Telluride has two places to sleep, and the choice shapes your whole trip: the historic town at the bottom of the box canyon, or Mountain Village up on the ski mountain at 9,545 feet. They're connected by a free gondola that runs until midnight, so neither choice locks you out of the other — but they are genuinely different experiences, and it's worth knowing which one fits before you book.
Staying in the town of Telluride
The town sits at 8,750 feet on the canyon floor, eight blocks of Victorian storefronts with waterfalls at the end of the street. Lodging in town means walking to restaurants, the historic bars, and Town Park — where Bluegrass and the summer festivals happen. In winter you're a gondola or chairlift ride from the slopes rather than on them.
Town suits travelers who want the nightlife and history at their doorstep and don't mind that rooms here are older, smaller, and — during festivals — the first to sell out.
Staying in Mountain Village
Mountain Village is the newer side: built around the ski resort's base, with true ski-in/ski-out lodging in winter and the bike park, golf course, and trail network out the door in summer. It's quieter at night, higher in elevation, and in many cases better value than an equivalent room in town.
The gondola is the equalizer. It's free, it runs from early morning until midnight, and it puts Colorado Avenue thirteen minutes from Mountain Village. You can have dinner in town every night of your stay and never park a car.
What kind of lodging is here
- Hotels and lodges — full-service properties with front desks, restaurants, pools, and someone to call when you can't get the fireplace lit. Mountain Lodge Telluride is in this category: 110 rooms and condos in timber-and-stone architecture on the ski run above Mountain Village, with a heated pool deck facing the San Miguel range and Alloy Bar & Kitchen downstairs.
- Condominiums — apartment-style with kitchens, common in both town and the Village. Good for families and longer stays. Many, like ours, are individually owned and hotel-run, so you get the kitchen and the daily housekeeping.
- Luxury log cabins — the sleeper category. Our cabins pair full kitchens and private hot tubs with cabin architecture that actually earns the word. If you're searching "colorado mountain cabins," this is that, at the top of a ski run.
- Vacation rentals — plentiful, variable, and no one is at a desk at midnight when the heat goes out. Worth it for big groups; know the trade.
When to book
Telluride is a small town with a big calendar. Festival weekends — Bluegrass in June, Film Festival over Labor Day, Blues & Brews in September — sell the entire valley out months ahead. Ski season peaks at Christmas, Presidents' Day week, and spring break. If your dates touch any of those, book lodging before you book anything else.
Shoulder seasons — late April through May, and October into early November — are the value windows. Fewer crowds, lower rates, and the same mountains.
Ski-in/ski-out, honestly
"Ski-in/ski-out" gets stretched in resort marketing everywhere. In Telluride, true slope-side lodging lives in Mountain Village. Mountain Lodge sits directly on the Double Cabins ski run — in winter you click in a few steps from the door and ski to the lifts. If slope access is the priority, stay on the mountain side of the gondola and ask exactly how far the snow is from the lobby. We like our answer.
The short version
Come for a festival and live on Colorado Avenue: stay in town. Come to ski, ride, hike, or bring a family that needs a pool and a kitchen: stay in Mountain Village. Either way the gondola gives you the other half for free.
Mountain Lodge Telluride is the basecamp version of Mountain Village lodging — lodge rooms, condominiums, and log cabins on the ski run, with the pool deck, the fire, and Alloy's kitchen waiting when you come down off the mountain. Check dates early; the good weekends go fast.
