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The Abominable SnowMansion
Category: Hotels & Travel Hostels Hostels [Edit]
476 State Road 150Arroyo Seco, NM 87514
(505) 776-8298
7 reviews for The Abominable SnowMansion
7 reviews in English
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Review from Bobby A.
Updated - 11/20/2011
I recently came back here for a 5 day stay after remembering the great time I had the last time I stayed. The ski season quite had not started yet in Taos, so it was a pretty quiet time of the year and Mouna graciously gave me the best room at Snowmansion.
A few things have changed, guest still have full use of the kitchen but the garden is no longer free. If you want to pick your own veggies, it's now $2/day. Wifi is about the same rate.
Saturday nights is Thai noodle soup night where $5 gets you a whole bowl of fresh noodles and veggies with either pork or chicken in a great broth. We also had a great bonfire out back and once again I ended up meeting some really cool folks here.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/8/2010
I loved my time at the SnowMansion!
Mouna, the owner is a wonderfully warm and gracious lady who even… Read more »
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Review from Ethan T.
Miami-Dade, FL
12/20/2011
Cheap and clean. The times I have stayed here I booked ahead and was able to reserve a private room which was comfortable for the whole groups with a couple of full couches and a queen size bed. The decode was right out of 1973, but that is a small price to pay for such a good deal one clean place. There is a flow of back packers moving through here all the time, and there are also dorm style rooms with multiple beds per room, and a pot luck system as to who your room mates may be.
The location is great, just a little ways from the ski resort, and a short distance from the small area of down town Taos.
Outside of the actual ski resort area there are not a large number of places to stay, and I feel this is the best deal going in the whole area. Note you can walk to multiple little restaurants, including Michael's that I reviewed just a few reviews back. Call way ahead because space is limited. -
Review from Shawn R.
Austin, TX
7/14/2011
Probably the best hostel I've stayed at so far. They have tons of lodging, including tipis, which were very comfortable. Two kitchens, multiple bathrooms and showers, and lots of awesome outdoor areas. Staff was very friendly. Will return.
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Review from Jim B.
Denver, CO
8/2/2011
Great place. There is definitely magic in the air at this hostel. Makes me wish I was a 19 year-old on road trip again.
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Review from Kantiki J.
Austin, TX
9/30/2008
Taos, New Mexico is a beautiful city that comes with a painful price tag. Fortunately, there are some real hidden treasures that not only help save money, but, also, offer more than their overpriced competitors. One of these gleaming jewels is the Abominable SnowMansion.
The SnowMansion is the only hostel (near) Taos. It's in Arroyo Seco, which is 8-miles outside of Taos proper and about a 2-hour walk with a fully-loaded hiker's pack. With how many people hitchhike in and around the area, it's easy to get a ride out there.
The "Mansion" part of the title is no joke. This place is one huge, comfy, cozy fortress filled with travelers... and cats. There's a pool table, WiFi, a library, an endless series of paths to explore and wall after wall of tips on what can be done for free (or for cheap) in the area. When you wake up in the morning, there's breakfast to be had.
The SnowMansion, for the 4-month Ski Season, rakes in $22 bones outta your pocket. The rest the year it's only 18. Because of how busy they can get, reservations really are the best way to go... if possible. When hitting up Taos, however, don't miss the chance to stay at the Abominable SnowMansion. It'll change your stay entirely.Listed in: Squatters' Turf U.S.
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Review from Lindsey H.
Redwood City, CA
1/4/2009
I'm giving the SnowMansion 1.5 stars, but to be nice I've rounded up to 2. As a disclaimer, my perspective is from someone who slept on a top bunk in the women's bunkroom, and who has quite a bit of experience staying at various hostels around the world.
My fiance and I stayed here in separate bunkrooms (mens/womens) because they quoted us a whopping $200 per night for a private room, and we opted instead to pay $25 plus tax per person for 2 nights instead, which came out to about $111.
Well, we didn't stay the second night, mostly due to him having to put up with two large men who "snored like chain-saws" according to him. Also, I didn't get but probably 2 hours of sleep due to the REALLY LOUD stomping of feet from the room above me in the middle of the night and some even louder Peruvian women who felt the need to talk in the bunkroom from 11:30pm until 1am and at various other times during the night. And trust me when I say I usually sleep like a freaking log.
In addition, the bathroom was absolutely atrocious. With hostels usually people are pretty good about cleaning up after themselves, and the staff usually does a good job of checking the joint to make sure people are doing so, but neither was the case here. After talking to some of the women staying in my bunkroom, as nice as they were I found out many of them were staying there "for the entire (ski) season" which means they're going to treat the place like their house, not someone else's. And this results in their clothes lying all over the place, messiness everywhere, and them not getting to sleep until 1-2am (I'm okay with those late-to-bed, but don't be loud!!!).
Hidden treasure? I'll contest that. Maybe, but only if you're staying in a private room on the SECOND floor or in an individual building. This hostel was not built for multiple people who have varying sleeping patterns. The floor is not insulated or nailed down well, let me tell you.
Good things: the staff, they are very friendly. Also, since I'm a cat and dog lover, they allow both of these and have some house cats who live there too. I think the cute cat sleeping peacefully on my bed when I arrived was my favorite thing about my entire stay.
But like I said, we didn't stay the extra night. We opted instead for a Motel 6 down in Santa Fe, which was only $46. So if you're a couple who's looking to stay somewhere close to Taos Ski Valley but doesn't want to break the bank, go to Motel 6. I'm sure if I were younger (hell, I'm only 31) and single and not needing but 2-3 hours of sleep, this place would be that treasure. But under my circumstances, it was not. -
Review from Katie B.
San Francisco, CA
9/20/2010
I stayed here for three nights, one more than i should have. I liked the place well enough, but most of the staff are quite rude. The bathroom in the women's dorm smelled like mildew, and the toilet wasn't fastened to the ground very well. The price was right for a bunk, but they charged $3 per day for WiFi. I did like that they had cats there, made my stay a bit better. It's best to go there with a traveling companion rather than just your self, you may get quite bored without anybody to talk to.
