Goldminer's Daughter Lodge

If you need to put your boots on in a warm space in the morning, this is your spot. Hip, friendly and easy going vibe and great for people watching. Alta has a culture of skiers like no other mountain and this place embodies it perfectly. Overall clean and homey feel. But don't stay too long, the mountain is the highlight and never disappoints.

Stopped into the tshirt shop to ask if they had Smith lenses, was told by a super snarky long haired male employee that I could “try the internet.” No kidding. Couldn’t pay me to spend money at any of the establishments owned by this family when their employees are so blatantly disrespectful to their patrons.

Super friendly staff, great menu in their dining room and you can't beat the location!

My husband and I spent 6 nights at this hotel (Jan 28-Feb 2, 2024). It is ski in-ski out and close to the Collins lift. Rooms are spartan (no mirror except in the bathroom, no clock, no safe box and the room phone did not work). The bed was old and not comfortable. The clothes hangers are very high and impractical (6 feet, 8 inches high). There is lot of noise coming from other rooms (TV, conversations, slamming doors, bathrooms) and from vehicles outside (trucks and cars). The dining room was incredibly noisy with big tables of guests (mostly men) that were clearly drunk and obnoxious. Food is average and service needs attention. There is nobody at the front desk after 11PM. They do not provide daily maid service, with the excuse that they do not have enough personnel. This is not acceptable given the cost of the rooms. Overall, it is good for skiing, but it is not a relaxing and pleasant environment. They offer a discount for recurring customers, but I do not think that we will go back to this hotel.

We spent 7 nights at Goldminer's, and it was just fantastic! The location can't be beaten, the staff is lovely and the food is very good. Everything is very convenient, from ski shop in site, ski lockers, spacious and comfortable rooms and the Saloon, where you can have a quick lunch in the quiet while watching the slopes and enjoy the après ski. Alta ski area is a dream, and needs no comments. It's our second time at Goldminer's Lodge, with more to come.

We’ve had a home in Alta for decades so we only go to the bar. Plenty of room to sit. Always a warm fire place going. Excellent beers. The nachos used to be better.

Overall, we always love our time here. It’s a unique location and most of the staff are fantastic. The small touches for Christmas were appreciated - cookies on the door Xmas morning and they let us put a Santa sack under the tree in the lobby. We feel at home and we’ll likely be back. We also enjoyed the bingo and open mic nights in the saloon. However, this year there were changes that we didn’t love: (1) A new $25/night parking fee. If you’re local, this means it’s cheaper to Uber/shuttle up than drive, but that also means more traffic in the canyon (Uber going up and down twice, versus us once). Taking a public bus is not feasible with a weeks worth of gear. (2) Gratuity used to be included in your bill. We usually left a small extra tip at dinner, but now it explicitly states that gratuity is not included (but the service charge on your bill is the same as it used to be). Tipping at every meal adds up quickly. (3) The service at the restaurant was very slow. We waited 40 minutes one night for our meals to come out and an omelet in the morning could be a 30 minute wait. (4) Breakfast buffet food is lukewarm at best. Coffee is very weak. One morning, it was so bad that you could see the bottom of the cup. (5) You can no longer order a drink at the bar and take it back to your room. You also can’t take a drink from the restaurant down to the bar or vice versa. No more BYO in the Saloon (this one we understand). (6) No housekeeping unless you stay more than 5 nights. This seemed like a long time to use the same towels. Usually you get house keeping after 3 nights. Overall, we still had a great time. All the extra charges and rules took away from the basic ski lodge feel that we love and is pushing the affordability for us, but there’s still nothing like it anywhere else.

A perfect place to call home for time on the mountain. The food is great and very plentiful with a lot of choices. The location can't be beat (after a few hours on the mountain it's easy to come down for something to eat, hang by the fireplace then head out for the afternoon and grab the last chair.) The snacks in the saloon were always welcome. The staff is super helpful. It's a skier's lodge so not for someone looking for the resort experience with shopping and luxury. Our room was comfy and perfect for our needs.

This place is Amazing. First off you can't beat the location. It's not designed to be a posh luxury environment but it definitely provides all the comfort and amenities claimed. Nostalgia and ski culture are premium here! The food was solid, and extremely convenient. Zero complaints on breakfast the apre ski or dinner. What makes this place unforgettable and unbeatable is the staff they're all true mountain people who make the experience better!

This place is terrible, the worst service ever. I cost a fortune and the return on you money isn't there. The staff is unfriendly especially the front desk manager. spend your money elsewhere this place isn't worth the crap out of your ass.

Overall, I had an exceptional time at Goldminer's Daughter Lodge. The rates were very competitive, the room was clean and comfortable, the breakfast and dinners were delicious & plentiful, and most of the employees were kind and helpful. I wish I could have given this stay 5 stars (it deserves it), but I must provide honest feedback about my grievances regarding EDDIE, the manager of this establishment. Although he remained professional throughout the interaction, he was uninterested in helping me with my blight of having an SUV stuck in 20 inches of fresh snow. His only solution was to tell me to "take a shovel and deal with it yourself. We're busy. If you don't finish, you can continue working on it after you get back from skiing at 4 PM." His response was very dismissive, rushed, and condescending. He didn't even extend the courtesy of asking someone from his team to help. After shoveling snow for 20 minutes, I see him sitting at reception, doing nothing. This is an absolutely UNACCEPTABLE attitude towards guests. However, as a saving grace, the other employees at Goldminer's Daughter Lodge were PHENOMENAL. Two different employees noticed me struggling to shovel snow and immediately got a shovel and helped me. If not for these kind folks, I would have missed my flight.

Opened to the public in 1962, the Goldminer's Daughter at the base of Alta also know as the "GMD", features a Ski Shop, Day Spa, Saloon, Cafe, Restaurant and Lodge. GMD is just steps from the base of Alta Ski Area's Collins and Wildcat lifts and ticket windows. The Goldminer's Daughter opened to the public in 1962.This review is for the Saloon and Cafe. As a lifelong Skier and an Alta-Holic with 20+ years at this resort, the GMD is where I fuel up with breakfast before a day on the slopes, boot up, and grab beers and bar snacks after the lifts close. Downstairs in the cafe, you can grab a cooked to order breakfast of eggs, potatoes,breakfast meat and toast for around $10 from 7 am to 10:30 am. There are plenty of tables to eat your breakfast and boot up and they have small to large lockers available starting at .50 cents to lock your gear up before you head out to the slopes. The cafe also serves up lunch, including soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers from 11 am to 3 pm. After skiing, get out of your ski boots and head upstairs to the Goldminer's Saloon for a few cold beers and bar snacks. The Nachos are a great choice to share with your ski friends while you swap stories about your day in the Utah Powdah! They feature local craft beers on tap from the SLC area served by the Pint or Pitcher. In the spring, grab a cold beer outside on the deck at Slope Side Joe's, order up a burger from the outdoor grill and kick back in the sun and enjoy the music. Step back in history and enjoy your visit to The Goldminer's Daughter, don't forget to grab some souvenirs or ski supplies in the ski shop while your there.

Goldminer's Daughter is one of a handful of historic lodges located slopeside at (the now 75 year old) Alta Ski Resort. My friend and I were staying 10 minutes away over at Snowbird, but we patronized the bar/restaurant here for some well-deserved après ski! On the ground floor, they've got a cozy bar area and plenty of tables, with some sofas scattered around in the nooks and crannies. It was down here that we discovered "Joe's Famous Chili," a generous portion and hearty blend of everything that's good in life for around five bucks. The chili was EXCELLENT, and topped with a heap of shredded cheddar for $0.50 additional. A pitcher of Alta's locally-brewed limited edition 75th anniversary beer ($15) washed the whole thing down. On the ground floor, they also sell coffees and teas, with an assortment of candies for only $1 apiece. For a ski resort, the prices here are VERY reasonable...like drugstore/gas station reasonable, but in a much cooler setting! After getting a gist of the ground floor bar, we decided to venture upstairs into what appeared to be another bar area. Upstairs, we found a half-vaulted room with more seating, an additional bar, and beautiful panorama views of the base area and mountain. Go up one more floor and you'll find a more formal restaurant area with complimentary cold cuts, cheeses, cookies, hot chocolate, coffee, and tea from 5-6pm. Something tells me this was probably a "hotel guests only thing" but nobody looked twice as I snagged a generous plate to split with my buddy downstairs! (shhh) All in all, Goldminer's is a cool spot worth checking out, especially if you're skiing at Alta. This is also probably the closest semblance to "nightlife" you'll find on the mountain, so if you're looking for some reasonable (or maybe even free!) aprés ski food & drink, head on over!

Great Ski in Ski out location at Collins lift. Great food and great staff. Special shout out to Luke,Berry,and George in the dining room. Great attitudes and service. If your a skier,Alta is the place and this is the resting,drinking and eating spot! Enjoy

Spa...ahhh! The spa inside the Goldminer's Daughter Lodge is somewhat hard to find. The staff at the front desk was also less than helpful in finding it... However, once we found it, and discovered that we were a bit early, we sat in the small-ish, but wonderful hot tub for a while...so soothing after an afternoon skiing... Then, we headed off to our massages. The spa itself is small - only 2 (maybe 3?) treatment rooms, but I had the most wonderful massage. The therapist was very friendly, not overly talkative and was really careful to ask if I had any problem areas. The massage was relaxing and well priced. A great spot if you are in the area and well worth it to zip your muscles back into working order after a long day (or two)!

So Yelp does not have a category for ski lodges. the Goldminer's Daughter is one of a cluster of old style ski lodges at the foot of Alta Ski Resort. It is not the nicest or shabbiest of your options but if you want to stay by the lifts this is your best bet. Why do you want to stay at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, you might ask? Well when it snows, the access road gets shut down because of avalanche controls. That means you get first tracks while everyone else waits for the road to open. I had not been back since I blew out my knee four years ago and they have made a few much needed improvements. The hot tub area is much nicer and less cave like, the rooms have been spruced up and the bar area is very cozy. The staff is very helpful and know all the best powder stashes, be nice and they might even tell you about some.

I have nothing but great things to say about Zack Coleman and his staff at the Goldminer's Daughter Lodge, for the wonderful event they organized for my son and daughter-in-law's "Welcome Gathering" the Friday night before their wedding. Not only did Zack and his staff double their usual efforts when a mud and rock slide closed the only road into the canyon (for 24 hrs before our event), but prior to the event, Zack was always reachable for my many questions regarding decorations and AV services. I have to say that I only saw the room, 2 days before our party and his earlier descriptions of the room were spot on. Basically, the room has it's own special charm and needed very few props. Thank you Zack !

One of the problems with most hotels is that there is a certain sense of isolation. You're there by yourself (or with a lone companion or two), but interaction with the other guests is minimal. Not at Goldminer's. Like Alta itself, Goldminer's Daughter Lodge is old school like the old school. The room are nicely, if sparsely outfitted. Rates are reasonable, all things considered. The food is excellent and the crowd, well, they are all delightful. I definitely recommending eating at the community table for dinner every night, you'll meet lots of interesting people and will be glad you chose to eat there. Breakfast is very good, dinner is even better. Apres ski snacks are nice too. Only complaints are that the hot tubs are often crowded and the wait staff are a bit inexperienced (sometimes slow in the morning, unfamiliar with wine etiquette at dinner), Overall it is a very nice place to stay and ski while at Alta.

Goldminer's Daughter is an Alta landmark, unchanged much over the past 20 years. There are lockers downstairs and benches to change into your ski gear, also a small cafeteria and a ski shop. The upstairs bar has comfy couches, foosball, flat-screen tvs, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Collins lift, and surprisingly great pizza! The beer selection is as vast as Utah's southern desert - I recommend the Polygamy Porter. As the label proclaims, why just have one? This place has no attitude -- everyone here, most of them ski bums, is relaxed, in keeping with the vibe of this special mountain. Alta is one of my favorite places in the world, and it's old-school ski lodges like Goldminer's Daughter that keep it cool.

My husband and I honeymooned here for a few nights. The rooms aren't anything special, but they're clean and the beds are super comfortable. The staff are great and friendly- they are for the most part young ski bums who get paid a pittance for the privilege of getting to stay slopeside for a season with a lift pass. One of the waiters we got to know had a wicked goggle tan. The food here is excellent (and included in the lodging price). I think I left dinner absolutely stuffed to the brim every single night. They have a regular menu of about 8 entrees, but then offer 2 soup and 3 entree specials every night. Oh, and a dessert special. Mmmm... delicious dessert. Breakfast wasn't anything special, but the buffet offered almost anything you could want to kick start your day on the slopes. Apres-ski was a great touch as well- I always am craving a snack after I get off the slopes and can never just wait until dinner. And of course, location location location. Every morning we rolled out of bed, walked to breakfast, then downstairs to our ski locker, and then straight out to the lifts. Can't beat that. And how hardcore is this place- they have a place to wax your skis (plus a waxing iron) in the locker room. The only downside was that the hot tub was closed for the season, which made us pretty sad. On the upside, the sauna was still open, but since nobody was using it, it was cold and I didn't feel like waiting half an hour for it to warm up. The spa there is also a little overpriced (although correctly priced for the location...) and saved my legs.

It's old school Alta and has great charm for its throwback appeal. But way too expensive for what it is.

If you want your gold mined, stay at the Gold Miners Daughter. The one thing GMD has going for it is location. After that, however, there's not much to recommend this place. The food in the 'restaurant' and saloon wouldn't pass a first year culinary exam and the service is non existent. My kids and I waited 1.5 hours to complete a basic meal of salad and pasta. The following night it was 65 minutes. The rooms are basically glorified dorm rooms that are 'funky' (but not in a good way) and reflect the general lack of taste of the owner. The 'hot tub' is a chemical bath in an artless setting. Every time I've been here I leave with the feeling that I'm being taken for a ride--that this romanticized idea of a quaint lodge somehow overshadows the reality that you're being charged premium rates for sub par service. The bar has no ambience, there's no real culture or soul to the place. But if none of that matters and all you need is a spot in front of Collins, then this place is for you. Otherwise, try the Peruvian across the parking lot.

Excellent patio, cheap pitchers of beer, and unbelieveable scenery. Whether you're grabbing a quick lunch, enjoying some apres, or chillaxing with a book while your friends hit the slopes, this is the place to be!

The Goldminer's Daughter Lodge is a great location for so many different reasons. The reason I love it the most is that the incredible ownership and management team are extremely warm and welcoming people. I sincerely appreciate their help and attention to detail for an important business meeting earlier this year. They are great people and it shows they care about their guests and customers. Thank you!

GMD IS THE ONLY PLACE TO STAY WITH SKI-IN-SKI-OUT ACCESS. There is no other lodge that is this close to Collins lift (the main lift on the mountain). Your affordable-nightly rate includes a wonderful à la carte and/or buffet breakfast, après-ski with well crafted-food selections, a fabulous gourmet dinner and nightly specials!!! There is a well rounded selection of international wines and locally crafted beers. A terrific spa is on sight, providing a variety of massages as well as a fantastic ski shop that carry the latest ski/demo's. The entire staff is so amazing and you are well taken care of from the moment you enter the door. The rooms are incredibly cozy with stunning mountain views of the Wasatch range! Don't wait, come and see for yourself. I've been coming multiple times a year since 2005 and look forward to another visit in February! Perfect for families, friends and on your own!!

My husband and I had our wedding here in March of 2013. The actual ceremony was at our Lady of the Snows, but all of the festivities were at the Goldminer's Daughter Lodge. Everything was perfect. Our guests were easily able to fly into SLC and take Alta Shuttle to the lodge. We booked early enough where we had rooms near each other (~40 ppl attended the wedding), breakfast and dinner was taken care of each morning/night and the dining room was able to accommodate our large group towards the end of the evening. The dining room staff were attentive and nobody from our party left hungry. From check-in to check-our everything exceeded our expectations. Ross, Jenn, Helen, Jonathan, Carle and the rest of the team went above and beyond. In full disclosure, we worked there during the 2005-06 season and have come back to the area every year since. We keep coming back because we feel we will always be a part of the GMD family and that is a testament to the owners and staff. Thank you GMD for making our wedding weekend the best wedding we have ever been to!

We're heading back next week - can't wait! We heard from one source that the food was good this year, no big surprise.

Love this place. It is a great ski lodge. I have stayed here 3 times now and it seems to get better each time. Most of the employees are 20 something ski bums but they provide great service and add to the ambiance since you can always strike up a conversation about the skiing. Once you consider that you are eating at a ski lodge, the food is surprisingly good. The saloon has a great après ski vibe. I highly recommend staying here.

Skiiing is a lot of work...having meals provided is awesome. Much more relaxing. Don't need a car just shuttle up from airport...can rent skis and eat on sight. Lift is RIGHT THERE.