WEplusTHREE… or more presents Staycation Salvation (Part II). In the second part of this series, we explore more fun winter activities and services at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville, New York.
So, on my mission to embrace the winter season, I promised the family we would go on a ski holiday, something I knew the kids would enjoy but wasn’t sure I’d really be up to. Continuing on our last post about our adventure getaway at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville, New York., I wanted to share some of the great experiences and places we found while we were there.
I can truly say we experienced it all since we arrived on a regular winter day, followed by a warm and rainy day, and woke up the third morning to six inches of snow on our balcony and a blizzard. It was crazy weather for sure, but it did not dampen any of our plans or limit our adventures.
Not knowing what to expect, I started with the resort’s website (www.holidayvalley.com) and found ample options for accommodations, skiing and snowboarding, tubing, a mountain coaster (YES!! A variation of a roller coaster on the mountain) and LOTS of recreational activities. They have festivals and events year round, with their Mardi Gras Festival ranking as one of their best.
Having just celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011, Holiday Valley offers:
1. Slopes galore! 58 slopes, 13 lifts, mostly high-speed, and ample cross-country trails across 4 mountains. There are slopes geared to every level of experience that intersect. As a more novice skier, I was able to take the same lifts up as my dare-devil kids and ski an alternative route yet end up at junctions along the hill where we were able to meet with the kids without any of us forgoing the fun and enjoyment. And it allowed me to stay in one piece!
2. All Ages Skiing Lessons. They have a Snowsports School that offers ski lessons which I would recommend to anyone on their first ski of the season. If your children are young, and you need some time to learn on your own, they even offer an interactive day care for kids of all ages.
Tubing park for the whole family!
3. Adventure and Relaxation. Rest stops and warming huts abound at the top of every lift to warm up, picnic in, or even have a small gathering for Sunday worship. Even if you’re not a great skier, there are lots of fun activities from the tubing park, expansive cross country trails, and three different chalets across the base of the hill to let you rest and restore.
4. Family Friendly Lodging. As a family of 5, we wanted a room that would accommodate all of us and include a kitchenette in order to save some money and eat out as we felt like it. Ashley, the Front Desk Manager at the Tamarack Club, was an incredible help getting us set up in the right room for what we needed. We opted for a one bedroom suite. It was clean, roomy, with lots of storage space, a fireplace and offered up a separate bedroom via an adjoining room. The kids’ favorite part was the Murphy Bed hidden elegantly into the wall, leaving ample room for their stuffies, toys, and gear.
5. Spa Treatments. A nice added touch was the Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries — if you want to get to a mom’s heart, just perk up the toiletries and offer a spa. As it was my husband’s birthday coming up, what better gift than a message to sooth his aching muscles at the Falling Waters Spa, located on site in the Tamarack Club? And yes, he really did get a message, and he loved it! Thanks to Vanessa for arranging all that.
6. Overnight Equipment Storage. Another bonus was the ski check in the hotel that allowed us to drop off our skis and gear to be stored overnight in secured room, relieving us of the wet and cumbersome gear we’d have had to haul and store in our room.
7. Outdoor and Indoor Pools. For après ski, there is a nice warm pool that extends outdoors, along with a sauna and two hot tubs – yes two! One for the kids that is kept at a lower temperature, and one for the adults. Even on a drizzly evening, it was misty and magical. The kids loved going for dips between the three pools and, despite all the different age groups and backgrounds, everyone we met was friendly, polite and, well, just fun.
8. Plenty of Options for Dining. While we expected to eat out, we ended up eating in most of the time. There is a Tops Friendly market about 1 mile down the road in the middle of the village to buy groceries at. While it was small, it offered everything we needed, but seemed quite a bit pricier that most grocery stores, allowing for the fact that it’s in a touristy town. One tip for future trips would be to shop at a local grocery store just outside of these tourist towns, as they are often found right off the highway (we found another Tops just outside of town about 10 miles out that was priced more reasonably).
If you do decide to eat out, there were a few places that everyone seemed to recommend:
- EBC – The Ellicottville Brewing Company where they actually brew the beers on-site in an open area within the restaurant for all to see. Watch the brew masters at work and sample beers ranging from Chocolate Cherry, Blueberry, to EVL! The kids loved their bottled Root Beer and Shirley Temples.
- John Harvard’s – Located in the Tamarack Club featuring fare that the John Harvard, founder of Harvard University, brought recipes for from his native England in the early 1800’s
- Gin Mill – This bar and entertainment lounge offers up live music most evenings and a games room for kids and adults alike in the back. Great food. Best to leave around 8 PM if you’re with the kids.
- Tips Up – This higher-end restaurant offers a more elegant atmosphere and some fantastic cuisine for that special night out.
- Dina’s – Great for breakfast, or who’s kidding who, brunch.
Overall, we did not find our staycation in New York to be expensive. Everything was so reasonably priced. Even the commissary downstairs, offering snacks and toiletries, was well priced – ice cream bars were $1.25, a tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream was $4.50, and chocolate bars were $1.25. They had a games room that offered 50 cent to 75 cent arcade games that the kids thoroughly enjoyed.
The best deals can be found if you stay mid-week. They offer free lodging and lift tickets for two kids 17 and under. Now that is a great deal!
Thank you to Jane Eshbaugh and all the wonderful staff at Holiday Valley for making this one of our most memorable trips yet!
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Do you have tips about your staycation in Ellicottville, New York, or are you planning a trip there soon? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
You can find some discounts on lift tickets at www.holidayvalley.com/tickets. To get even better deals you can register for their e-newsletter to get last-minute deals and great discounts and promos all year round : http://www.holidayvalley.com/HolidayValley/info/tamarack-club.aspx. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and after you register your e-mail address, select “year-round last minute club.”
For more Tips and Ideas from WEplusTHREE…or more, go to: http://www.rwspeakboutique.com/blog/
Watch for another Staycation Salvation in Port Credit, ON coming February 9th!
Related:
Staycation Salvation: Embracing the Winter in Ellicottville, N.Y. (Part I)
Staycation Salvation – Surviving The winter blahs by exploring Winter Ah’s!
Family Fun in Ontario: Now vacations often are for getting away with the family
Rania, great recognition for Holiday Valley – our favourite family place in the winter! It indeed offers awesome, picturesque skiing (better snow than southern Ontario and very little line ups), and a family friendly atmosphere. A lot of people even plug in their crock-pots in the chalets to have a warm cooked lunch near the fireplace! Thanks for writing about it!
How interesting. Thank you!