We stayed in a two-bedroom suite last weekend and were surprised at the poor staff service at such a highly rated resort. Upon arrival, there was no valet available to check our car and bags. The front desk person bordered on rudeness. I spent a half day in the spa and though the treatments were of high quality, the front desk personnel were pretty unwelcoming. The women's relaxation room had an electric space heater placed next to a chair for warmth. At this "resort" one would expect a fireplace in the room. The place that was provided for a lunch in the spa was to the side of the front desk check-in area, complete with IKEA type plastic stackable chairs. The lobby area where local musicians perform in the evening is like a zoo. Upon returning from dinner one evening, there were small children taking up all of the sofas and chairs, and this was after 9:30 pm. Getting a drink in the lounge took over 30 minutes. The male concierge was asked by me to recommend a good restaurant in Vail for a Saturday night dinner. He then asked if he could make the reservation for us and I replied yes, and thank you. When we got to Vail, the restaurant did not have a reservation called in for us! Luckily the restaurant provided much better customer service than the resort and immediately put a table for us together. The following morning, which was our departure day, housekeeping rang our doorbell 3 times before 9 am asking us if we were ready to check out and seemed surprised that we were still in our room. I finally had to call housekeeping and remind them that check out is at noon and to please stop bothering us. We even had to call housekeeping two days in a row because in the late afternoon, we still didn't have service. A cracked glass sat in the bathroom for 4 days without replacement. We left before 10 am On the day of departure because we were so disappointed. So please, consider a different location. This resort is not in Beaver Creek. The staff needs to learn some customer service. Children seem to run up and down the hallways ringing doorbells to your room without parents supervising them. It is not a relaxing spa-like vacation. Go somewhere else.

I generally stay at Starwoods properties and there are two in Avon CO - a Sheraton and a Westin. I'll post this same review for both properties, having stayed at both a couple times with our family of four.

The Westin hotel is an off the charts great property for ski season. Incredibly convenient, great service, great lobby area, gondola to the mountain. The Seraton actually has a better room / suite layout for a family of four and is more economical (both room and extras).

Details:

Property. Westin is a resort. Spa, etc. Westin lobby is great. They have live entertainment in the evening (brother/sister acoustic singers were best!), little plate appetizers, fire place, tvs, etc. Very comfortable! Sheraton has nothing like that -- DVD rental kiosk with out of date movies in the lobby.

If you're going to ski Beaver Creek, Westin is amazing. You check your skis with the ski valet when you check in and boots in a locker area. In the morning come down to the locker and get your boots, put them on, grab a granola bar, walk outside and get your skis, then board the Westin gondola which brings you right to Beaver Creek. Makes you very spoiled! At the end of the day ski down "Leave the Beav" past the Ritz and take the Westin gondola down and the attendant meets you when you exit the gondola, takes your skis to storage. You walk over to check in your boots, and back up to the room. Very pampered life!

For Sheraton - at the start of the day you walk across the street and take the Avon bus (15 minute intervals) to the base of Beaver Creek. Not inconvenient. Same for return.

The Sheraton king suite rooms though are actually a bit more convenient (if less luxurious) for a family than the Westin. Nice king master . Nice pullout 2nd bed for the kids. Real kitchen for making lunch.

Sheraton includes free parking. Westin has about $50 per day in extra fees for resort charge and valet.

If you're going to ski just BC, the Westin is just an incredibly convenient, indulgent experience. If however you are an SPG points member for instance, and plan to ski Vail (since there are no starwoods in Vail), the Sheraton is a very good option too. Less expensive. Arguable better room for a family. Free parking. No resort fee. And the benefits of the Westin (like the gondola) are not important.

SUMMER NOTE: If you're staying in summer (which we've also done) note that the Sheraton has no A/C and contrary to popular belief, it actually gets HOT in July/August even in the Rockies.

Westin Riverfront is definitely one of our favorite hotels for ski vacations. This was our 3rd stay and it was just as wonderful as the first two. Great service from the start. Can't complain about location if you are here to ski. Gondola is right outside the door and ski valet is available next to the gondola. Doesn't get any easier than this. The standard room is not huge but comfortable for 2 people. Got upgraded to a larger room this time with small kitchen area. Great for days where you want to eat-in. Looking forward to return already.

This resort was a great place to stay with the whole family. With 11 people in our group, we stayed in the 3 bedroom suite with an additional master suite added. We had room for everyone!! The view was beautiful, the kitchen was fully equipped and the staff was very helpful.