Mountainside Inn

Having made a wrong turn and thus arriving later than I had hoped, the first impressions of the place were not favorable: difficult to find, fairly dark around the budilings, small parking lot was full, office was closed (there's a box outside next to the office door with named envelopes holding your keys and room number). Once inside, the room was pretty basic, and the limited lighting made it look a bit gloomy and creepy. But a fabulous dinner at the Thai restaurant Siam (two blocks away) turned everything around. And in the morning, the sun was streaming through the window, I had a nice view of the river, there were lots of walkers and joggers on the other side of the river, and I was feeling a lot better about the place. It kind of feels like the motel your do-it-yourself great uncle might own. The carpeting is from the hardware store; if the bathroom linoleum needs to be patched, well, just find a pattern that's close enough (no reason to replace it all--the rest of it is still good...); why bother putting pictures on the wall--the paint's clean. And that's it. It was a very plain but totally clean and fresh-smelling place to crash. The coffee in the front office was pretty good, the young man behind the counter was helpful as can be in orienting me to the town, and...well, you're in Telluride, why complain? If you are heading to Telluride with a buddy to spend your winter days skiing or summer days biking and don't need any frills at the hotel (including any food or beverages), this is a reasonable option.