Northstar Lodge Hyatt/Welk

[loosefeet]

If I decide to fly into SFO how bad is the drive? I got a Sunday check in so I might spend the weekend in San Francisco and drive out on Sunday- I am assuming heading out on a Sunday should reduce the traffic issues.

Check into flying into Reno--only 40 minutes away. No easy shuttle, will need to rent a car. But, much easier. Another option is Sacramento--1 1/2 hours away. Both easier then going to OAK or SFO.

 

[klpca]

Check into flying into Reno--only 40 minutes away. No easy shuttle, will need to rent a car. But, much easier. Another option is Sacramento--1 1/2 hours away. Both easier then going to OAK or SFO.

I agree about flying in to Sacramento or Reno. In good weather, going over Donner Summit on the 80 from Sacramento is easy and really beautiful. Also, both airfare and car rentals seem to be reasonable out of Sacramento. In the winter you need to keep an eye on chain restrictions over the summit. Reno is a shorter drive and easier for driving in winter.

 

[Guitarmom]

If I decide to fly into SFO how bad is the drive? I got a Sunday check in so I might spend the weekend in San Francisco and drive out on Sunday- I am assuming heading out on a Sunday should reduce the traffic issues.

I lived in Sacramento for twenty years. Traffic is something you must take into account. One time we had to drive six hours to get from Sacramento to San Francisco; it can be as short as a 2.5 hour drive if the traffic is good and your foot is heavy. North Shore Tahoe is about 1.5 hours from Sacramento. The closest airport to Tahoe, by far, is Reno, Nevada.

If your goal is to spend some time in San Francisco, you'll be fine getting to Tahoe on a Sunday. But getting back to San Fran on a Sunday is ALWAYS stop and go. If you can book one-way flights, go to San Fran first, then leave from Reno.

 

[vacation dreaming]

I lived in Sacramento for twenty years. Traffic is something you must take into account. One time we had to drive six hours to get from Sacramento to San Francisco; it can be as short as a 2.5 hour drive if the traffic is good and your foot is heavy. North Shore Tahoe is about 1.5 hours from Sacramento. The closest airport to Tahoe, by far, is Reno, Nevada.

If your goal is to spend some time in San Francisco, you'll be fine getting to Tahoe on a Sunday. But getting back to San Fran on a Sunday is ALWAYS stop and go. If you can book one-way flights, go to San Fran first, then leave from Reno.

I was thinking fly into SFO, out of Reno. Thanks!!!

 

[tahoeJoe]

If I decide to fly into SFO how bad is the drive? I got a Sunday check in so I might spend the weekend in San Francisco and drive out on Sunday- I am assuming heading out on a Sunday should reduce the traffic issues.

Traffic from the Bat Area to Truckee could be challenging, even on Sundays. I would strongly recommend flying into Reno or Sacramento, both are much closer. Southwest and Alaska fly into both airports.

 

[boraxo]

Northstar Lodge is a very nice resort. It is nicer than Marriott Summit Watch, which I also own.
However, late March condition at Northstar will be hit and miss depending on weather.
It is a long walk to the Big Springs gondola, but next to the gondola that goes up to Ritz Carlton.
Northstar is pretty good for skiing but do not have expert tterrains. But its very good for blues runs, with a few black runs on the backside.

It is not a long walk. It's about the equivalent of 2 city blocks. Literally right across from the closest dropoff point for skiers. You cannot get any lodging that is closer unless you rent one of the overpriced village condo units.

Also conditions for 2023 will not be "hit or miss" as there is more than enough snow to ski thru May. Of course Northstar closes in April because Vail doesn't want to shell for employees after that, but Palisades fka Squaw will be open thru memorial day. Generally there is always plenty of snow in March. Thanksgiving however is dicey.

There are some great black runs on the top of the front side as well as the back side. My teen loves the tough stuff and he never gets bored at Northstar. It is light years better than anything back east and in the top 3 at Tahoe (Palisades and Heavenly being the other 2)..

I'm actually very stale on Northstar due to the crowds, traffic and parking, which have all massively deteriorated over the past decades. But you avoid 2/3 by stay at Welk and can also avoid the crowds by getting an early start.

 

[Mongoose]

This is a former Welk property. Marriott Vacations Worldwide purchased Welk in 2021 and rebranded it Hyatt Vacation Club. It isn't a former Hyatt Residence Club property.

HRC had inventory there prior to the purchase.

 

[PerryKing]

If I decide to fly into SFO how bad is the drive? I got a Sunday check in so I might spend the weekend in San Francisco and drive out on Sunday- I am assuming heading out on a Sunday should reduce the traffic issues.

You could so as an option take the Amtrak California Zepher to Northstar by getting off in Truckee CA and take the free county transportation buses, or Uber, to Northstar. I did that for a week just before ski season 2 years ago, mainly to check out the resort for a week. I was in the one and only Studio unit under the control of the Hyatt Resident club. (at that time)

Re: The California Zepher: from Emeryville CA to Chicago and Chicago to Emeryville CA (Oakland) runs every day. One can get on in San Francisco with a Amtrak bus ride first to catch the train in Emeryville) runs every day, leaves Emeryville around 9AM I think. Riding the train to NorthStar is one of the reasons I also went to Northstar. Boarding in Emeryville CA after a sea cruise and then at the end of the week I took the train from Truckee on to my home in Denver CO. All to complete my QUEST to stay in EVERY Hyatt Residence Club property.

 

[vacation dreaming]

You could so as an option take the Amtrak California Zepher to Northstar by getting off in Truckee CA and take the free county transportation buses, or Uber, to Northstar. I did that for a week just before ski season 2 years ago, mainly to check out the resort for a week. I was in the one and only Studio unit under the control of the Hyatt Resident club. (at that time)

Re: The California Zepher: from Emeryville CA to Chicago and Chicago to Emeryville CA (Oakland) runs every day. One can get on in San Francisco with an Amtrak bus ride first to catch the train in Emeryville) runs every day, leaves Emeryville around 9AM I think. Riding the train to NorthStar is one of the reasons I also went to Northstar. Boarding in Emeryville CA after a sea cruise and then at the end of the week I took the train from Truckee on to my home in Denver CO. All to complete my QUEST to stay in EVERY Hyatt Residence Club property.

Very interesting suggestion, I will look into it. Thanks.

 

[ivywag]

HRC had inventory there prior to the purchase.

HRC still has some inventory there.

 

[boraxo]

There is definitely inventory there because every time I stay at HHS the Northstar/Welk sales team calls me to do 3 night preview offers. We did a couple of them in the past decade but no interest now as we don't ski there anymore.

 

[PerryKing]

One could also just take the Amtrak California Zehper train: Round Trip from Reno to Truckee.

It's about and hour ride from Reno to Truckee and about an hour and a half on the way back, from Truckee to Reno.
Northstar is just a few miles from Truckee.

It Leaves Reno west bound between 8:25 AM and 8:37 AM and arrves arrives Truckee at 9:37AM.

Returns East bound to Reno from Truckee at 2:26 PM arriving Reno between 3:56 PM and 4:06PM .

All assuming it's on time, which it is NOT much of the time.

 

[vacation dreaming]

I am back to planning this trip and looking at flights. I can get a direct flight home out if Sacramento or fly out of Reno and connect. What would you do? How much traffic and weather should I consider in this decision? (Leaving on a Saturday, end of March)

 

[DAman]

I would opt for the Reno option. It’s closer and easier.

If checkout time is 10:00am there should be little traffic from Northstar to RNO.

As others expressed before in this thread the weather is changeable. We don’t know what it’s going to be at this point. I have seen chain controls in April.

I would be more concerned about a lack of snow on the mountain over the road conditions. It’s I80 most of the way to the airport. A major interstate that is well maintained.

I like the Northstar Lodge. It’s a very nice property. Northstar is fun for skiing. Have a fun trip.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

We're at Northstar right now.

My first impressions are that Hyatt is doing a better job than Welk was. The carpets in our unit and the hallways were clean. In fact Stanley Steamer was shampooing carpets in the hallway today. The wooden floors seem to have been refreshed.

There were a couple of things overlooked in our unit: (1) Bedroom alarm clock was dead, (2) conditioner container in shower was empty, and (3) Fireplace gas unit wouldn't work - - the knob was broken and (4) one TV didn't work because it was stuck on HDMI 3 and there was no signal on that. Engineering was in the area and showed me how to take a remote from another room to change to an HDMI channel that had signal. I consider all of these things pretty minor, but I also consider that most could have been avoided if the house keepers did a little QC.

There are six grills on the property. I used the 3 grills between bldgs 2 and 3. Of the 3, only 1 was useable. One had no grates and one had missing heat shields (meaning severe hot spots above the tube burners). I suppose that I could have cannibalized one grill to make the other work, but there was no one else out there and I had one grill that worked fine. Later, I checked out the other three and one was missing the grates. So, overall half didn't work. But for some reason, I don't think that very many people use the grills. So, it really didn't affect me.

Internet is solid. TV works fine. Weather is great.

 

[RunCat]

I would opt for the Reno option. It’s closer and easier.

If checkout time is 10:00am there should be little traffic from Northstar to RNO.

As others expressed before in this thread the weather is changeable. We don’t know what it’s going to be at this point. I have seen chain controls in April.

I would be more concerned about a lack of snow on the mountain over the road conditions. It’s I80 most of the way to the airport. A major interstate that is well maintained.

I like the Northstar Lodge. It’s a very nice property. Northstar is fun for skiing. Have a fun trip.

Completely agree on traveling via Reno. You will see more traffic on I80 between Sacramento and Truckee and the distance is longer. Plus, you will need to deal with Donner Pass.

 

[RunCat]

We're at Northstar right now.

My first impressions are that Hyatt is doing a better job than Welk was. The carpets in our unit and the hallways were clean. In fact Stanley Steamer was shampooing carpets in the hallway today. The wooden floors seem to have been refreshed.

There were a couple of things overlooked in our unit: (1) Bedroom alarm clock was dead, (2) conditioner container in shower was empty, and (3) Fireplace gas unit wouldn't work - - the knob was broken and (4) one TV didn't work because it was stuck on HDMI 3 and there was no signal on that. Engineering was in the area and showed me how to take a remote from another room to change to an HDMI channel that had signal. I consider all of these things pretty minor, but I also consider that most could have been avoided if the house keepers did a little QC.

There are six grills on the property. I used the 3 grills between bldgs 2 and 3. Of the 3, only 1 was useable. One had no grates and one had missing heat shields (meaning severe hot spots above the tube burners). I suppose that I could have cannibalized one grill to make the other work, but there was no one else out there and I had one grill that worked fine. Later, I checked out the other three and one was missing the grates. So, overall half didn't work. But for some reason, I don't think that very many people use the grills. So, it really didn't affect me.

Internet is solid. TV works fine. Weather is great.

I have seen similar issues at many other "Welk" properties. There seems to always be small things that are not working that require maintenance to fix. We were in Escondido a few years ago in an updated VOG unit. Tried to use the shower and it immediately started backing up. Called maintenance. They came out and discovered that the contractor had left a towel in the drain. (Towel was used to prevent debris from going into the sewer line). Not a huge deal but it was an annoyance.

 

[ScoopKona]

Just to clear things up, I did a long-range search through the HRC clubhouse site.

There are still Hyatt owners in Hyatt condos using the Hyatt system at Northstar. They were probably grandfathered in when Welk bought the place. And then grandfathered again when Marriott bought Hyatt and then bought Welk. As far as these owners are concerned, it's still Hyatt. More importantly, as far as other Hyatt owners are concerned, it's an easy internal trade.

I have seen nothing which tells me that this Hyatt/Welk "merger" is ever going to happen. Marriott (who now runs Hyatt timeshares), could make an announcement tomorrow and surprise us all. But I have a feeling they'll be content to let this weird takeover continue as is -- to nobody's real benefit -- until their Abound program is mature.

 

[vacation dreaming]

The Northstar property Hyatt side is more equivalent to Ritz Carlton, Vail or Aspen. In the Hyatt system, it is comparable to Hyatt Aspen or the Park Hyatt Beavercreek. It is a very nice property and you are very lucky to get it. It is ski in ski out but you need to be able to do Blue run. There is no comparison in Summit Watch and Northstar. As to end of season snow, it is variable so you would need to check the weather. There is no night ski there as compared to Park city.

Thanks everyone. We are back from Northstar and had a great trip. I agree the property was Ritz Carlton level finishes. It was ski in/out. It had access to the Ritz Carlton via free gondola for evening drinks and dinner. The little village was very quiet (not a bad thing in my opinion) and everything felt high end. My teen loved the black runs, he was not bored. Overall it was a great trip. The amount of snow they had recently certainly helped the skiing, but also hindered our travel home. We were not familiar driving before daylight on roads with chain requirements so we ended up delaying the flight home to be safe. Compared to my experiences with Park City, the area seems to be much more difficult to access with risk of snow storms making the roads challenging. That is my only knock on the property. Since it was so quiet at the end of ski season, I assume it is even quieter the rest of the year. We tend to cook and only go out for dinner a few nights, so we enjoy a higher end property and don’t mind the quiet feel of the village at night. To sum it up, we LOVED it! This was my first interval exchange.

 

[RunCat]

Thanks everyone. We are back from Northstar and had a great trip. I agree the property was Ritz Carlton level finishes. It was ski in/out. It had access to the Ritz Carlton via free gondola for evening drinks and dinner. The little village was very quiet (not a bad thing in my opinion) and everything felt high end. My teen loved the black runs, he was not bored. Overall it was a great trip. The amount of snow they had recently certainly helped the skiing, but also hindered our travel home. We were not familiar driving before daylight on roads with chain requirements so we ended up delaying the flight home to be safe. Compared to my experiences with Park City, the area seems to be much more difficult to access with risk of snow storms making the roads challenging. That is my only knock on the property. Since it was so quiet at the end of ski season, I assume it is even quieter the rest of the year. We tend to cook and only go out for dinner a few nights, so we enjoy a higher end property and don’t mind the quiet feel of the village at night. To sum it up, we LOVED it! This was my first interval exchange.

Glad that you had a great time. We are heading there for July 4th and then again for Thanksgiving. We were last there about 18 months ago so looking forward to returning.