Home (Away) for the Holidays: A Tahoe winter wonderland

December 22, 2010 By

This friendly welcome greeted us at the door of our HomeAway rental.

Only two days into our Tahoe Holiday vacation, and we’re convinced: if you’re looking for a winter family getaway in the South Lake Tahoe area, you can’t do better than to rent a HomeAway property such as this one we’re currently enjoying near Twin Bridges. (It’s easy to rent the perfect vacation home at HomeAway.com!) Nestled in the snow right at the base of Sierra at Tahoe ski resort, this cozy vacation cabin has all the comforts of home in a high Sierra setting.

We arrived for our holiday week vacation amid a December snowstorm. The snow was piled to the upper deck in true Tahoe fashion, but inside, every amenity we could ask for awaited us, including wireless wifi, a full washer and dryer, a complete kitchen including dishwasher, all cutlery, dishware, and pots and pans, two full bathrooms (one with a tub/shower, one with a shower), and sleeping arrangements for up to 10 people.

How the home normally looks in winter…

…and the winter wonderland that awaited us this week!

And best of all for those of us wanting to get away from it all without any additional worry: the home has a generator for when the power goes out (and it has!) and snow removal plans for when the roads fill with that wonderful white stuff (which they have), all thanks to our home’s competent and detail-oriented owner, who works hand -in-hand with HomeAway to ensure every guest’s needs are cared for; everything, from extra linens to tupperware to emergency supplies, were stocked and ready for our arrival.

Who wouldn’t want to spend the holidays curled up with a good book here?

Our property’s efficient and modern kitchen, complete with many cozy touches!

The kids quickly claimed the upstairs loft with three beds, a bathroom, and a folding-bed/couch, and we settled into one of the two downstairs bedrooms with King beds. While I started dinner our first night (one of the many benefits of renting a vacation home is the ability to eat in your own home), the kids got busy on a snow fort and my husband checked out the game on TV (of which there are two).

Toby gets cozy by the fire after a long day of car travel.

The property’s location couldn’t be better: just yards from the entrance to Sierra-at-Tahoe, it’s also right down US-50 from a great snow park with sledding and snowshoeing, Echo Lake with hiking trails in the summer, and only 15 minutes from South Tahoe. We love that we’re only minutes from restaurants, ski resorts, and attractions, but feel completely and totally away from it all.

Outside our back door, fresh powder and woods are at the kids’ command, and down the quiet street, a lovely meadow beckons. We could easily spend our full week exploring and playing right at the property!

Nate pauses for a photo op while sculpting his fort!

Note: Obviously, this is snow country. If you rent a vacation home in this area, be prepared for winter driving, have emergency supplies on-hand, and if your stay coincides with a winter storm, plan to be flexible. Itineraries sometimes have to be adjusted, but that just means more time for hot cocoa! During our visit, snow removal has been slow-going at times, and the extra effort has to be made to shovel and de-ice, but with drifts as high as several feet, it’s to be expected!

Distance from the nearest interstate: Right off Hwy 50.

Weekly rates: $1000-$2500, depending on the season. Consider a spring or fall visit to explore Tahoe without the high price tag!

Dining options: Our home’s owner helpfully provided information on area grocery stores before our arrival, allowing us to shop en route to the house from the Sacramento area. We opted to buy most our groceries ahead of time and prepare meals, but South Tahoe has dozens of excellent restaurants to choose from.

Website: View this rental here.

Directions: From Sacramento, follow US Highway 50 past Echo Summit to Twin Bridges. (85 miles from I-5.)

As I disclose with all compensated reviews, HomeAway hosted us  for the majority of this review. While we greatly appreciate their hospitality, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review. Read all our articles in our Home (Away) for the Holidays series!

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Home (Away) for the Holidays: Dreaming of a White Christmas

December 6, 2010 By

The winter fun awaits at our HomeAway rental!

As mentioned in past installments of our Home (Away) for the Holidays series, Pit Stops for Kids is excited to team up with #1 vacation home rental company HomeAway to learn just how easy and affordable the vacation rental process can be. To this end, we’ll be spending the week of Christmas enjoying a HomeAway rental near beautiful South Tahoe, CA. According to our rental’s homeowner, we’re in for a very white Christmas!

Family travelers can find HomeAway rentals in nearly every major city and holiday hot-spot the world over, which means you’ll never miss out on all the action your vacation destination provides (although you might miss out on the noise and crowds in a hotel…sorry about that). Within only a 30 minute drive of our Twin Bridges rental in Tahoe, we’re looking forward to trying the following:

Ski and snow play at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort. Only four miles from our vacation home, Sierra-at-Tahoe is a family resort that puts its money where its mouth is…or rather your money where…oh, you get the idea: ticket prices are reasonable, allowing families to actually enjoy a day on the slopes together. Kid-friendly features abound, and their child programs include lessons the whole family can attend together. As a seasoned skiing family ourselves, we love their ‘Parent Predicament Ticket’, which allows two adults to share a pass if they’re ‘tag-teaming it’ with a little one.

Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at Adventure Mountain. Just park and play in the snow! Adventure Mountain is comprised of 40 acres of trails located on Echo Summit on Highway 50, and we can’t wait to use it as a base for some impromptu snow play!

Sierra-at-Tahoe, practically in our rental’s backyard!

Ice skating at Heavenly Village. Nothing quite says ‘winter wonderland’ like ice skating outdoors under twinkling snowflake-shaped lights, so count us in! And when we’re ready to warm up, there’s plenty of boutique shops to browse and eateries to enjoy.

A bird’s-eye view of Emerald Bay. HeliTahoe, based in South Tahoe, offers families the chance to gain a new perspective on Lake Tahoe…from a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter. We think this is a fantastic way to celebrate the breathtaking natural wonders of this area, and an experience families won’t soon forget. (At least, we won’t!)

World-class dining in South Tahoe. To be honest, we’re more interested in the term ‘quick and easy’ than ‘culinary masterpiece’ when we’re dining on vacation with kids (which is reason enough to appreciate the full kitchen in our rental), but Tahoe restaurants boast both. The South Shore is only minutes from our rental, and it’s not truly a vacation if I don’t get to skip doing dishes at least a few nights of the week!

Look for real-parent reviews on the above locations in the coming weeks, and catch up on past Home (Away) for the Holidays installments:

Home (Away) for the Holidays: Introducing an Alternative to Hotels
Home (Away) for the Holidays: The rental process made easy

Home (Away) for the Holidays: Introducing an Alternative to Hotels

November 4, 2010 By

Halloween is over, and for me and my family, that means one thing: the holiday travel season is upon us! Instead of staying home for the holidays, the Pit Stops family is excited to be reviewing >this beautiful HomeAway property near Lake Tahoe, CA during the week of Christmas, and can’t wait to share the experience with Pit Stops for Kids readers!

Does your family travel for the holidays? If so, where do you stay? With extended family, sharing a guest room or the living room couch? In a hotel room, cramped for space? I’ve done both, and needless-to-say, I’m looking forward to trying something different in vacation rental site HomeAway. I recommend checking it out if you, too, plan to travel this holiday season (or any time at all!).

Why rent a home for holiday travel?

It can be cheaper. Whether you find yourself on the road to visit family this holiday season or to get away from it all, you’ll probably want to stay in one location more than a day or so. Vacation homes are ideal for multi-night and weekly stays. I always look for one because my family of five usually requires two hotel rooms per night. Two rooms x seven nights = a hefty hotel charge on our hands! In contrast, most HomeAway rental properties rent weekly for less. And don’t forget about the cost of eating meals out: the price of your weekly rental property includes the built-in money-saver of your own kitchen!

It’s more relaxing. Cramped hotel rooms mean more noise, more kids underfoot (ok, the kids don’t multiply, but it sure feels like it!), and less sleep for everyone at night. In a rental property, we can spread out, cook our own food (or at least pour our own cereal…a savings in itself), do our own laundry, sleep in separate bedrooms…you get the idea. It’s more like home. And there’s a lot less of ‘get off of that!’, ‘stop that right this minute!’ and ‘So-in-so’s hogging the bathroom!’.

You’re given personalized attention. Forget a concierge. HomeAway rental properties offer something better: independent owners who know their properties (and locations) inside and out (quite literally). In the process of reserving my HomeAway property, I was put in immediate contact with the property owner, who was (and continues to be) an invaluable resource for me as I plan our vacation. She knows the community, the best local restaurants, and the most popular activities for kids. She’s been able to explain not only the trash pick-up schedule and how to work the thermostat, but where we should plan to ski and which local holiday celebrations are not to be missed.

You’re in good hands. HomeAway is the world leader of vacation home rentals, and with more than 425,000 rentals offered in 120 countries, travelers are bound to find an ideal property almost anywhere. In addition, by renting through HomeAway, you have the option of signing up for their first-of-its-kind Carefree Rental Guarantee, which provides up to $10,000 of payment protection.

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Stay tuned for our next Home (Away) for the Holidays segment and details on our HomeAway vacation rental experience this holiday season!