This past September, we took advantage of a glorious fall weekend to do a little staycation in Keystone., Colorado. We are frequently drawn to Keystone because the size and vibe feel “just right” and homey to us. There’s no hoity-toity-ness but there is a lot to see and do, year-round. In the course of planning, we found out about two unique options for lodging that we wanted to tell you about.
Reasons to visit Keystone:
There are things to do year-round, including festivals, concerts (we attended the last of the free Friday concerts with Sunday Bankers who were amazing), special events (we attended the last of the Distilled Speakers & Spirits series, Martinis & Macrame in which we learned to make a macramé craft and sampled spirits from The Family Jones Spirit House). There are also activities all around the Village for people to enjoy including yard games and a great, sprawling play area for kids. Check out things to do, lessons, lift tickets, year-round activities and more on their website.
We love going in the shoulder seasons because lodging prices are lower and options are more plentiful, there are far fewer people, and parking is a breeze. True, a lot of restaurants are closed for the season but there are still many open, from casual coffee spots to fine dining. We especially like Inxpot (a perfect place to curl up with a good book, coffee drinks, breakfast, and lunch), New Moon Cafe (for food all day and happy hour); Lime Mexican Cantina (lunch, dinner, and happy hour); The Crepe Stand (sweet and savory crepes from breakfast and into the evening). Dillon is also just seven miles down the road and everything’s open since they aren’t on a resort schedule.
Places to Stay in Keystone if you prefer a home-away-from-home:
Summit Cove Vacation Lodging, is a locally-owned, family-operated lodging company at Keystone Resort with about 350 varied properties. Depending on your needs, they can help you find options including a ski studio, all the way up to 6-bedroom luxury homes, and everything in between.
Checking in is easy and includes a Key to Keystone coupon book to use on area services and restaurants during your stay, and a loyalty discount for returning guests.
Knowing we were going to be attending an event at Warren Station and an outdoor concert, both in Keystone Village, Summit hosted us at a one-bedroom condo in a primo spot, at Dakota Lodge so that we could walk everywhere. There, stays include garage parking, 24/7 services, and a starter supply of things like dishwasher soap, paper towels, etc. to make using the kitchen (fully-stocked with pots, pans, utensils, dishware, etc.) ready to go if cooking is part of the plan.
The condo was comfortable, attractive, had a private balcony overlooking the Village, a stylish bathroom, and spacious kitchen. Our particular room faced east and watching the glowing sunrise from our cozy bed, coffee in hand, was dreamy!
Dakota Lodge had a beautiful pool and spa area with lots of seating and flowers. It’s a very attractive and inviting area. Those in first floor units can just walk right out the door for a swim.
Dakota Lodge’s location allowed us to walk to everything we needed in Keystone, from activities to shopping and restaurants, as well as just strolling around.
I appreciated that Summit Cove provided me with every detail I would need for our visit, which is not always the case with rental properties or hotels, which is frustrating.
To learn more about Summit Cove, visit their website, here. Take advantage of stays in the shoulder seasons when rates are reduced and you may have more options as to where to stay. Of course, during ski season, with more than 350 options, you’re perfectly likely to find just what you want, whether it’s for a quiet getaway or to hold a big gathering with family or friends.
Places to stay in Keystone if you like a hotel:
We found Keystone Lodge & Spa on Hotels.com and, happily used our accumulated “reward night” to stay here, except for the resort fee. Had we not had our reward night, it was still going to be quite reasonable, given that we were staying during shoulder season.
Owned and operated by Keystone Resorts, there were a lot of things to really like about this place. All rooms face the mountain so there’s always a great view. They have patios of different sizes, too and, due to the design of the place, lower floor rooms actually have the largest patios.
Our room overlooked the pool which, when I looked at the pictures on Hotels.com, made it look really large. I figured that was probably creative “real estate” photography but, sure enough, it really WAS large. There’s plenty of seating and hot tubs indoors and outdoors. You can even swim from inside to outside. The pool area has access to spa treatment rooms, sauna, and steam room.
There are three restaurants onsite. We had a delicious breakfast at their Edgewater Cafe (which is available to non-guests too) and sat on the terrace that overlooks the Keystone Resort 5-acre lake.
We finished our morning with a nice walk around that lake, on which you can do stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, and paddle boats June through September. Starting in late November through February, you can ice skate on it!
For winter activities in Keystone, click here . For summer and early fall activities, click here.
-Story and photos by In Good Taste Denver
Please note, we were hosted for our night at Summit Cove but paid for our other lodging and activities. As is our policy, being hosted does not influence our opinions and we always bring our readers our honest opinions. Also, the Hotels.com link is an Affiliate Link which means we may receive a small commission if you book through that link to help support our site. However, it does not change the pricing or availability for you.
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