Would you come to a world class ski resort in the summer?
Olympic Village Inn is a Wyndham Resort and useable through RCI for our Hilton Grand Vacation timeshare points. Generally one reserves this resort a week at a time, Sunday to Sunday, at a cost of about $300/night in resort points after taxes and fees.
OVI was built to house the 750 competing athletics in the 1960 Olympics. It was a dormitory, with four bunk beds per unit, a central corridor, and communal bathrooms/showers down the hall. Not exactly attractive to the ski tourists.
After the Olympics, the entire building was gutted to the wall frames, plumbing completely redone, with 87 one bedroom suites constructed.
We arrive in a summer thunderstorm, with late August rains coming down cats and dogs. OVI is at the very end of the Olympic Valley, past the Olympic Village, past the football sized parking lot, and past the overflow parking lot.
OVI is designed like a Swiss Chalet, with off white painted three story building, brown trim, and colorful flowers in the balcony boxes.
Close parking is scarce, and we are lucky to get a luggage carrier. Our parking space is 100 yards from our room. Single slow elevator next to the lobby in the center of the V shaped building, with stairs on the very ends of the building.
Our room is on the top third floor. Second and third floor units have entry doors on the outside corridor, next to the bedroom, and balconies on the inside facing the gardens.
First floor units have entry doors on the inside external patio facing the gardens, and balconies facing the outside parking lot. If you want convenience over privacy, get a first floor unit, but be prepared to have guests walking by on the public accessible patio, by your patio table and chairs.
August is hot, and the top floors are hotter than the first floor. No AC. We put a box fan in the front window, a second box fan in the open bedroom door, turn on the bedroom ceiling fan, walk past the bathroom, kitchen, and open up the door and windows in the living room facing the balcony, for cross ventilation the length of the 37 foot long, 375 square foot unit.
Our unit 317 is a renovated unit, with new wall paint, new wallpaper, new dressers, new kitchen cabinets, and new kitchen marble countertops. Kitchen comes with a half sink, two electric stove burners, 30" refrigerator, dishwasher, utensils, plates, pans, coffee maker, toaster, and turntable microwave.
No oven in the units, but sign up for communal oven in the clubhouse.
Two 40" cable flat screen TVs, so I can watch sports in the bedroom on the reclining chair, and the wife watch CNN in the living room on the fold out king bed sofa. Living room has a coffee table and foldable dining table. 4 people can stay, but they better be cozy together!
Strong continuous wifi, good enough to write this review in one sitting.
Narrow bathroom, not renovated, with tile design from the 1970s, and my knees touching the wall and the bathtub, while sitting on the toilet -probably designed for Europe!
Sink in hallway with large counter space, with 3 doors separating bedroom and living room and bathroom.
Balcony has table and two chairs, overlooking fountain in landscaped garden. Balcony sidings with vents in the wood have better visibility and more room than those with solid walls.
Housekeeping once a week to change the bed sheets, vacuum the rug, change the towels, and empty the garbage.
Next to no noise dampening in the walls, and you can hear loud voices amplified from the walls of the balcony across half the building.
Lobby has a communal pc with a printer for printing out tickets, and a discount card for nearby restaurants and rental activities.
Kudos to Teresa at the front desk for spending 15 minutes helping a computer programmer like myself get connected using windows 10.
Sunday they have afternoon tea, with cookies, and sodas. We eat and then take a dip in the 75' heated rectangular pool, and adjacent hot tub. Pool starts at 3.5' and deepens to 6', so no diving and no toddler wading -keeps out the riff raft who are prone to diarrhea!
Monday activity orientation with juice and pastries. Free bike rentals, scheduled yoga classes, scheduled lap swimming, and guided hike to Shirley Canyon and High Camp at the end of the gondola, 4.5 miles, but 2000 feet elevation gain -thanks but no thanks, as my 64 year gimpie knees can't take it!
12 miles from Highway 80 and Safeway in Truckee. 8 miles to Save Mart supermarket at the corner of 89 and 28 in Tahoe City. 11 minute walk to the Squaw Valley ski gondola during the winter season, and 12 minute walk to the restaurants and shops in Olympic Village. Doesn't get any better, even for those whose best skiing days are long gone! read more