Hannah, the resident yellow lab, and her sidekick Buddha, a fiercely happy chihuahua, are the welcoming committee at the Hotel Frisco, a small boutique hotel on Main Street in our mountain town of Frisco, Colorado.  Mark and Mary Waldman, refugees from Silicon Valley California, are the inn keepers, and you will not find better hosts!   They and their staff happily share the secrets of Summit County, from the best snowshoe or hiking trails to restaurants with great food and reasonable prices. 

Don't you love this photo of Hannah and Buddha?  It is one of my all time favorites!

The Hotel's Main Street location means that their guests can just step out the door to all the Frisco events like the Barbeque Challenge and 'Vettes on the Rockies, not to mention the numerous Concerts and parties held in the town.  Last week, Little Feat was the band playing at Music on Main Street.

The hotel has 13 rooms, all with down duvets and high thread count sheets, just like the very best rooms in the very best hotels that cost much more money!   One of the 13 is actually a fully equipped, one bedroom apartment overlooking Main Street, and another is a two room suite.  All the rooms are decorated "mountain-style," and the hotel carries the mountain theme throughout the common areas with a library/office area in the loft and a two story river rock fireplace in the lobby.   The Hotel Frisco was probably the first place in town to have free wireless high speed internet connections when everyone else was still dialing up.  They have continued that commitment to technology, so doing a little business while you are vacationing is supremely easy. They even have a meeting room, for guests really dedicated to business, or for local groups to hold meetings.

Pets are welcome in two pet friendly rooms at the hotel with access to a doggie run and the back door.  On the hotel's website they have lots of photos of their four legged guests, and all look extremely happy to be there!  Hannah cozies up to them and turns them into her best friends. 

I am allergic to dogs, although I love being around them, and wish I weren't.  It doesn't bother me in small doses, but I often choose not to stay in a pet friendly place because I cannot sleep in a room that has housed dogs.  By having the dogs in two specific rooms only, pet allergic people don't have to worry about sneezing and wheezing and can still get a good night's sleep. 

I had fun reading some of the testimonials on their website.  Here are a few of the more memorable quotes:  "It is rare to find a hotel where the door is left open to you upon arrival and there is an honor system for sodas."   Hannah is mentioned too.  "Thanks for the hospitality, and pet Hannah's head for us."  
".....we found your hotel ideally situated to enjoy the outdoors in the summer. It has a warmth and friendliness lacking in Breckenridge or Vail and we felt as much as home as in our small southern hometown. In fact all of Frisco is inviting with good restaurants, excellent rafting service, nice people and a pride in place that is evidenced by the beautiful flowers and parks."   These people are absolutely right!  The flowers in the summer are awesome, and we have some fantastic restaurants.   Here is one more, from a guy from Switzerland:  "It has a very European feel about it, yet it is distinctly Colorado. How do you do that?"  They do seem to know how to do that!

As it is August as I write this, I have concentrated on summer, and I almost forgot to mention that the free bus stops across the street and down a block for Copper Mountain, and just down the street on the same side for Breckenridge.  Many of the guests mentioned what fun they had skiing at Copper and how easy it was to get there.  Copper Mountain is my favorite ski mountain, and the Town of Frisco and Copper have developed a good partnership in the last couple of years.  Mark and Mary know how to get the best deals on daily lift tickets, and discounted four day passes for Copper Mountain are usually available online in September and October.  After skiing, guests enjoy the hot tub on the deck outside, so you can see the hotel makes a wonderful ski lodge too.

Special News Flash!

An extra special scoop that I just found out about is that the Hotel Frisco was just voted "Best Lodging" for 2007 by the readers of the  Summit Daily News!  It has not been announced yet, so we have a little insider information that the rest of the world doesn't know yet.  Congratulations to Mark, Mary, and the wonderful staff of the Hotel Frisco!