OK so after our trip a few weeks back I'm totally hooked and need another trip down to the snow before it all melts. What do people think is the best budget accomodation in Thredbo? I see you can share at the YHA for about $65 a night, but what else is around?
I dunno about NSW, but in Victoria and TasMania many club lodges accept bookings from members of the public. Club lodges range from very flash and expensive to rather "agricultural", so if you look for cheap club lodge accommodation in a hotel booking aggregation website, you may find something that's affordable. Take note of the lodge and then contact the lodge directly yourself. You may get a better price as they won't have to pay the 12% or so commission to the aggregation website.
Hey I don't mind "agricultural"! I've spent a lot of time in the bush over the years. Thanks for the tip!
YHA Membership isn't too expensive. Camping is your cheapest option if you're kitted up. As per Bogong's post, I've worked at quite a few lodges in Thredbo over the years and I'm not really sure about any cheap ones or ones you can ring out of the blue and ask for accomm like you can in Vic. The idea of the lodge memberships is to provide affordable accom for members, not for the general public. That's been my observation in NSW anyways.
Yep, membership is included in the room price and the premises are excellent for on snow for that price. Plenty more availability this time of year (vs July/Aug) - especially mid week. Plus they have a kitchen so you can save money cooking all your own food as well. Can highly recommend (2 stays this season, 4 stays last season).
Am I the only person who thinks that even the dodgiest on snow accommodation like a grotty and basic backpackers hostel is vastly better than commuting up the hill from a nicer room at the bottom of the mountain? It's not just the convenience of being able to ski almost from your front door, it's not just the mountain vibe and atmosphere, it's all those things and more. If I stay in a place away from the snow, I could be almost anywhere, but sleeping in a place surrounded by snow is always a nice and rather special experience. I've stayed hundreds of nights in dozens of ski lodges, I've even spent hundreds of nights in mountain huts and tents and they were all special in their own way. But when I stay off mountain, I always feel it's a rather beige and generic 'meh' experience.
Overall I agree with you but in Utah we did stay in SLC and commuted up the hill each day and that was a great experience as we got to explore a new city and various resorts rather than just one ski hill. It was so bizarre dressing in our city room into ski gear and picking up an Illy coffee in downtown SLC on our way to the snow - have never had that experience before or since! But yes, generally I'd prefer any accomm on snow rather than driving. Unless I'm doing a day trip from home
Must have changed a bit over the years and this is not a bad thing. You used to have to have a membership and then ballot for winter. But of course, there were almost always empty beds outside of school hols that couldn't be filled as people never thought they'd be able to get in at the last minute. This is a much better solution for both lodge and client base.
Changed this season I believe, or maybe last. Can’t recall 100% but it was recent. Membership include in room price that is.
Best cheap accommodation on snow in Thredbo is the kind that you know a friend who is a member of a ski lodge and you get 'friends' prices
Unfortunately it doesn't work that way in my lodge, it's really expensive for friends and guests on a per night basis. Best cheap accom of all is mates with a decent sized house where you can pull up a trundle bed!!! (or couch surf, if you're in your 20s).
I like both. I used to mix several weeks on the mountain with weekends at the base. Then got a van at the base and didn't bother staying up top. Advantages in the valley include other things to do on crap days. 3 rainy days in a row on the mountain are not much fun. Eventually decided to join a club up top so I could enjoy the vibe too.
