Traveling with Friends and Family: Fantastic Colorado Vacation Rentals

Whether you want to stay in a luxurious rental or a tiny home, we've got you covered

I’ve been renting houses with friends for over a decade. It's simply the best way to travel with a group and it can save you money, even if luxury is the goal.

Here are a variety of properties that I have personally experienced and can honestly say are ideal for staying in Colorado with friends or family.

Staying in a luxury home isn’t out of reach. We’ve had the pleasure of staying at two of Moving Mountains’ properties. The first was a large penthouse at the base of Steamboat Resort and the second was a house with an indoor swimming pool.

This property management company provides whatever level of service you choose, from hands-on to hands-off. Perhaps your group wants a chef for the week? Moving Mountains can do that. Or, you can cook your own meals in your vacation home’s fabulous kitchen. You can even choose to do a combination. Whether you are looking for a VIP experience or just a really nice property to share with friends or family, this company has got you covered.

Vail, Colorado

While Moving Mountains started in Steamboat Springs, they’ve just announced an expansion to Vail and Beaver Creek. Moving Mountains is looking for properties in this area whose owners wish to work with a property management company with years of experience in the luxury market.

Molly, the tiny house in Leadville RV Corral. Photo by Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer

The popularity of tiny homes is not waning and they have been popping onto the vacation rental scene with more and more frequency. Places like Wee Casa in Lyons, Colorado, provide a “hotel-like” atmosphere with multiple tiny homes located in one place.

Molly. Photo courtesy of Tiny House Leadville

At the Leadville RV Corral, there are four tiny homes to stay in and the property is located downtown. We stayed in Molly, a tiny home that felt spacious. It sleeps four adults and has one of the largest kitchens I’ve seen in a tiny home, including a full-sized refrigerator. I’ve stayed in miniscule tiny homes to larger tiny homes and can honestly write that Molly would be the perfect place to rent with friends.

Molly. Photo courtesy of Tiny House Leadville

Leadville, Colorado. Photo courtesy of Tiny House Leadville

Tiny houses are perfect when traveling with children. There is often at least one, sometimes two, loft bedrooms accessible by ladder-only and kids have no problem scrambling up ladders. Starting at just $89 per night, the tiny houses in Leadville aren’t only fun, they’re affordable.

Photo by Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer

Colorado has a lot of water and many of its lakes are man-made reservoirs, but not Grand Lake. As the state’s largest body of water, Grand Lake, the town and the lake, are year-round playgrounds. Extremely popular in the summer, it’s also an amazing destination during the colder months. Nothing is as surreal as the sun setting over a huge frozen body of water.

The Penthouse at Western Riviera. Photo courtesy of Western Riviera

I’ve been staying at Grand Lake’s Western Riviera properties for years, and all of its hotels and vacation homes are within walking distance of the lake. In fact, a few of the homes are lakeside. Lake House offers sweeping views of the lake and can sleep up to eight people. The Tree House is also on the lake and this cozy cottage sleeps up to four.

The newest property owned by Western Riviera is the Penthouse which we stayed at with friends last St. Patrick’s Day. The Penthouse is located on the main street of Grand Lake and is a stone’s throw from the lake. This property sleeps up to 10 in three spacious bedrooms that all include their own bathrooms and sitting areas. The communal area in the kitchen with a long table is perfect for enjoying the company.

Vacationing with friends and family is the way many people travel, and vacation homes are a convenient way to experience this kind of getaway in Colorado.