Keystone Resort - Springs Condo Review and River Run Village

*This is part of a series on Keystone in winter. For more posts in the series, see links at the bottom.*

When we were at Keystone, we stayed at the Springs, one of many condo units at the resort. There are lots of advantages to staying on site, of course, including parking, close proximity to the lifts, close proximity to the hot tubs, and kids skiing free - ages 12 and under.

The Springs #8876

So this was our Springs condo.
I think they're all individually owned and rented out. You can book your condo directly through Keystone, or also through sites like VRBO.com. We've used VRBO (vacation rental by owner) many times before. You can see what your condo looks like in the pictures.

The two bedroom condo had two bathrooms, a kitchen with dishes (microwave, dishwasher, oven), as well as a safe, toiletries and blow dryer. There was no daily maid service, though I believe you can call for additional towels if needed. The couch can be made into a bed, so technically it slept six. We didn't see the washer and dryer, but apparently there is one in the building. There was not a washer and dryer available in the condo.

The lobby area was lovely, with a waterfall, fire place, newspapers, and some other rooms. Those included a media room with comfie chairs. I didn't look to see what movies were there. There's a small kids' play area, a pool table, an exercise room, bathroom and steam room. They also have a dedicated ski locker (with lock) for each condo, in the P2 parking area. You'll need your room key to enter, and you can lock up your skis at night, and maybe leave your comfortable boots there during the day. there wasn't enough room to put in skis and boots - at least more than two sets. They have a bench to adjust your bindings, along with some screwdrivers as well. Outside you can find wagons to move your skis between the building and the ski area.

The best part, though, was the hot tubs outside. You'll find a family hot tub, an adult hot tub and a heated pool with slide. My kids still thought the pool was too cold for them, but my daughter liked the hot tub. There was an additional small pool with a water fall - I'm not sure if it was a cold plunge. Though there was a family hot tub, I did see a large group of 20 something men in there one afternoon, with a case of beer. Not so family friendly! They have towels inside and outside for you to use, so you don't have to use your bath towels. In the evenings, they have a gel fire going outside, and you can enter the building from the spa area, which was easier than entering from the front.

The building was a few minute walk to the edge of the River Run Village area. Wearing ski boots, it seemed much longer. It was a few minute walk to the River Run gondola as well. You can also store your skis at the gondola base for $5/night.

You'll see ice sculptures everywhere at the resort. Several of these, including the train (lower left corner) were at the River Run Village - and it's longer than what you see here. They had the happy new year one there too. At the Lakeside Village, they had an entire Santa's sleigh and reindeer sculpture, which was incredible.

The River Run Village was adorable, with all the things you'd expect of a ski village, including an outdoor fire pit where we saw people hanging during the day and evening. Lots of restaurants and shopping, including pizza, bar, beer, clothing, a grocery store, Starbuck's, some other restaurants, real estate office, and more. On Saturday afternoons at 4, you'll see a parade come through the center of the village.

We ate at the Kickapoo Tavern one night, enjoying salads, burgers and beers. The Pizza at the Plaza was good too, and you can't avoid the pizza smell when walking outside there - it will draw you in! We picked up a few things at the grocery store in the village, which was very pricey ($6 for a small microwaveable pizza), but it's ski village pricing.

Keystone has other sections to stay in as well. I didn't explore those.

Coming up in the series:
Camp Keystone - and skiing at Keystone
Kidtopia at Keystone
Keystone for nonskiers
How to pack for a ski trip if you fly

Disclosure: Keystone hosted us on this trip. As always, all opinions are my own.