The Cliff Lodge Snowbird: An Iconic Ski Lodge

6 min readMar 30, 2022

The Cliff Lodge at Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah offers ski-in/ski-out accommodation with views of Little Cottonwood Canyon and the ski slopes of Snowbird. With more than 500 rooms, three restaurants, a full-service spa, shops, two swimming pools, and ski rentals and lockers, The Cliff Lodge has all you need for a fun-filled winter vacation. The lodge, which originally opened in the early ’70s, underwent an expansion in 1986 and more recently received thirty-five million dollars in upgrades.

Hotel Amenities:

On-site ski/snowboard rentals
Ski/snowboard repair shop
Complimentary ski lockers
Exercise room
Resort-wide internet service
Room service
Concierge
State-licensed daycare facility
Full-service spa
Two restaurants: The Aerie and SeventyOne
Take-Out Coffee Shop/Bakery: The Atrium
Shopping: Sundries, Sporting Goods, Spa
Two swimming pools
Four hot tubs
Air conditioning

Rooms with a View at The Cliff Lodge

The accommodations at The Cliff Lodge range from a 360-square-foot bedroom to a 1960-square-foot two-bedroom suite. Snowbird also has other lodging options, including The Cliff Club, The Lodge at Snowbird, The Inn, and The Iron Blosam.

The Cliff Lodge rooms are decorated in warm tones with wooden headboards with inlaid artwork depicting the mountain scenery, leather seating, gold accent pieces. The room was clean and comfortable, but where our room was situated, we could hear the helicopter taking off early in the morning. Also, while I was staying there, daily housekeeping was not available. You could request extra towels and bath amenities.

Room Amenities:

Amenities vary depending on which accommodation you choose, but all include the following:

Small refrigerator
Television
Hairdryer
Iron/ironing board
Humidifier
Coffee maker

Dining at The Cliff Lodge

There are three main options for dining at The Cliff Lodge — all of which have amazing views of the mountain. For a grab-and-go breakfast or lunch, the The Atrium serves coffee drinks, pastries, and breakfast items, such as breakfast burritos. You might want to consider bringing your own breakfast if you want to hit the slopes in a hurry. We went to The Atrium for a “quick” coffee and pastry and the line was VERY long since it’s the only place to get grab-and-go breakfast in the hotel and there can be up to 2,000 guests staying at the hotel.

The newest restaurant, SevenyOne (named after the year the resort opened) has retro decor and a casual atmosphere with traditional comfort food, such as burgers, flatbreads, Mac and cheese, soups, salads, and dessert. This was a fun restaurant with good food, good views and an arcade nearby.

For a fine dining experience, head to the top floor for dinner at The Aerie. The menu focuses on local, seasonal and organic ingredients and an award-winning wine list. I loved dining here. It was the perfect spot for a date night. The food was delicious, the service was very attentive, the view was beautiful.

There is also a Cliff Sundries store for snacks, toiletries, and souvenirs.

Relax and Unwind at The Cliff Spa

After a hard day of skiing or snowboarding at Snowbird, head to The Cliff Spa for some much-needed pampering. Spa amenities includes a private heated rooftop pool and hot tub, yoga studio, fitness center, steam room, and relaxation area with lounge chairs overlooking the scenic mountain. Services offered include massage, facials, body scrubs and wraps, skin care, mani/pedis, and salon services. Unique to The Cliff Spa are mountain healing treatments and energy work, such as Reiki and Mountain Meditation. Try the Oxygen Infusion Facial for a refreshed look. The treatment is a revolutionary facial that provides the ultimate hydration via hyperbaric oxygen that delivers hyaluronic acid and vitamins A, C and E that dramatically lifts, tones and hydrates the face. I do have to mention that the public areas of the spa were not as relaxing as I had hoped. The lounge area was co-ed and crowded with no “quiet” area. The “private” pool was as crowded as the public one.

Ski Rentals and Gear at The Cliff Lodge

If you need to rent or store gear while staying at the lodge, head to Cliff Sports. Here you’ll be able to rent skis, poles, boots, snowboards, and helmets. If your gear needs adjusting, tuning or repairs, the staff can help you out. There is also a large retail shop in case you want to pick up a new ski jacket, goggles, beanie, gloves or need some sunscreen or souvenir stickers. Guests at The Cliff Lodge have access to complimentary ski lockers to stash your gear there overnight instead of lugging it up to your room. There are a LOT of ski lockers (more than 500). It can be tricky to find the locker with your room number on it. The numbering system is not intuitive. Lift tickets and season passes can be purchased at Snowbird ticket offices or online.

Especially for Families

The Cliff Lodge is a family-friendly lodge with plenty of amenities to help make your family vacation memorable.

Conneting rooms. Families can book rooms that connect to give parents some privacy.
Heated outdoor pool and hot tub
Smoothie machine at The Atrium
Toys, stuffed animals and snacks at Cliff Sundries
Babysitting Services so parents can enjoy a nice dinner out.
Ski school
Aerial Tram ride
Game room next to SeventyOne restaurant

Good To Know

Elevators: The elevators were VERY SLOW. We were staying on the third floor and most often took the stairs.
Long Walk: With more than 500 rooms, it can be a bit of a trek to get where you need to go in the hotel, whether its from your room to a restaurant, ski shop, or ski lockers. I also had a hard time trying to figure out how to get from the slopes back to where the ski lockers were.
Pool: The pool and hot tubs can be very crowded apres ski.

Skiing and Snowboarding at Snowbird

The world-class terrain at Snowbird can be challenging. Although there are runs for everyone, there are quite a bit of black diamonds. There are 14 lifts, including an Aerial Tram, 145 trails, and typically plenty of snow. A “must do” at Snowbird, for skiers and snowboarders who are intermediate level or above, is the Peruvian Tunnel. Skiers take a conveyor belt through the tunnel to get to the other side of the mountain. The one-of-a-kind tunnel is decorated with historic artifacts that tell the history of the area. Snowbird also offers Heli-skiing, cat skiing, and backcountry skiing. If you don’t know your way around the mountain, there are free guided tours offered by mountain hosts and rangers. For expert skiers looking for something challenging, try the Interconnect Tour where you’ll ski between and through up to six ski resorts in one day. Snowbird also has a Village at the base of the mountain with shops, restaurants, and rentals.