There are few resort experiences as unique as Sundance and few places that you can spend a few days that are as idyllic as this setting at Sundance. The branches of old growth firs brush the cabin’s windows. A year-round stream runs along the walls providing ambiance and natural air conditioning. It gurgles under an eating/barbecuing deck leading to an 8 person hot-tub, tucked back in the pines. Two bedrooms have private decks overlooking the stream. The cabin is airy inside with walls of windows; you feel like you’re living in the trees. The whole house has radiant heating so even on the snowiest days you can be barefoot in the forest. Curl up in front of the fireplace and watch TV or listen to music on a state-of-the-art theater sound system. In the years since we've been hosting visitors summer has become our most popular season and in 2018 we installed air conditioning in the house. We personally think the cool mountain air coming off a snowmelt stream is the best cooling system on the planet. But if you are staying inside on the handful of days each year when the temperature inside gets up to (gasp) 75, you can cool it off fast if you need to.
Cook a meal in a gourmet kitchen or on the Weber BBQ when you’re not in the mood to make the short walk through the woods to the great restaurants at Sundance.
We live and work nearby and will do anything we can to help you enjoy your stay
The Unique Benefits of this House: Live music nights at Sundance's Owl Bar when the fire is blazing in the back room. Sunday Brunch at the Foundry Grill - particularly on patio days when the weather is fine. Sunrise bike rides on the mountain when you're likely to catch a moose or deer at every turn. Sunset hikes back from Stewart Falls - two miles away through a high mountain meadow. Summer movie nights at the outdoor theater. Heavy snowfall days when our road is impassable for a couple hours and the hot tub is cranking. Snowshoeing on full-moon nights when the Nordic center opens the trails at night.
Why the Owner Chose Sundance: Our family bought this home to be our home. We lived here for a magnificent decade. But when our family outgrew the house we reluctantly moved nearby and hope that vacationers will enjoy the house as much as we have.
Things About Our House that may make a difference in your decision. We try to illustrate the house well with photos and descriptions but we are always sad when a guest arrives and realizes something about the house that they don't appreciate and that we cannot change. So, these are the only things we've every had someone say they wish they had realized before they arrived: 1) You will need to navigate stairs. There are five broad stone steps descending from the parking to the front door. And you must climb at least 12 steps to get to any of the bedrooms. 2) The house is fantastic for guest parties who are very comfortable sharing space.
The Space Generally: As you can see from the photos the house is very open and not particularly large at 1300 square feet - about the size of a nice townhome but to many people it feels larger because the center of the house is open from the ground to 40 feet up.That's how we offer so much light and views of the forest - light and views are not easy to achieve in the forest floor and in a canyon like ours.
We advertise the house as a 2 bedrooms that sleep 4-6. We have a small handful of guests say the photographs made the house seem bigger that it is. That's not an intent to deceive - that's a good real estate photographer using a good wide-angle view so you can see as much of the room and its features as possible. But in order to avoid any doubt, please read on and we will describe the size and scope of the rooms and the comfortable capabilities of the house.
Communal Eating and Drinking: The kitchen and the living space are contiguous. The kitchen is a tidy, extremely well-equipped food prep space with a small table that only can seat 4 people at the same time - the space you see in pictures is about 120 square feet from wall to wall - obviously the counters and table take up some of that square footage. There is a larger redwood table on the outside heated deck - only a few steps away - that easily accommodates with seating for 6 guests when the weather is conducive. The fact that it doesn't rain much in Utah and the cool evenings keep bugs to a minimum makes this a reality many guests enjoy - even in the winter when snow is piled all around - what better than a steaming cup of coffee when you can actually see the steam and perhaps be surrounded by falling snow? This deck has a ceiling about 18 feet above but is not enclosed on the sides.
Sleeping and Bathing: The Streamview (Master) Queen bedroom is entirely private (about 300 square feet and ensuite) with a private deck. A Twin daybed (2x twins) is on another level and can be made visually private by pulling a heavy tapestry across is not audially private (about 100 square feet). The Skybridge Queen bedroom is far above the rest of the house and also private (about 150 square feet).
The house is great for people who are comfortable with only being semi-private from each other. Basically all ingress and egress crosses through the open core of the house. So you're going to interact.
In Summary: Simultaneous dining is comfortable for 3-4 at a table but table dining is otherwise best enjoyed outside - where there is plenty of space and the BBQ grill. Denizens of the two Queen bedrooms have privacy behind doors but if the guest party requires the twin beds - those don't have much privacy - only visually. Our average guest party is typically about 3 guests and we've set the rent to be attractive to parties of 2-4 relative to the hotel rooms at the Sundance lodges. We only have parties of 6 in the house a few times a year - and typically they are parents and their kids. We are limited by the county to having no more than 6 people on site (not just staying overnight - anytime) at a time in any case. So no parties or events - you wouldn't be comfortable and I wouldn't blame the neighbors for challenging the legality anyway.
Our Winter (December - April) Disclaimer. People always ask if they need to rent a 4WD/AWD vehicle. The answer is "If you need to ask, then 'Yes'". Sundance is a ski resort. The roads are frequently - if not perpetually - snowy or icy in winter even with the best snow clearing. If you have a front drive vehicle with very good tires and are comfortable driving in snow you may be fine. The road to our home has two uphill climbs of about 100 yards. Not super steep. But if there's snow or ice on the road that's steep enough. And our lovely but thickly treed canyon doesn't allow the sun to have much chance to melt the snow so our strong advice is to arrive with the best tool for the job - 4WD. Another winter factor to keep in mind; During snowstorms, Utah Highway Patrol may close the main canyon road (the only way in to the Sundance Resort) to vehicles unless they can show that they are 4WD or have installed traction devices (chains, straps, steel studs). It has only happened once that we know of but it has happened that a guest went in to town and during their trip to town a snowstorm set in and when they came back they were prohibited from entering the canyon by UHP for a couple hours. Just had to sit there in the car and watch the snow fall.
