No matter how nice your lodging is, it’s the little things that you remember. Stuff that the hotel surprises you with, like fresh baked cookies at your turn down, a perfectly heated jacuzzi, a games room for your children and never-ending, hand-made potato chips at the bar.

Shore Lodge is this kind of place: very service focused, super well-trained staff, and a well thought out experience, especially directed toward families with small children.


When we entered our Lake View Suite, we were a little giddy: plenty of space, two rooms, two beds and a balcony overlooking the lake. Places to sit, places to be by yourself. There was an empty refrigerator which could come in handy for some milk and fruit if you want to grab a quick bite to eat before you head for the slopes. Or if your kids are picky eaters and want a “normal breakfast” -- like at home. You could also grab a freshly baked muffin (from the in-house pastry chef each morning) and coffee in The Mercantile.

Many of our friends go to McCall regularly. It’s only 100 miles from Boise and the have a killer ski mountain adjacent - Brundage. If you’re staying at the Shore Lodge, you will enjoy a complimentary shuttle to Brundage -- you can leave your skis with the ski valet and just show up in your gear -- your skis will already be on the shuttle. When skiing with small kids, there are so many moving parts, skis already on the shuttle feels luxurious. One less thing to forget!

All my husband and I wanted to do when we returned from skiing was to relax and have a drink. Sometimes hard to do with little kids. Fortunately for us, there is a game room just adjacent to the Narrows Grill, where my kids could play shuffleboard, games on a Wii, as well as plenty of other board and card games. While we took in the view across Payette Lake and ate home-made potato chips (that kept coming), my kids were thrilled to be playing video games. It’s vacation, almost anything goes.

After ordering a pizza for the kids from the Bar, we checked out the movie theater! They have a library of videos to choose from and you could even rent it out for a private function. My kids joined all the other kids at the lodge watching Dolphin Tale.

That night, we went to the jacuzzi which was HOT -- in a good way, good for mommy. Kids eventually got used to it. Even the pool was at 90 degrees. Big, fluffy towels wait for you at the exit to the outdoor jacuzzi. On the way there, we passed the fire pit, lit each night from 7pm to 10pm where there are containers of graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate bars and marshmallows for you-know-what. Even the marshmallow skewers are long and sturdy enough for little kids to hold them over the fire. I mean, really: they have thought of everything.

When we went out to dinner on the second night there, the valet pulled up our car, already heated and the snow scraped off the windshield. I could get used to this.

Stay tuned for my next post about The Cove -- the brand new spa at the Shore Lodge. It's fancy -- with an authentic Idaho essence. Most spas, you could be anywhere: they are generic fancy. This one is different and truly spectacular.

Going on vacation with small kids can sometimes be a lot of work if the place you stay hasn’t thought things out. At the Shore Lodge, we came away relaxed. In addition to my kids adoring the place, we felt like we weren’t servants to our children the whole time we were there.

Now about the lake surfing in the summer... We’ll be back!








Please note: accommodations were provided by Shore Lodge.

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