When searching for Breckenridge, Colorado lodging, it's likely that you will notice the term "ski-in ski-out" is repeatedly used to describe the locations various accommodations around the town. Long ago, property management companies realized the incredible lure of these words, and began using them in the marketing of their resorts, condominiums, timeshares and private vacation homes.

While the phrase generally conjures up images of lodging properties that are mere steps from the slopes, where chairlift access couldn't be any easier, the reality is that "ski-in ski-out" has been adapted to describe accommodations that are actually nothing of the sort.

Several Breckenridge accommodations offer ski out access to the slopes but are without a trail system that allows you to ski back into the property. As a result, guests often find themselves having to hike back uphill to their lodging. A true slopeside property should provide direct and immediate access to the slopes in both directions, allowing easy access to your accommodations and its amenities throughout the day.

Several Breckenridge accommodations are ski in ski out, but utilize unmaintained and ungroomed trails to access the main trails of the ski resort. While these trails generally offer easy access to more prominent slopes, you may find them to be icy, bumpy, or covered in deeply drifted snow as a result of their unmaintained nature.

Many Breckenridge lodging properties who have described themselves as true slopeside accommodations have stretched the truth to at least some extent. This could mean that a condominium hotel sits at the far end of a pedestrian plaza linking it with the resort's base area, or it might be that you find yourself crossing the street to access a chairlift.

The lesson to take away from this is simple: When researching and booking your ski in ski out lodging in Breckenridge, Colorado, make sure that you know exactly what it is that you are getting. Property management companies in Breckenridge have adapted varying definitions of what ski-in ski-out truly means, and as a result, you should question your reservationist thoroughly as to the actual location of your accommodations. While most visitors would have no problem staying across the street from a chairlift, or a short walk to one, it's easy to be let down upon arrival when these locations have been described as being on a ski slope.