We take an annual snowboarding trip every year and spend $4K - $6K and treat ourselves to a necessary "unplugged" vacation. We don't mind paying a little extra to stay at nice places and visit nice locations - thus we chose to stay directly in Beaver Creek Village and paid a premium to stay in St. James Place. We even chose to pay for a 2-bedroom, since all the 1-bedrooms were booked at the time. Our trip length was for a 6-night stay.

We arrived, went through the gated check-in (both the village and the lodging are both gated acces). We got our room keys and made our way back into the "Private Residences" section. We opened the door and were greeted by bright sunshine and cars, buses, and trucks rolling by just a few feet outside the window/porch. Because the unit was actually slightly below ground level, we were looking at the wheels and door panels of the passing vehicles. Even with alll the doors/windows closed, the vibration and noise was clear.

(Aside from this issue, the room was absolutely gorgeous, high-end fit-out, appliances, decor, etc.)

We knew we'd have to keep the blinds closed to keep the visual distraction to a minimum and there would be no way to escape the noise, which would keep us up all night.

We immediately called the front desk and asked for another room. The evening-shift guys tried very hard to be helpful, but there were no 2-bedrooms available. We asked about 1 bedrooms and was told there'd be one available starting the next night, if we wouldn't mind changing rooms. We agreed and they said they'd leave a note for the next day's staff. They even agreed to move our bags during the day while we were on the slopes.

The next morning, on our way out to our first day on the slopes, we stopped by the front desk to let them know we put all our bags right by the front door. The person behind the counter started to apologize, said she hadn't seen the note from the night shift soon enough and granted the current occupants a late check-out. No big deal, we'd be on the slopes anyway, right? So we thought it was a done deal.

We come off the slopes and our bags are not moved, though the room is available. They had called my cell and left a vmail, but for some reason I never recieved it (until about 5 hours later). She just wanted to check with us, since the manager told her we would not be receiving the difference in room rate between a 2-bedroom and 1-bedroom unit. We already knew there were no other 2-bedrooms available and after a fitful night's sleep with the traffic literally just 10-feet outside the window, we knew we had to move.

The manager's justification for not providing ANY accommodation? She cited the 30-day refund policy as the reason she couldn't (wouldn't, really) make any adjustment. We still moved rooms and the subsequent 3rd floor room was on the interior and shielded from road noise. Making the move was quick and painless.

The new 1-bedroom unit was NOT in the "Private Residences" section and the room showed it - the appliances were several grades lower than in the other unit, the carpet a bit dingy, etc. So, now we're paying the same amount for a beautiful 2-bedroom unit that was in a crap location for a tired, dated 1-bedroom location in a fantastic location.

As mentioned in other reviews, this lodging is also on the exact opposite end of the village from where you need to go to get on the lifts. Next time, I'd stay in one of the closer lodging choices (there are several to choose from) and perhaps pick a brand-name (like the Park Hyatt).

Oh - one other tip - skip the Sunday night Wine & Cheese welcome session. Turns out they get everyone gathered and then subject you to sales pitches from various local vendors who want to address the whole room at once - so it's not really a time for socializing, meeting others, etc.