2017-18 Winter Seasonal Rental

[MattGoose]

Hello All,

Long time member, mostly lurking around

As the title says - my family is looking into renting a ski condo for this upcoming window in the New England area.

My wife doesn't like the car, so we're looking at max 2.5 - 3 hours north of Boston. Loon, Waterville Valley, Attitash, etc. I'd like to stretch to Killington or Sunday River.

I'm looking for any experiences - good or bad - people have had. I know all of these ski areas, but only as a day tripper. I've spent a night or two here or there, but always on my own.

We have two small kids so having access to "other" stuff to do is a must. I know Killington has a bunch of other things to do, Sunday River not so much (at least a long time ago, not sure if anything has changed). Jay Peak would be great, but we can't routinely do that drive.

I'm struggling most right now where to find options. VRBO and AirBnB aren't very helpful. I can't figure out how to find the ones that include monthly rates without digging way in.

If anyone has any specific suggestions for places, I would like it to be either on the mountain or on a bus that goes straight to the mountain. Not going to deal with parking and two tiny tots. I'm hoping to be able to do this for $7-9k, total.

Thanks!

 

[tumbler]

I would look on local real estate websites at the areas you are interested in skiing at. Those sites are not going to give you seasonal rentals. Does the 7-9k include the utilities? Passes? For that budget you are not going to find anything ski in/off unless it is crap. I wouldn't dismiss driving to the hill and parking. You drop off the kids then go park the car.

 

[tumbler]

Edit: AirBnB and VRBO aren ot going to give you seasonal rentals.

 

[Jully]

Edit: AirBnB and VRBO aren ot going to give you seasonal rentals.

Airbnb could potentially give you one. Many people provide a monthly discount that can actually be on the cheaper side. Issue is they may not let you rent for 6 months straight. Craigs list also has seasonal rentals occasionally too. Local sites are going to be better though.

 

[MattGoose]

I would look on local real estate websites at the areas you are interested in skiing at. Those sites are not going to give you seasonal rentals. Does the 7-9k include the utilities? Passes? For that budget you are not going to find anything ski in/off unless it is crap. I wouldn't dismiss driving to the hill and parking. You drop off the kids then go park the car.

Budget is just for house and I understand that it is tight for ski in/out. Am open to using a bus.

No can do - kids are 2 and 4 and can't leave them alone. Will also plan on having on mountain storage for skis/boots/helmets.

Edit: AirBnB and VRBO aren ot going to give you seasonal rentals.

Airbnb could potentially give you one. Many people provide a monthly discount that can actually be on the cheaper side. Issue is they may not let you rent for 6 months straight. Craigs list also has seasonal rentals occasionally too. Local sites are going to be better though.

There are monthly rental options, but two issues. Still more than full seasonal ones and it's a pain to find them! I can't figure out how to restrict my search results so that I don't have to look at each one....

 

[Domeskier]

I guess you've priced it out and determined that it wouldn't be economical just to rent a nearby hotel room? That might make more sense if there's a chance your young ones would get tired of going up every weekend or whatever it takes to make a seasonal rental worthwhile.

 

[MattGoose]

I got an email notification that someone had asked about kids age and ski school.

My son will turn 5 in Jan '18 and my daughter 3 in April '18. And yes to ski school. Not sure how many will take a kid under 3, so will need to look at that. I can't do a damn thing to keep my daughter in the house even when its 10 degrees and blowing, so I want to get her out there!

 

[MattGoose]

I guess you've priced it out and determined that it wouldn't be economical just to rent a nearby hotel room? That might make more sense if there's a chance your young ones would get tired of going up every weekend or whatever it takes to make a seasonal rental worthwhile.

It is definitely a risk... But we have people that we can share with if need be.

There is also tremendous value to us to be able to leave all our crap up there and not schlep it back and forth every week!

 

[dlague]

I got an email notification that someone had asked about kids age and ski school.

My son will turn 5 in Jan '18 and my daughter 3 in April '18. And yes to ski school. Not sure how many will take a kid under 3, so will need to look at that. I can't do a damn thing to keep my daughter in the house even when its 10 degrees and blowing, so I want to get her out there!

I have never been able to find a mountain that took kids under 3 for lessons in any case - daycare yes. Good luck with that.

 

[Domeskier]

There is also tremendous value to us to be able to leave all our crap up there and not schlep it back and forth every week!

That's definitely true!

 

[MattGoose]

Smuggs starts kids at 2.5 in their half day program! Too far to run for us though.

I have never been able to find a mountain that took kids under 3 for lessons in any case - daycare yes. Good luck with that.

 

[dlague]

Smuggs starts kids at 2.5 in their half day program! Too far to run for us though.

That would hjave ben to far for us too. I tethered my kids at 2-2.5

 

[dlague]

Smuggs starts kids at 2.5 in their half day program! Too far to run for us though.

That would hjave ben to far for us too. I tethered my kids at 2-2.5. Then again - not like they are checking ID.

 

[HD333]

+1 on a seasonal locker rental, maybe even 2 lockers if you have a lot of gear, it can become a jigsaw puzzles with 4 sets of skis, etc....unless you go ski in/out, then your mudroom is your locker!!!

We have done seasonal rentals for a few years recently and have finally gone back to using our family place instead. I feel like we gave ourselves a raise as a result....

Ski in/out you will need to double your budget, at least.

We did Waterville for a year. Rentals/condos are on a shuttle route, but nothing is ski in/out there. For an idea $ wise we had a 2 bedroom, seasonal rent was $8k. Security deposit and utilities (pay as you go).
While there is a Village at WV it seems to shut down early and the food options stink. The mountain itself skis pretty small in my opinion. Après scene on the MT is ok. Only a couple of places in off WV property for dining and it is a hike down the access road.

We did Okemo ski in/out for a couple of years. Rent was basically double WV for a 2 bedroom plus security and utilities. ($3k utilities up front deposit) And we did not go high end, we focused on location. Higher end and you are into the $20k's. You get a lot more mountain at Okemo obviously. Ludlow has a great downtown area. Easy day trip to Killington.

Utilities are usually handled one of two ways, they get put in your name and you pay as you go or you give a sizable ($3k) deposit for the season and the agency pays it.

If you have a dog your options will decrease SIGNIFICANTLY, I called a realtor at Loon and they basically said don't bother.

We used WV Reality @ WV and Trails End @ Okemo. Wherever you go using the local real estate place is the way to go, you can rely on them if something goes wrong, and something will go wrong. You are probably hitting the sweat spot for showings right about now.

Good luck, heading away every weekend makes for some great family memories.



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[drjeff]

I have never been able to find a mountain that took kids under 3 for lessons in any case - daycare yes. Good luck with that.

Killington starts kids at 2 (or atleast they did when my kids were 2) with a mixed daycare/ski lesson program.

Best bet though is to check with Real estate agencies in the immediate area around where you're possibly thinking - they'll have a much better inventory knowledge, and also proximity to mountain/transportation options than most any online option

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[cdskier]

Local real estate offices are definitely where you'll find the best advice and most options. Just did a quick search at Sugarbush on one local agency (which I know is out of your driving range, but I know the area so know what I'm looking at when I see the results) and there were only 2 options in your price range (both on shuttle routes, neither ski-in/ski-out, and one only had 1 bedroom). Granted, right now it is early and more places will become available by late summer or in the fall, but I think your price point will be a bit of a challenge. Other areas closer to Boston would probably be a bit pricier, but some may also have more options so maybe more supply would help drive down prices a bit.

 

[Jully]

I would look at Attitash. Not specifically aware of prices, but it'll be cheaper than Loon, BW, and Sunday River. Plenty to do nearby in North Conway too.

Ski school MIGHT start at 3 too. I had 3.5 year old cousins get put in school there about 15 years ago during ASC era. Uncle might have lied and said they were 4 though.

 

[Zand]

You might want to look at Burke...a hair over 3 hours from Boston. I know it feels weird driving by 4 other resorts on the way there but that should bring prices down quite a bit.

 

[Boxtop Willie]

From a search standpoint, speaking as a landlord who rents out my house in Fayston VT (Sugarbush, MRG) for the season, I list it on Craigslist each year. Usually put the ad up mid-August, show it a lot Labor Day weekend and have a deposit in hand by Sept 15. I don't list earlier because there are too many tire kickers who are not ready to make a decision. The local realtors are also a good source, but that adds to the cost since their fee gets added into the rent. (and some double dip, charging the landlord a %% of the seasonal rent and charging the tenant a finders fee.) Some landlords also use the classifieds in the local paper but in my experience Craigslist is better. Tried VRBO and Airbnb but it was a disaster, difficult to communicate that it's a seasonal rental, too many people looking for long weekends. Good luck in your search. If you settle on a house, be careful of utilities. Heat can be really expensive, ask lots of questions, ask to see utility bill for January, if its electric heat in VT beware of Green Mountain Power...stupid expensive.

 

[skiur]

If your looking at Killington, check out the real estate section on kzone, will be a little slow now but come mid summer a lot of seasonal rentals and share houses are posted there.