1. Is the Skyhouse really walkable to Heavenly?
Yes! While people's definitions of "walkable" vary, for an average healthy adult or child it is walkable. The Skyhouse is 1/4 of a mile from the California base of Heavenly, or about 7 minutes walking (a bit longer if you are in ski boots...). The California base of Heavenly features two major lifts. The walk to the Aerial Tramway from the Skyhouse is about the same distance as the walk to the Tramway from the farther end of the Heavenly parking lot. Many people attempt street parking (which is not allowed on our street at all), and end up walking much farther than you will from the Skyhouse. To reach the far end of the Heavenly parking lot and the Lodge activities, add another 3 minutes, for a total walk of 10 minutes. The walk is downhill from the Skyhouse to Heavenly, and uphill back. The grade is moderately steep. We have done this walk many times and have had no trouble. Note that sometimes the California Base is the only entrance of Heavenly that is open, as the Stateline gondola can be closed down due to high wind when the California Base Aerial Tramway is open. Access to greens, blues, and blacks is ample from the California Base, as is access to the Heavenly ski school.
2. Where else can you get without a car from the Skyhouse?
The closest restaurant is an excellent German food & bier pub called Himmel Haus. It is located directly across from the Heavenly parking lot, about an 8 minute walk from the Skyhouse and we highly recommend the sausage sampler and seasonal Munich Paulaner brews.
From the California base of Heavenly, during ski season, you can take the free BlueGO Heavenly ski shuttles to the Gondola, Casinos and Shops at Stateline (about 1.5 miles away). This area, which can become quite crowded, gives you access to Heavenly when there isn't natural snow at lower elevations, and for people who want to enjoy Heavenly's activities and views without skiing or snowboarding. You can also access the Raley's grocery store, many boutiques, restaurants, Starbucks and an excellent sporting goods store from this location. The BlueGO shuttles run about every 15 minutes. Consult their website for exact hours, timing, and seasonal openings.
3. What do we do if there's a ton of snow, that driveway looks long?!
We have pre-paid for the entire winter season to have John Shafer, our local property handyman, plow the entire driveway and shovel the walkways to the main house entrances. This means that we have top priority for snow plowing services. Our policy is to plow when 3 inches of snow have accumulated, which is actually better than other snow plowing services in the area, which usually wait until 4-5 inches.
Saddle Road is a city street, and the City of South Lake Tahoe will keep it plowed accordingly. Despite plowing, we recommend that during snowy and icy weather you use a 4WD and snow chains. If you need the driveway plowed, call John Shafer, whose phone number we will include in your welcome email for the rental. We also want to reiterate that in any snowy, wet or icy conditions surfaces are slippery for driving and walking, so proper shoes and extra care are recommended.
4. How do I book a stay at the Skyhouse?
To book a stay at the Skyhouse, go to your preferred vacation rental platform (VRBO, HomeAway, AirBnB) via the links on the "contact" tab of our website. Our property managers will help you make your booking through there.
5. How will I know how to access the house? Do I need to go through a rental agency or office?
Our property managers will give you all the details you need during your conversations.
6. Can I bring my dog?
While we love animals, we do not allow pets to stay at the Skyhouse. Exceptions will be made for registered service animals. Please let us know if you need to bring a registered service animal at the time of your booking.
7. Can we host a wedding/bachelor party/college ski trip at your house?
It is against South Lake Tahoe regulations to host weddings or other large events at rental houses. Additionally, we do no allow bachelor/bachelorette parties or college ski trips at the house. The Skyhouse allows you to have 4 day-guests on the property in addition to the 16 overnight guests. The maximum overnight capacity of the house is determined by the City of South Lake Tahoe and is strictly enforced, for our house and all other rental houses in South Lake Tahoe. Exceeding the maximum capacity or breaking these rules can result in immediate eviction without refund.
8. What does a "fully equipped" kitchen mean? What exactly is included?
The Skyhouse had no problem accommodating multiple large meals for 12 people for 4 days on Thanksgiving weekend and is designed to easily accommodate groups of 16 with its equipment. The silverware and dishes include 20+ full place settings (salad plate, dinner plate, bowls + salad fork, dinner fork, small spoon, big spoon, dinner knives, serving spoons). 16 fun coffee mugs, 16+ short and tall glasses and a large array of wine glasses, along with smaller selections of specialty glasses (champagne glasses, beer mugs, ice cream sundae glasses) are also included. A number of high end serving dishes and platters hand-made in Portugal and Spain are also included, along with pitchers, carafes, an ice bucket and a serving coffee thermos.
A wide array of new T-fal and Cuisinart pots and pans, 2 cast-iron pans, enameled cast iron and corningware casserole dishes, along with pie dishes, bread pans, cookie and cupcake sheets, and bundt and cake pans along with an electric hand mixer and a range of Kitchenaid tools (can-opener, bottle opener, whisks, spatulas, etc.) enable full baking, and 3 wooden cutting boards, 2 plastic cutting boards and a marble cheese plate enable beautiful hors d'oeuvres spreads and help enable the group cooking dynamic!
A double oven, large pantry, large side by side fridge, 4-burner gas stove, commercial grade propane outdoor grill, microwave, toaster and coffee maker enable a lot of cooking to happen at the same time.
To help out the cleaning process, the kitchen contains 2 separate sinks, both with garbage disposals, as well as a full sized dishwasher and a trash compactor that significantly reduces the need to take garbage down to the bear boxes.
Early morning chefs can enjoy warm feet from the built-in foot heater while they take in the gorgeous lake sunrise from from the kitchen sink.
9. How do I use the ...
Please see our Heavenly Starlight Skyhouse YouTube channel for video guides on using various features and equipment! You can use this playlist if you want to watch all videos.
10. I saw a great price for this house on Craigslist. Is this real?
We DO NOT advertise this property on Craigslist. There is a common scam in which fraudsters copy VRBO/HomeAway listings onto Craigslist. Like most top quality rental houses in Lake Tahoe, this house has been targeted in the past with this scam. We will only accept payment through the official payment interfaces of VRBO, HomeAway and their family of properties. We do not accept or request bank transfers or credit card information directly from guests. If you see a listing for this house on Craigslist, please mark it as fraud and let us know.
Yes! While people's definitions of "walkable" vary, for an average healthy adult or child it is walkable. The Skyhouse is 1/4 of a mile from the California base of Heavenly, or about 7 minutes walking (a bit longer if you are in ski boots...). The California base of Heavenly features two major lifts. The walk to the Aerial Tramway from the Skyhouse is about the same distance as the walk to the Tramway from the farther end of the Heavenly parking lot. Many people attempt street parking (which is not allowed on our street at all), and end up walking much farther than you will from the Skyhouse. To reach the far end of the Heavenly parking lot and the Lodge activities, add another 3 minutes, for a total walk of 10 minutes. The walk is downhill from the Skyhouse to Heavenly, and uphill back. The grade is moderately steep. We have done this walk many times and have had no trouble. Note that sometimes the California Base is the only entrance of Heavenly that is open, as the Stateline gondola can be closed down due to high wind when the California Base Aerial Tramway is open. Access to greens, blues, and blacks is ample from the California Base, as is access to the Heavenly ski school.
2. Where else can you get without a car from the Skyhouse?
The closest restaurant is an excellent German food & bier pub called Himmel Haus. It is located directly across from the Heavenly parking lot, about an 8 minute walk from the Skyhouse and we highly recommend the sausage sampler and seasonal Munich Paulaner brews.
From the California base of Heavenly, during ski season, you can take the free BlueGO Heavenly ski shuttles to the Gondola, Casinos and Shops at Stateline (about 1.5 miles away). This area, which can become quite crowded, gives you access to Heavenly when there isn't natural snow at lower elevations, and for people who want to enjoy Heavenly's activities and views without skiing or snowboarding. You can also access the Raley's grocery store, many boutiques, restaurants, Starbucks and an excellent sporting goods store from this location. The BlueGO shuttles run about every 15 minutes. Consult their website for exact hours, timing, and seasonal openings.
3. What do we do if there's a ton of snow, that driveway looks long?!
We have pre-paid for the entire winter season to have John Shafer, our local property handyman, plow the entire driveway and shovel the walkways to the main house entrances. This means that we have top priority for snow plowing services. Our policy is to plow when 3 inches of snow have accumulated, which is actually better than other snow plowing services in the area, which usually wait until 4-5 inches.
Saddle Road is a city street, and the City of South Lake Tahoe will keep it plowed accordingly. Despite plowing, we recommend that during snowy and icy weather you use a 4WD and snow chains. If you need the driveway plowed, call John Shafer, whose phone number we will include in your welcome email for the rental. We also want to reiterate that in any snowy, wet or icy conditions surfaces are slippery for driving and walking, so proper shoes and extra care are recommended.
4. How do I book a stay at the Skyhouse?
To book a stay at the Skyhouse, go to your preferred vacation rental platform (VRBO, HomeAway, AirBnB) via the links on the "contact" tab of our website. Our property managers will help you make your booking through there.
5. How will I know how to access the house? Do I need to go through a rental agency or office?
Our property managers will give you all the details you need during your conversations.
6. Can I bring my dog?
While we love animals, we do not allow pets to stay at the Skyhouse. Exceptions will be made for registered service animals. Please let us know if you need to bring a registered service animal at the time of your booking.
7. Can we host a wedding/bachelor party/college ski trip at your house?
It is against South Lake Tahoe regulations to host weddings or other large events at rental houses. Additionally, we do no allow bachelor/bachelorette parties or college ski trips at the house. The Skyhouse allows you to have 4 day-guests on the property in addition to the 16 overnight guests. The maximum overnight capacity of the house is determined by the City of South Lake Tahoe and is strictly enforced, for our house and all other rental houses in South Lake Tahoe. Exceeding the maximum capacity or breaking these rules can result in immediate eviction without refund.
8. What does a "fully equipped" kitchen mean? What exactly is included?
The Skyhouse had no problem accommodating multiple large meals for 12 people for 4 days on Thanksgiving weekend and is designed to easily accommodate groups of 16 with its equipment. The silverware and dishes include 20+ full place settings (salad plate, dinner plate, bowls + salad fork, dinner fork, small spoon, big spoon, dinner knives, serving spoons). 16 fun coffee mugs, 16+ short and tall glasses and a large array of wine glasses, along with smaller selections of specialty glasses (champagne glasses, beer mugs, ice cream sundae glasses) are also included. A number of high end serving dishes and platters hand-made in Portugal and Spain are also included, along with pitchers, carafes, an ice bucket and a serving coffee thermos.
A wide array of new T-fal and Cuisinart pots and pans, 2 cast-iron pans, enameled cast iron and corningware casserole dishes, along with pie dishes, bread pans, cookie and cupcake sheets, and bundt and cake pans along with an electric hand mixer and a range of Kitchenaid tools (can-opener, bottle opener, whisks, spatulas, etc.) enable full baking, and 3 wooden cutting boards, 2 plastic cutting boards and a marble cheese plate enable beautiful hors d'oeuvres spreads and help enable the group cooking dynamic!
A double oven, large pantry, large side by side fridge, 4-burner gas stove, commercial grade propane outdoor grill, microwave, toaster and coffee maker enable a lot of cooking to happen at the same time.
To help out the cleaning process, the kitchen contains 2 separate sinks, both with garbage disposals, as well as a full sized dishwasher and a trash compactor that significantly reduces the need to take garbage down to the bear boxes.
Early morning chefs can enjoy warm feet from the built-in foot heater while they take in the gorgeous lake sunrise from from the kitchen sink.
9. How do I use the ...
Please see our Heavenly Starlight Skyhouse YouTube channel for video guides on using various features and equipment! You can use this playlist if you want to watch all videos.
10. I saw a great price for this house on Craigslist. Is this real?
We DO NOT advertise this property on Craigslist. There is a common scam in which fraudsters copy VRBO/HomeAway listings onto Craigslist. Like most top quality rental houses in Lake Tahoe, this house has been targeted in the past with this scam. We will only accept payment through the official payment interfaces of VRBO, HomeAway and their family of properties. We do not accept or request bank transfers or credit card information directly from guests. If you see a listing for this house on Craigslist, please mark it as fraud and let us know.