The snow is starting to fall and it’s time to book flight on the big metal bird to get to where the fluffy white stuff is. But name the last time you went on a snowboarding holiday and didn’t either a) get ripped off for lame accom b) get kicked out of said accom for daring to have a good time and making more noise than a mute mouse would in a coma?

Well, my friends, if snow pro Marc Frank Montoya and a man with a suspicious sounding name like Liko. S. Smith have their way, you’ll never have to cough up your hard earned cash for sub-standard snowboarding holiday accommodation ever again. The Block Hotels is “The Worlds First Snowboarder Hotel Group” created by Montoya and hotelier Smith, and the group devised and opened The Block at Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe, and The Block at Big Bear in

It’s created a blueprint for exactly the kind of snowboard holiday nirvana most of us have been searching for – designed specifically for the snowboarding lifestyle; the hotels offer a super laid-back atmosphere in a fully styling, contemporary setting. But it’s not just the vibe that’s drawing the snow crowd in hordes – it’s the freebies and perks!

Snowboarder-friendly amenities include board racks in all rooms, a rooftop spa tub, a lobby featuring pool tables, wide-screen TVs, and an Internet café, while barbecue grills dot the property. All guests receive free energy drinks, energy bars, popcorn, DVD movies, Napster Music cards, PS2 video games and ’s “soup at hand” as well as free wi-fi access and board waxing in a personal waxing room created by Bluebird Wax. All rooms come equipped with PS2 game consoles, boot/glove dryers, cordless phones and mini boom boxes as well as original wall art photography by Burton Principal Photographer Dean "Blotto" Gray, Technine Photographer Ethan Fortier, and Snowboard Photographer Andy Wright.

The hotels also feature the most inventive rooms in the hotel industry, "Signature Suites" by companies such as DVS Shoe Co., Transworld Snowboarding Magazine, Jones Soda Co., Zoo York, SPY Optic, Roxy, Napster, Nikita clothing, Bear Mountain Resort and others. There is also a "Liberty Lounge" by Liberty Board Shop of Southern California in Big Bear and the NJB Lounge in by NJB Clothing. Basically these rooms are kitted out like you wouldn’t believe, and when they’re not full of touring company pros are open for bookings. So does staying anywhere else in the snow even sound tolerable now? Thought not!!

But us non kids are in luck. Future locations are being reviewed in Keystone, CO, Mammoth, CA, June Lake, CA, and several areas in Canada, NZ and Japan, but seeing The Block partners plan to open 20 locations within the next 5 to 7 years, it’s pretty safe to guess there’ll be one on every continent soon. And why not? The vision is so simple and yet revolutionary, and has already taken off in the U.S., with investors including a who’s who of action sports, including professional snowboarders Travis Parker, Mikey LeBlanc, Yani Malmi, Yussi Oksanen, JJ Thomas, Kurt Wastell, Chris Coulter, Tara Dakides and Devun Walsh as well as professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. Heck, half the damn industry is behind this gig!

So when are we gunna see the first outside the Smith toured Europe this October searching for a location for The Block Hotels, and was touring and New Zealand, and Yuzawa and , , this very November to find Pacific and locations as well. The goal is to open an international location in 2006/07.