My daughter and I stayed here this past summer for our vacation:
https://www.squawvalleylodge.com/html/lake-tahoe-lodging.asp
Really nice condos and very reasonably priced (at least when we were there)... full kitchen so you can save some $$ by cooking at "home"... also, have stayed at the Best Western Timber Cove Lodge (South shore) on a couple of road trips... very nice rooms, great views of the lake, and right on the beach...
For me, the north shore is better than the south shore, summer or winter, and I definitely prefer Squaw as no. 1 and Alpine as no. 2 for skiing. I agree about the Squaw Valley Lodge (rehabbed my knee in their exercise facilities there in the summer of '88) -- right there at the lifts, nice enough, but I wouldn't expect their room rates to be as expensive as the Resort at Squaw Creek or as all the much newer stuff built in IntraWest's project (that for the uninitiated, takes up a part of what was the even larger parking lot). The kitchenettes would also be on my mandatory list.
If I were going to ski one mountain, it would be Squaw (second through fifth places in that poll are well back, except that Alpine (my no. 2) is the better mountain for powder days, since Squaw gets tracked out much faster). Squaw is also the most expensive, but the variety of trails, sheer size of it, huge selection of true double black diamond runs, and its excellent variety of non-skiing amenities (swimming pools, ice rinks, etc) and shopping and eating opportunities, make it the choice. February is high season, however, and it ain't cheap. OTOH, it is the total one mountain ski package. Word of caution, however, unless you stay in Squaw, then you better rise early to beat the traffic on Highway 89 between Tahoe City and Squaw or Alpine, and to a little lesser extent between Truckee and those two mountains if you stay over there.
If I were going to ski two mountains, I'd stay at Squaw, ski it mostly, and get in one day over at Alpine Meadows.
Northstar is known as Flatstar to locals, is over-run by Bay Area acolytes in a hurry to get there (and hurried while there) so the runs are unchallenging, except by their crowded nature. I just don't enjoy the social aspect or the skiing there. Heavenly, Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe are almost too far from the north shore to make it convenient to do a full lake sampling -- can be done, but easier for 2 or 3 guys staying at the Lake with that intent than trying to get a family out of the house early enough to avoid the awful traffic congestion that anything other than a very early start will engender.
Heavenly probably has the best view of all the mountains -- its view of the Lake is spectacular, and looking out at Nevada from the other side isn't bad. The Nevada side of it is really the better skiing. If you go up the California side and the wind is blowing, you may not be able to get over to the Nevada side due to a wind hold on the lift you need to take. The California side tram and the gondola can also get shut down in wind. The result can be all day lift lines on the Calif. side. Pretty unchallenging mountain, IMO, except for the Motts and Killebrew Canyon areas and a couple bump runs on the Nevada side and the Gunbarrel part of the California side (some other stuff exists, but you can get lost if you don't know the mountain and what to expect in those places).
Kirkwood is 30 miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, so it's the most remote from the Lake. I really like the mountain, and the Wall is one of my favorite runs anywhere. Problem is that it doesn't have a lot of vertical, so after a great top section, you have a flat lower part of the runs and are back on the lifts quickly. Still, lots of fun stuff to explore. Best thing to recommend it is that it is surely the best bang for the buck on a full season pass, and it gets lots of snow.
Sugar Bowl is closer to me, so I've had a few passes there. Second ski resort in the west (a year or two after Sun Valley, ID). But like Kirkwood, the vertical isn't huge, and though it has good steeps and some good runs, they are somewhat short by Sierra standards, and certainly by Rockies standards.
Just agbout the only mountain I haven't skied is Diamond Peak in Incline, but it doesn't have much challenge, and gets the lowest snowfall, while being the first to melt off in the area. Mount Rose is good, with some short but great challenging terrain finally accessible in the chutes.
Homewood is on the west shore, beautiful views of the Lake, like Heavenly's only on a much smaller scale. It's pretty tame, but a fun and relatively inexpensive family place.
Long and short of it is that if I were coming across the country to ski and get the most out of a vacation without the aggravation, here's what I'd do -- stay at Squaw, ski 4 or 5 days there, and take one day to go over to Alpine Meadows. The Squaw Valley Lodge (or someplace with a kitchenette) would be my likely base, so that after stocking up for the week, I wouldn't have to leave the valley and fight traffic except for one foray one canyon over at Alpine Meadows, and I'd go early that day (7:00 - 7:30) to eat breakfast there and hang out while the parking lot fills and the lifts get ready to open.
I wouldn't bother with Diamond Peak and probably wouldn't go to Mt. Rose -- too far from other stuff (though not a bad choice if staying in Reno) for the amount of variety it offers. I'm not a big fan of urban South Lake Tahoe, so Heavenly wouldn't be on my list for that kind of vacation. If I did do that -- heed the above suggestion of the Ridge or another lodging facility on the Nevada side right on the mountain. If you're into gambling (I'm not), Heavenly is more attractive, since South Lake Tahoe/Stateline is the venue to go to for that. And if that's important to you, consider staying in the expensive accommodations at the base of the gondola just over the state line in Stateline (Vail Resorts owns most of that).
Quiet and cheaper with little night life and further away -- Kirkwood for some great snow, good fun and a quiet place to saw logs at night before getting up to do it over again. If you rent a house in Alpine Meadows (almost no real lodging facilities) is a better way to do that, since I'd put Alpine higher on the good mountains list -- but you will probably have a short drive from the house to the parking lot.
You can stay in Tahoe City or Truckee and drive, but again, beware the traffic if you don't get out early, and also heading home at teh end of the day. You can stay in South Lake Tahoe and drive, too, but again -- to me the Heavenly traffic and parking hassles would take away from the vacation. From South Lake Tahoe you can ski Heavenly, Sierra Tahoe and Kirkwood if you're into driving to them, and it isn't usually too bad to get to and parked at Sierrra Tahoe or Kirkwood, but you are talking about February, so again, go early, especially on a weekend day and double especially if you're talking President's weekend or week -- that is crazy all over the area.
If you want more, let me know. As to lodging guides, it'd be easier to narrow it down if you pick the resort and part of Tahoe you think you want to stay in.
HTH some,
Rich
