Grand Timber or Grand Lodge at Peak 7

[jdunn1]

Hi Everyone. What timeshare is better, the Grand Timber Lodge or Grand Lodge at Peak 7. I have skied down to the lodge on peak 7 and thought it looked nicer than any timeshare I have ever seen and the pool looks amazing. But, it seems to be in the middle of nowhere. Also, are all the buildings connected so you do not have to walk outside to get to the pool from one building to another?

I might have skied by Grand Timber, definately saw signs for it and used that "C" chairlift. Looking at the pictures, Grand Timber looks very nice, but I had a reservation there for this past winter and went with the Marriott instead because the studio at the Marriott is a lot nicer and I wanted to be close to main street. I was not disapointed at all with the Marriott, even though it is a very dated resort.

For next winter, I am trying to decide on Grand Timber or Grand Lodge at Peak 7. The pool and game room and how new the Grand Lodge is makes me want to stay there over Grand Timber but I do not like how isolated the Grande Lodge is. I guess you could take the Gondola to town during the day, but at night, unless you drive into town, you are kind of stuck at the resort? There is probably a shuttle but I wonder how easy that is to use.

Is the Grand Timber too far from main street to make walking there not worth it. I've looked at google maps and unless I have missed a path or something, I don't see how you can walk from Grand Timber into town without cutting through yards and stuff like that.

So, I guess my question is if you had either resort to choose from, which one would you choose? Do you think the Marriott is better than the Grand Timber? I've read mixed reviews about the Grand timber and how hard it is to ski out of or into and how you have to walk outside from most building to get to the pools. Loved the Marriott, even if you do have to walk through a dirty garage to get from one building to the next, but at least it wasn't outside. The pool at the Marriott was the only slight disapointment. The pool was very large and nice enough, but it wasn't well heated and there was not much if any indoor section of the pool. Hot tubs were wonderful, but with a six year old, it would have been really nice to have a better pool, even if the Marriott had been heated better it would have been nice.

Thanks for your thoughts.

-Jim

 

[CoSkier]

Hi Jim,

I cannot speak for Grand Timber, I have never stayed there. I am an owner at GL7 and can answer a few of your questions regarding that property. Being at the base of peak 7 is incredibly convenient for skiing. We don't ski peak 7, we immediately head over to peak 8 - but that is very easy. We then ski down peak 7 at the end of the day.

We use the gondola to go into town all the time, piece of cake as long as it's still running. We then call the shuttle to pick us up. It's easy-peasy, just call the phone number and there they are. Granted, walking out your door and being on Main Street is nice, but for me, I prefer walking out my door, stepping into my skis and immediately getting in the lift line. The shuttle into town is easy and reliable.

The pool and hot tub area is fantastic, we use it all the time. My favorite part of the day is sipping my apres-ski cocktail in the hot tub, watching the skiers at the end of the day as the sun sets. The rest of the amenities are terrific as well (game room, spa, exercise room, ski lockers.) The rooms are also top notch. The buildings are all connected. Avoid the small 1 bedroom (suite, I think it's called) if possible, the master is much better.

My one and only complaint is the drinks at the lobby bar are expensive - so bring your own, and bring plastic cups for the pool/hot tub area.

Good luck in your selection, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[jdunn1]

Thank you for the information. And welcome to TUG. If I can get a one bedroom for this resort I will most likely take it, even though it would mean cancelling and getting a replacement week for my Marriott Mountain Valley trade. While I really like the Marriott, I think my six year old would just love the pool and water slide at Grande Lodge 7. Do they heat the water well? The Marriott did not heat their pool enough, I think their pool is just too big to get heated to 85 degrees, which is the temp it is supposed to be kept at.

Your resot looks so nice, I just was skeptical about being so far from Main Street and needing a shuttle all the time. On the flip side, walking down Main Street and back to the Marriott is pretty brutal once the sun goes down in February. Maybe getting picked-up by a bus is a better way to go, sometimes.

Glad to hear the buildings are all connected. That is my biggest problem with Grand Timber. Sure, it is much closer to town and the pools and hot tubs look fantastic (but no waterslide) but only two of the nine buildings have a pool and none of the buildings are connected so you have to walk outside to get to the pool unless you luck out and get a pool building. The Marriott doesn't have a fancy pool at all but at least you can walk to it from any building within the complex wihout having to brave the cold. The Marriott is connected by a parking garage. A somewhat ugly parking garage, but who really cares.

Thanks again, and welcome to TUG

Hi Jim,

I cannot speak for Grand Timber, I have never stayed there. I am an owner at GL7 and can answer a few of your questions regarding that property. Being at the base of peak 7 is incredibly convenient for skiing. We don't ski peak 7, we immediately head over to peak 8 - but that is very easy. We then ski down peak 7 at the end of the day.

We use the gondola to go into town all the time, piece of cake as long as it's still running. We then call the shuttle to pick us up. It's easy-peasy, just call the phone number and there they are. Granted, walking out your door and being on Main Street is nice, but for me, I prefer walking out my door, stepping into my skis and immediately getting in the lift line. The shuttle into town is easy and reliable.

The pool and hot tub area is fantastic, we use it all the time. My favorite part of the day is sipping my apres-ski cocktail in the hot tub, watching the skiers at the end of the day as the sun sets. The rest of the amenities are terrific as well (game room, spa, exercise room, ski lockers.) The rooms are also top notch. The buildings are all connected. Avoid the small 1 bedroom (suite, I think it's called) if possible, the master is much better.

My one and only complaint is the drinks at the lobby bar are expensive - so bring your own, and bring plastic cups for the pool/hot tub area.

Good luck in your selection, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[dougp26364]

We've stayed at both and actually bought an EOY unit at GL7 but, we're summer vacationers when it comes to Breckenridge.

Both resorts are very nice. Both have good onsite restaurants. Both have outstanding hot tubs. Neither has what I'd consider a great pool but, I like GL7's a little better. GL& has a nice slide for the kids and has a little nicer indoor pool area for the kids. GL7 has a very nice lobby, family game room and the restaurant has some nice views from 9,000 ft up on the mountain. GL7 has one building open and a second one under construction. It is built in such a way that you won't have to walk out in the cold to get to any of the resort amenities.

GTL is closer to town and all the the town of Breckenridge has to offer. Both have shuttle service into town. Being a newer resort, I feel the GL7 has slightly nicer units but, that's always up for debate. GTL has very nice units and, we have no complaints staying at GTL. In fact, we have a reservation at GTL for June of this year.

I think a lot just depends on what you want for a Breckenridge resort. I'm not sure you can go wrong with either resort. I know we enjoy both very much but, we prefer the location up on the mountain the GL7 offers vs the closer to town location of GTL. Location was the deciding factor in why we purchased at GL7 and weren't interest in ownership at GTL.

I have pictures of GL7 on our Smugmug page at http://dougp26364.smugmug.com/Trave...eak-7/19055776_QcpPzS#!i=1492688070&k=hwF8K5w if you want to view them. I also have pics of our stay at GTL but, I don't have access to the link from where I'm at now. I'll post the link to our GTL album sometime tomorrow if you want to view them.

 

[dougp26364]

Here's a link to our GTL photo album on Webshots from 2009.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/573473447imDylg

 

[Deb from NC]

Thanks for posting the great photos of Grand Timber Lodge! We have a trade into GTL for January 2013 and it's great to have an idea of where
we will be staying. One question..do all of the rooms have balconies?
Deb

 

[Dave*H]

The studios (lockoffs) do not have balconies. Only the main living space has a balcony.

 

[Deb from NC]

Thanks! We exchanged for a 2 bedroom, so sounds like we should
have one

 

[chalee94]

anyone know when GL7 will complete construction? i'm trying to decide between GL7 and timber lodge for next year...

 

[Downhill1]

Is GL7 a fractional ownership type property or a traditional timeshare? Looks very nice.

 

[dougp26364]

Is GL7 a fractional ownership type property or a traditional timeshare? Looks very nice.

Traditional timeshare.

 

[dougp26364]

anyone know when GL7 will complete construction? i'm trying to decide between GL7 and timber lodge for next year...

I believe the second (and supposedly last) building will be completed in two phases with the first phase to be completed sometime next summer. I've been given the dates but, it wasn't that important to me so I've not kept track of them. I'm not certain about the second phase of building two, assuming it is to be completed in two phases. I could be wrong about that.

I know that we're planning on reserveing for Sept. of 2013 and I have it stuck in my head that we'll have our choice of checking in on Saturday for buidling 1 or checking in on Sunday for building 2.