Affordable Colorado- Vail - Now Choose Life

Affordable Colorado may not sound possible, but it is. Affordable travel to Colorado resorts is possible with proper planning.

Let’s talk about Vail! Who doesn’t want to walk through Vail Village and soak up the beauty? Great restaurants, art galleries, novelty stores along the cobblestone streets all make for a great time.

We met friends in Vail for a quick getaway after we attended a wedding in Golden this past July. We love to travel with these friends who we like to call Fred and Ethel because they are great travel friends. They are extremely private people so I don’t share pictures of them or their identity, but we have a great time anywhere we go with them.

When I started looking for a place to stay in Vail, I couldn’t find a room under $750.00 a night, but I was persistent and finally found a great place to stay for a reasonable amount of money.

Lift House Lodge was a great place to stay and not break the bank. Located in Lionshead Village, Lift House Lodge is a wonderful location with great views of the mountains. Most of our meals were in Vail Village so we had a nice walk each way- sometimes in a cool rain which was so cozy. One thing to remember when visiting Colorado resorts in the summer is that many hotels/ Air BNBs do not have air conditioning. We were on the 4th floor of our building so during the day it got quite warm. We don’t have air conditioning at our house in New Mexico so I’m used to it, but it is something to check on if that will matter to you.

Lift House Lodge is as quaint as Mountain Chalet in Aspen. (see my post on staying in Aspen HERE.) Lift House Lodge suites have a small kitchen, living area with fire place, and separate bedroom area. It was great for the two of us!

Eating Out In Vail

We were at Fred and Ethel’s house several weeks before our trip, and Ethel and I made all of our major meal reservations. Even at three weeks out, some restaurants were booked. We still managed to find some great restaurants for dining. Eating out in nice restaurants is one of our favorite things to do when traveling.

Our favorite places that we were able to get into included Up The Creek, La Nonna, and Vintage. All of these are in Vail Village.

Up the Creek is right on the river and is basic Americana food, and it was all delicious. Fred and Dr. T ordered the bison and the elk. I tried the trout. We all loved what we got.

La Nonna was great Italian food. It was packed, but we were seated by a window and it almost felt like we were eating outside. Great food here too.

Vintage was my favorite place to eat! The ambiance was inviting and fun. We went for brunch and were seated outside- I could have stayed there all day! Ethel and I both love the sweet and the savory for brunch so we shared what we ordered. We got the Huckleberry Bacon French Toast as well as the Maryland Crab Benedict. Both dishes were as beautiful as they were flavorful!

We also walked through the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. I’m very thankful that Fred and Dr. T humor us with pretty much anything we come up with to do when we are together! It was a beautiful walk through lovely gardens.

The only negative that I have to say about Vail is that we had to drive to the trail head for a great hike. Everywhere else we stayed in Colorado this summer, we were able to park our car and walk everywhere we wanted to go. Not that having to drive to a trailhead is a negative, but that is the only negative I can even think of for Vail.

We’ve done a lot of hiking in all of the places we traveled in Colorado this summer. Let me take this opportunity to share my favorite hiking shoe. There is a Solomon store in Lionshead Village, and Dr. T even bought himself a pair because I love mine so much! My most recent pair of trail running shoes is the LA Pro 3D. I have run in a Solomon trail running shoe for years. I’ve lost count of how many pairs I’ve had. I even ran my New Orleans Marathon in Solomons. I highly recommend them!

Solomon Trail Running Shoe — Find Solomons HERE. Find LA Pro 3D HERE

Life After Loss

I do have one Life After Loss story from this trip. Years ago we went skiing in Beaver Creek with some great friends who have two boys who are good friends with my kids. My friend Pam and I have birthdays three days apart in January. We were there close to our birthdays so we told our families that all we wanted for our birthdays were to drive over to Vail for dinner one night.

That dinner is such a fun memory for me! It was a great meal with wonderful conversations with all the kids. So much fun and laughter. When we waked out of the restaurant, it had just started to snow. We felt like we were walking in a snow globe to get to our car. It was such a happy night.

I found that restaurant while we were walking around Vail. I had Dr. T take a picture of me in front so I could send it to Pam. She knew we were in Vail and I didn’t have to say a word about where I was. She just knew.

It didn’t make me sad to see it. It just brought a smile to my face to be there. I’m so thankful for good memories of days gone by. I’ve had such happy times, and I want to always remember them.