I stayed in ESA Sandy from 23 Feb to 11 Mar 2006. I was there to ski the 4 Cottonwood Canyon resorts (Alta, Brighton, Snowbird, Solitude). Because I was booked for 16 nights I got the weekly rate which was $260 including tax. I was on my own and had a room with one double bed.

At checkin a different rate was mentioned, since I didn't have my rate in writing and it was after 5pm the lady suggested we leave it till the next day. (I had it in an email which was on my laptop) The next afternoon we sorted it all out and I got the rate I'd been promised with no problems.

The room was a good size especially for a skier with lots of clothing needing to dry / air out each night as well as skis and boots. Having two tables was handy as I could leave my laptop set up on one and eat at the other. The kitchen contained a fullsize fridge/freezer, a two-element rangetop (i.e. no oven) and a microwave. This latter was a little inconvenient to use because it was below the benchtop.

In the kitchen cupboards there was a medium-size pan, a small-medium pot, a colander, and two of each type of dish plus two mugs and two tumblers. A can opener (which broke during my stay -- but was immediately replaced by the front desk), two knives suitable for medium-duty cutting jobs, two forks, one desert spoon (the front desk gave me a second one on request) and two teaspoons. I think there were a couple of blunter knives also but I didn't use those.

In short, everything I needed to put together simple cheap meals.

I enjoyed staying at the ESA Sandy very much and will definitely be staying there when I ski Utah again. The staff were always friendly and the hotel is in a great location (see below).

Since budget was very important to me, I used the ski bus system [--]. The bus stop is outside the Best Western next door to the ESA, very convenient.

For groceries I went to the Super Target which is less than a mile away, this is a full grocery store as well as a Target store. Everything you'd need including fresh fruit and veges.

There are about a dozen cheap and/or chain restaurants in the immediate vicinity (within a mile of ESA), so if you didn't want to cook you could still eat at a different place each night. Also within a 5 minute walk is a Subway which I used several times for lunches. I don't know about alcohol stores since I don't drink when I'm skiing.

For ski lift ticket discounts I walked 5 minutes to the Canyon Sports store [--], they sell lift ticket vouchers to just about every Utah skifield. For the Cottonwood resorts the discounts were around $5 per day each. You can buy the vouchers ahead of time, i.e. you don't have to buy them on the day you will use them. Very convenient.

The hotel rooms are serviced once a week -- this didn't bother me but if you like having your bed made for you and towels changed every day then perhaps staying somewhere a bit more expensive is a good idea. I wanted a place that was warm and secure and I got that and much more from the ESA Sandy. Even though I was there on my own, I was given four bathtowels, four handtowels and two facecloths each week. This was great because I did a fair amount of handwashing (of clothes) and it was good to have clean towels to lay things out on to dry.

One thing that I did find a bit annoying was the thinness of the walls and ceilings. The first week I was there I thought they must be quite thick because I didn't hear any of my neighbours. However, it turned out that the hotel was not full and the second week I had some noise problems. I never was bothered by the TV next door...but the person above me seemed to like using their spa bath at 4am!!!!

However overall I am delighted with ESA Sandy and will stay there again whenever I am in the area. For the downside of learning to ignore my upstairs neighbour I had a very well-priced room with everything I needed, perfectly located for skiing the Cottonwood canyons and self-catering without a car.