Description
HI - Taos - Abominable Snowmansion Hostel Details
|
|
(To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.)
Map Location/ContactHow is HI - Taos - Abominable Snowmansion Hostel rated on other websites?
No reviews yet.
No reviews yet.
No reviews yet.
Not listed.
HI - Taos - Abominable Snowmansion Hostel Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
SNOW MANSION ROCKS! Single mom with 12 year old type 1 diabetic and 14-year old vegetarian spends 1 week every christmas/new year holiday here. Why? such a funky, quirky out of the ordinary experience. My kids INSIST and why wouldn't they? Owner makes edible ornaments for the tree and bakes fresh bread for guests. The crock pot always bubbles with a veg soup or chili and we can make our eclectic meals in the community kitchen in- house or in the summer kitchen our back. We first came to ski and save money and we keep coming back to see who shows up from last year. Are the south american college students back working at the ski area? how many other kids have arrived to shoot pool and play apples to apples or BS? Oh, my kids are the ones laughing hysterically and disturbing the readers gathered around the cozy fireplace They are also checking out some of the odd ball characters who the owners generously accommodate with work 4 rent plans. I remind my children that the good karma they feel at the snow mansion emanates from the hearts of the owners for whom this is not all business, but rather a labor of love. We embrace the eclectic folks who show up the same week we do and when our week is over and we are driving away I ask the kids, what's the plan for next christmas? They scream, SNOW MANSION! — Cisa Rivera , USA (2011-01-26) Great place, rent a teepee. This is a well run and iconic hostel. I have stayed here several times, over the years. Always meeting cool people, and enjoying my stay. Only downside, is that it's far from town. If you don't have a car, one would need to hitch. People are very friendly in Taos. Much better alternative to the other New Mexico hostels. — Jack Zoff , Chicago, USA (2010-09-17) This place is a wonderful place for travelers we just got back from a trek thru new mexico, and the snowmansion is by far my favorite hostel in N.M., the vibe is very cool and mellow and the scenery is of no other in new mexico, and a great place for the outdoor, nature loving folks such as myself. The people who work and stay there are from all over, very nice, and you feel like youre around friends at all times, i literally felt at peace, recommend this place and if i ever find myself in the area, i will stay there again. — brad tennessee, USA , usa (2010-04-18) Incredible This was the best hostel I have ever stayed in!! The atmosphere, the people, the energy, everything was exactly what I needed!! They have a variety of accommodations and are welcoming to all! Thank you Muna for teaching me how to just breathe, you and all the other people I encountered there will be remembered forever! — Jessica Gaddis , Nashville, TN (2010-04-15) Lovely place with nice facility and wonderful people Me and my friend spent a couple of days recently in the hostel and we were amazed at how friendly and wonderful this place was. We met a bunch of great people there, some of them are regular skiers who stays here every year and some are travelers like us staying for their first time. But we all made great friends with each other instantly. All the staff at the hostel were extremely helpful and welcoming, too. They have a garden where they grow grain and beans -- those are where our meals from the hostels are from. And if you ever go there, be sure to look for Muna -- a great medicist and healer. I'm sure she will be able to help with you one thing or two. — XiaoYan Gu , Chinese (2010-01-03) Great, Family Friendly Hostel In the past ten years I have gone to Abominable Snowmansion three times, and each time I found the atmosphere in the hostel to be very warm and welcoming.
First time I was there with a large college group -- we drove there from Austin, and it was a lot of fun. The kitchen and the fireplace made for great gathering spaces for our group, and an opportunity to talk with others in the hostel, and hear some really great stories. Last couple of years, I have been going there with my wife and two children (three- and four- and five- and six-year-olds). Kiddoes made many children and adult friends there. There was so much diversity that one's curiosity is constantly being fed with new wonderful insights about people, places, experiences. We all loved it, and felt sad leaving the place, wonderful hosts, and our fellow guests. If you are looking for a warm, welcoming place with opportunities to talk with folks with very diverse world views, Abominable Snowmansion is where you want to be. If you are looking for a place with brand new furnishings, TVs, and commercialism then this is not a place for you. — Jaksa , USA (2009-11-01) A slice of the good life, unmatched anywhere. The snowmansion is a beautiful place to be. There are always amazing projects going on there and it really doesn't feel like a hostel but more of a beautiful home with friends. Sure, all hostels have games, books, and a kitchen, but how many have massive gardens, communal meals, and are family run? I recently took a group to the snowmansion and we had a blast. We spent a day harvesting from their fruit trees and preserving applesauce! Being in Arroyo Seco is great, the traffic of taos is far away and the small village surrounding the hostel is very nice. I highly recommend visiting the snowmansion! — Jeff Glenn , USA (2009-08-25) Nice place I've been traveling to Taos for many years and have wanted to stay at the SnowMansion. Since 1996 when I travel my wife is along too. She has well defined expectations of where we'll stay (as you might guess). Unfortunately for the adventurer side of me those defined expectations do not include the word Hostel (or long distance driving or anything without the word spa). So for this trip I grabbed a couple of buddies of mine and we set off for adventure, which of course included the SnowMansion. We booked a private room that had a queen size bed and an over-under bunk bed. The room was warm and clean, as were the bed linens. The bathroom was fine and the people were very nice. One note, be sure to have a personal supply of toiletries as these can be hard to come by on short, early morning notice. The trip to the mountain and/or into town is short and the fellow travelers at the hostel were quite nice. My buddies and I had a great time. — Jaems Eastman , USA (2009-04-15) We take the kids for a ski week every year we love it here. two adults and four kids for skiing every year. the kids are ten and twelve years old. the staff are great and the kids get to live without TV and fast food! you have to be kind and courteous to others, which makes it a great learning experience for the kids and they also meet international travelers. we will be looking for other reasons to stay here during non-ski season. — john bruker , USA (2008-12-28) Relaxing and wonderful We stayed for three days in a nice, warm cabin in late spring when the nights are seriously cold. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, friendly, and helpful, and surprise! They also do Tai Qi at sunset, and you're invited! I really like the community atmosphere of the place, the totally affordable prices in an exorbitantly-priced area, and how everyone felt like family by the time we left. Stay there and you will love it! — Amanda , USA (2008-06-12) What a hostel should be! Where do I begin? From the moment I arrived, my stay was like no other! A beautiful woman named Mouna (one of the owners) greeted me with ultra kindness then guided me in to the hostel's check-in counter. From there, she showed me to the dorm and introduced me to staff and guests. I did not even have time to consider feeling uncomfortable. I immediately felt at home. Maybe a little too much so. My original plan was to visit Taos for one night, then move on with my journey. Well, that was not how it turned out. After meeting the wonderful staff at the Snowmansion and the sweet, open-minded guests they attract, I extended my stay to last about a week. The village of Arroyo Seco is small in size, but gigantic in character! I joined guests in a dip at the nearby hot springs, had the privilege of enjoying a gorgeous morning run, and spent many hours chatting with locals in the coffee shop across the street from the hostel. There is even rock climbing at the gorge, but sadly, I did not have time to explore that on this trip. The community that exists in and around the Snowmansion is exactly what I have been craving in my life. Mouna makes delicious rice and beans when she can, which she sets out for all to enjoy. Other guests are very generous with cooking and sharing meals with everyone. Their kindness is refreshing and contagious! Just before I left, the family, staff and a local native, Henry, were hard at work building a sweat lodge. I was extremely disappointed that I had to move on. All I could think of was how enriched my experience had already been, and all there was to give and gain in staying longer. If you are traveling anywhere in the area, you should do yourself a favor and treat your soul to a stay within this warm community. Give yourself a chance to remember what life is really about. Who knows, I may see you there, because I will return! — Kamishia , Belize (2007-12-18) Amazing hostel. a warm, loving community. I just loved this place so much. It's really hard to find the right words to relay even a glimmer of my experience here. I fell in love with Taos and Northern New Mexico because of the people I met here, and the experiences I had. I ended up only staying two-and-a-half weeks (intending to stay a few nights), which totally wasn't enough, even though it still changed my life. And I seriously contemplated staying for months. I was there at the end of the summer, and they had a big garden with fresh vegetables to pick for your meals. I stayed in a beautiful teepee all to myself. There's a lovely creek/stream that runs on the property, which I loved to read or sit by. The family that runs the hostel is also very loving and warm -- if the other areas of my life had permitted me to stay longer here and work with/learn from them, I probably would have. Up the road is a beautiful Zendo that allowed visitors to sit with them in the mornings. There's a pretty good yoga studio right in Arroyo Seco, and a delicious cafe/ice cream shop. It's easy to get rides into or from Taos (which is only a few minutes drive away) to the lots of yummy cafes, tea houses, shops, grocery stores. After traveling through the South and Texas, I was so relieved to come to Taos where there's still a locally-owned grocery store with delicious, thoughtful food. And, there are nearby mountain and gorge hikes, and a few beautiful hot springs in the area. The hostel attracted amazing, open-hearted people that really taught me new and profound things. I will never forget my experiences here. Also, the hostel was/is deeply embedded in the Arroyo Seco community at large, which greatly influenced the people I met and my experience. The snowmansion allowed some people who were particularly committed and keen on being in the area to work/trade for a long-term stay.The family that runs it is amazing -- you'll be lucky if you get to meet or spend time with the matriarch. Basically, I went expecting a traditional hostel, with lots of rules and people just moving through. But what actually occurred here in my experience, and also that of some of the people staying while I was there, was that the hostel and beautiful Taos/Arroyo Seco enchanted us. So I arrived, and then immediately a warm community opened up. And it was hard to pull myself away. If you're going to be in New Mexico, or even thinking of going to New Mexico or Southern Colorado, go here. — Misha Bailey , USA (2007-12-13) This hostel is very nice. Sweet receptionist, who plays piano fairly well, and she is very willing to help you out with stuff to do around the area. Very neat kitchen and bathrooms. If you are a traveler, this is the place in Taos. — ifajah , Hawaii (2007-05-08) not many travelers there. more like a bunch of people who questionably live there and maybe don't pay rent? and as for the no drinking policy, one woman who chose to wear a bathrobe, stretch pants, and boots around the hostel made sure to keep her plastic bottle of liquor hanging out of her robe pocket. skunk problem -- that is what the old man sleeping on the couch in the common room said when we asked him about the fierce smell that woke my friend and i up at 4 a.m. these critters live underneath the girls dormitory (don't worry -- they're not in the room like we thought in the middle of the night). now everything we own smells like skunk. if you want to save some cash while traveling, just stay the night, wake up at 4 a.m. to an incredibly strong odor, and then wait until the reception opens to get your money back. — anonymous (2007-02-28) This was a quirky, fun place to stay, and the staff was very warm and friendly. My first impression was that it was a hippie commune. It has a bunch of ecclectic stuff on the walls (paintings, blankets, weird sculptures) and smells like a Greatful Dead concert, or was that sage I was smelling? We arrived around midnight, because we got held up and I called to let them know we were running late. They were very nice about leaving the key for us, and wrote a nice little note with a map to our room to welcome us. The room was spacious and relatively clean. The beds were comfortable. The floor was extremely squeaky and you can't flush toilet paper because of the delicate plumbing. The next morning I met about ten different people and a couple of cats that seemed to live there. The kitchen and dining area is cozy and self-serve. There are a few things that were community food, and some things that the travelers and residents claimed as their own. Might be a good policy to ask first. Do your own dishes. If you're looking for cheap and don't mind a little charachter in a crash space, then check it out! I'm glad we did! — Taryn Taylor - Longmont, Colorado (2006-04-03)