts.
Big area to board.
Plenty of parks. |
|
| Hot Spots |
Downstairs at Erics - good food
Ullrs - Pool table and cheap beer. |
|
| Weaknesses |
Flight time
Altitude sickness - may not affect you too much though.
Can be bitterly cold esp if windy. |
|
| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Killington, Banff. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 4.5 of 5, "The place for eveyone" 28/01/2007 @ 12:44:40 |
|
|
| 2 members have given this review an average rating of 1.5 of 5 |
|
| Price Paid |
| £680 |
|
| Booked Trip Through |
| Thomson |
|
| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
|
| Review Detail |
| This resort is like stepping into heaven, when i first went onto the slopes you could see everything, you could see a park, you could see tree runs, you could see bowls and you could see every single level of run and the best part was that everyone was having fun. weither your a begginer or a profeesional this resort is ther place you want to be |
|
| Strengths |
| The Parks at this place are insane and they have an awsome and friendly board school, |
|
| Hot Spots |
| The gold king terrain park iis the allround intermediate park. |
|
| Weaknesses |
| It got quite busy sometimes. But who cares. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 3.5 of 5, "Agree Breck is tame - but Vail is the nuts" 23/01/2007 @ 21:39:01 |
|
|
| 3 members have given this review an average rating of 4.67 of 5 |
|
| Price Paid |
| £396 |
|
| Booked Trip Through |
| Crystal |
|
| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
|
| Review Detail |
Just come back from a week in Breckenridge which we booked last minnute through Crystal.
Got a ridiculously cheap price - which is mad seeing as there is loads more snow over in the states vs Europe at the mo'.
THE FLIGHT
Flew via Thomson Charter flight - and would defintely opt for the Premium seats.
This means that you get the kind of leg room you would be used to on long haul flights - vs the cattle class which are the standard seats. We got a deal on these - but they offer extra leg room, free drinks, better food, mini personal movie players and bigger head rests.
This makes the world of difference on a 10 hour flight. The extra leg room isn't massive - and it 6'4 - i still got cramp etc and the person infront of me crushing my legs whilst they reclined - which was nice.
THE TRANSFER
Only a 2 hour transfer weather dependent - so nothing too taxing.
THE ACCOMODATION
We stayed at the Breckenridge mountain lodge - which isn't the most luxurious hotel - and has the standard 2 double beds - but it serves your needs. Don't expect hot tubs and spas - but they are relatively clean and you get breakfast which is bagels toast etc - all the carbs you need really.
It is also only a 5 minute walk from the Quiksilver lift in Breck, as well as all the shops, bars and resturants.
That said other people stayed in the Beaver Run - which was supposedly more luxurious - and they paid more for it. Although it was really handy for the slopes - it was a real mission to get back to if you had been for a few drinks etc. They also had to share a room with only one double bed and some fold out bedsm which was classed as 4 person room - and was pretty poor really.
THE MOUNTAIN
I'd echo what other reviewers have said.
I would consider myself at the higher end of intermediate - and pretty much had covered the whole mountain after one/two days. there was some fresh snow which added to the overall experience - but although the runs are wide and great to snowboard on - they are over far too quickly - and you are back on another lift to go down another peak.
we took 2 trips out - one to Vail and one to Keystone.
Vail is excellent. Althoguh we had no powder to speak of- it is massive resort with some excellent runs and fantastic scenary. Feels more like a European resort with the usual excellent standard of service and cheap food etc you get in the states.
Keystone is a scaled down version of Vail but still offers a little variety vs Breck.
Defintely worth the trip - and again i would echo what a previous reviewer has said - perhaps stay in a cheaper resort/ town and drive around the various locations. You don't gain that much from staying in the actual resort as there is little apres ski - the yanks just don't seem to do it (or i am getting old!!)
THE RESORT
Quite nice to look at with a great variety of bars and resturants.
Food is cheap (especially if the exchange rate is good), excellent quality and you get loads of it.
Almost too much - i can put it away and even i struggled.
There was quite a lot of hardware when i was there - which was all current season -and practically half price vs the UK (exchange rate taking effect again).
Clothes are plentiful - again usually at least half the price of the UK.
I'd recommend a trip to Mountain Wave, Breeze (off Main ST near Main St Station), Big hit (just off Main St towards the bottom end of town) and Primo (Main St) for kit and hoodies etc.
If you are thinking of buying wait until you get out there - as it is cheaper and they have loads more choice.
|
|
| Strengths |
The snow and temperature - it was -30!!
Massive wide runs with trees all over the show
The lack of moodiness you get at some French resorts
Cheap food and kit
Short transfer time after long haul flight |
|
| Hot Spots |
Vail - the whole place rocks!
The bowls - on powder days they should really deliver
Kenosha - quality steaks |
|
| Weaknesses |
Altitude screws you up a bit - bloody nose and you get knackered quickly (remember - plenty of water!!!!)
Jet lag - you have to take it on the chin - but you do wake up at 3 in the morning
Relatively tame runs - but Vail and Keystone make up for this
Cost from the UK - we got a really good last minute deal - but if there are more of you - the price soon goes up |
|
| Similar Resorts Visited |
Would compare it to Zell am See - but it is pretty unique
Vail is similar to Val D'isere with long taxing runs and seemingly endless terrain |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 4 of 5, "Breckenridge, great place, but a little tame on the slopes" 12/04/2006 @ 13:45:16 |
|
|
| 2 members have given this review an average rating of 4 of 5 |
|
| Price Paid |
| £450 |
|
| Booked Trip Through |
| Iglu |
|
| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
|
| Review Detail |
Got a last minute deal here, and it was excellent value for money. Though I ain't ever gonna get on a Thomson charter plane ever again !
Slopeside it's a bit tamer than I thought it would be, doesn't have that steepness that you get in the Alps. I would say it has 4 peaks/ hills as opposed to mountains ! If your starting off your boarding career then this would be an excellent place to begin. The terrain is fairly kind with lots of blues. The pisted runs are often extremely wide and I like the fact you can pretty much go where you like so long as it's not outside the boundary. If you're a comptent boarder who enjoys tearing round the mountain then you'll have covered it all in a few days. The bowls are good but need powder if you're on a board otherwise they get a bit hard work. It's well worth a visit but after several days I was looking for something new and more challenging in the way or a run or two. The terrain park for those wanting 20ft kickers is excellent though is a bit far off what I'm capable of !
Was there during 'spring break' and apparently it was busy ! I thought it was quiet and the only time lifts got near a queue or runs crammed, was at the base lifts or at last knockings as everyone made their way home.
Good news is that the likes of Copper Mtn, Keystone, Vail etc are all within an hours drive and are certainly worth a day trip or two. If your doing a week in one place then go to Vail, it's in the next league up compared to Breck. Wish I could have done more than a day here ! If I went again I would hire a car, stay at somewhere like Frisco and then do a tour of all the resorts.
Breckenridge is a nice resort tho, the town is great and has some nice bars and restaurants. Also has a lot of clothing shops which sell clothes that all have Breckenridge plastered all over. |
|
| Strengths |
Well organised lifts, everyone's polite and friendly.
Not in any way crowded
Nice town
Watch the guys in the xpert terrain park, they're something else !
Excellent for the learner to early intermediate boarder |
|
| Weaknesses |
If there's no powder then a competent boarder will have covered the whole place in a few days.
Terrain is a little flat for your competent riders.
Board/ ski shops little low on hardware, mainly selling clothing. |
|
| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Vail, Keystone, Killington, Les Arc, Tignes, Meribel. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Featured Websites |
|
|
| More Mountain : Luxury Chalets in Morzine, France. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|