subject: Mammoth Lakes Sees A Return Of Visitors With Disounts [print this page] Along the Eastern edge of California's Sierra Nevada mountains sits an outdoor paradise named Mammoth Lakes. It has for decades drawn outdoor enthusiasts from nearby Southern California. It offers a quick weekend getaway and access to great skiing, hiking, fishing and camping. The availability of cheap accommodations and reasonable prices made Mammoth Lakes extremely popular with the weekend visitors. Then investment by large developers shifted the Mammoth landscape and put focus on making Mammoth Lakes a high end destination resort. Just like that, the cheap Mammoth vacation options were a thing of the past.
Mammoth Lakes used to be filled with cheap lodging options and numerous Mammoth discounts were available to visitors. Mammoth's Main Street was lined with motels offering budget accommodations. Mammoth represented a great vacation value and an ample amount of cheap hotel rooms.
Intrawest purchased a portion of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1996. That set off a real estate boom and rampant speculation that Mammoth Lakes would become a high end destination resort community. Inexpensive accommodations were torn down to make way for high end condos and luxury hotels.
In 2005, Starwood Capital purchased an interest in Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and speculation of luxury level pricing ramped up even more. However, the subsequent real estate crash and recession has tempered the notion that Mammoth had become a playground for the rich. Now happy hours and hotel deals abound. Merchants, real estate developers and others that rely on tourism have rediscovered the importance of delivering vacation values at prices people can afford.
Mammoth Lakes has seen a resurgence of visitors and renewed life in the community. Along with the new more universally appealing price points have come the return of visitors. They are drawn back by the value of Mammoth Lakes and the promise of a fantastic outdoor experience at a reasonable price.
