The Cliff Lodge and Spa

The spa was amazing, and I wish we'd had more time to enjoy it. We also ate at the seventyone, which has some great options. The hotel can feel like a maze on your first day, but the staff are friendly and helpful. There's direct access to the tram up to snowbird for skiing or snowboarding, which made it a great place for our family. We'll surely come back.

We used the hotel for a conference and a ski vacation, and the location worked perfectly for both. The room was spacious, comfortable, and well-appointed, with a Keurig and hotel-provided coffee. Staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful throughout our stay. A convenient and enjoyable hotel and conference center.

We'd been coming to The Cliff Lodge for over 25 years, and our timeshare stays used to be a family tradition where cousins got together and adults could catch up. This visit left all of us deflated. With 15 kids aged 1-12 and the adults, none of us wants to return to a place that holds so many memories. The pool was closed, and no one told us until reception handed over the keys. We'd picked our dates a year ahead, so we could have changed them if we'd been informed. The suggested alternative was the Inn pool, with a shuttle for up to six people. We walked the 15 minutes instead. That pool is about one-fifth the size of the Cliff Lodge pool, was dirty and full of bugs, and had no accessibility. We had to manage stairs with strollers and all the kids' things. Wheelchair access would have been impossible. We did our best to make it work for the kids. Spa access for timeshare owners was another hassle. We never knew whether to book or show up with our white cards, and got different answers each time. We called repeatedly to book but no one answered. When four of us showed up, the young man at the desk gave us attitude and made us feel awful for not booking, then reluctantly let us in. The spa pool was packed, with nowhere to sit and barely room in the water, since the other pool was closed. Over the next four days, family groups of no more than four took turns going, and each got the same attitude, except from one lovely guy. Reception and the Cliff Club bookings team kept passing responsibility back and forth, telling us to talk to the other department. We gave up because they didn't seem to care. Then checkout made things worse. We usually check out at 11am when we add rooms to our timeshare slot. Given all the runaround, we called that morning to ask for noon checkout, just one extra hour, which we've been allowed before. First the desk attendant said we had to be out by 10am, no exceptions. After putting us on hold, they said the middle room of our three could stay until noon, but the other two still had a firm 10am checkout. We rushed to pack and move everyone into the middle room. At 10, cleaners entered that room, which was supposed to be extended to noon. They apologized and left, and the cleaners weren't at fault, the front desk clearly hadn't passed on the extension. The pool closure and lack of coordination between the hotel and timeshare departments made us feel like an inconvenience. No one would take responsibility or try to help. They need to sort out customer service and communication.

We've stayed here many times, but the experience has slipped enough that we'll likely stop coming. We originally liked the Cliff for its closeness to Alta and its kid-friendly amenities. This time, getting back from skiing was a mess. We'd have to reach the outdoor shuttle stop 20-30 minutes early, then compete with dozens of guests for standing room on shuttles that were often late. At the end of the day, getting from Alta back to the hotel could take an hour because of how often the shuttles ran and how little room they had. The drivers were amazing and tried their best, but there simply wasn't enough space at busy times. Management told us to travel at a less busy time, which made it seem like they didn't care or were clueless. The hot chocolate for kids is meant to run from 3-5pm, but it repeatedly ran out at 4. With the long shuttle ride, our kids missed it. If you're skiing or boarding at Snowbird, or can put up with unreliable hotel amenities, it's an okay choice.