Wonderful location,nice eucaluptus steam room,spotless rooms,good happy hour!!

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Ice House Lodge for five nights and we can’t say enough good things about our experience there. The accommodations (Suite 303) were just what we were looking for—extremely clean, comfortable, spacious, ambient, and a terrific location (one block to the chairlift & gondola). Each day we looked forward to having a drink (or two!) in Rico’s bar, which was steps from our door on the third floor. We found Rico to be the kind of guy that can bring a room full of strangers together and make them feel like old friends before the evening is over. His bulldog, Belle, was a great source of amusement for us, too. Rico and Belle are perfect ambassadors to the town. I recommend a visit to Rico’s even if you are not a guest of the hotel. The continental breakfast, served each morning, was all we needed for morning fuel—bagels, cereal, juice, donuts, and yogurt. Ryan, the reservations manager, was extremely accommodating, as was the rest of the front desk staff. I can’t wait to get back to Telluride and we will definitely stay at the Ice House again. The town of Telluride is incredibly beautiful and it is definitely a dog town, which suited me perfectly. The restaurants in town are very expensive, which we expected but service & food were hit or miss. I would have expected friendlier service from the lucky people who get to live in Telluride but most (but not all!) servers and store clerks really did not go out of their way to engage, some were downright rude. I live in a ski town in Vermont and find the same to be true there--I just don’t get it. We did find the employees of the ski resort to be much friendlier.

One of the best assets of this property is its location, which is about a 3-minute walk (in ski boots) to the Gondola. The room we stayed in was clean, and more than adequate given that we used it basically to sleep and shower. A little more shelving in the bathroom and an additional dresser would have been useful. Continental breakfast was surprisingly well varied: bagels and toast, doughnuts, a variety of cereals, and fresh fruit were all available along with juices and coffee. Complimentary cheese and crackers are available at the end of the ski day. The steam room and hot tub is a very quick walk over to the adjacent property. The hot tub could have been hotter. It's a short walking distance to the restaurants, which vary from your basic bar/grill to high-end bistros. Overall, this is quite a good place to stay.

Pros: First time to ski in Telluride, booked site unseen. Great price for single king. Arrived, location at best one block from the main Gondola, easy walk. Close to restaurants, ski rental, and spa. The room was a little plain but comfortable. The misses loved the Aveda products in the bathroom, I liked the flat screen TV on the wall. Friday and Saturday evenings, small bar on third floor, nice guy named Rico there for like 20 years, has a english bulldog with him the whole town knows. Nice relaxing conversation. The pool was small, no laps there but there is an indoor hot tub and steam room...you do have to walk outside about 20 feet under an awning to get to it...but it was no big deal. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The town was "cute" and all of the people seemed cool. The ski area employees were impressive. Cons: The room heat was a tad confusing and the water temp fluctuated a bit in the shower at times, parking was a little tricky and they make you stow your skiis in a locker on the ground floor, typical ski town..food, rentals and lift tix were pricy. I will say again, for the money, great place to stay. If I am ever back in Telluride, I will surely stay here again.