marzNC
Angel Diva
I've found that even within the same region, there is a variety of approaches when it comes to lessons. Pays to remember that working on improving fundamental skills doesn't require a large resort or even the best snow.Having an actual advanced black/double black regular group lesson available at Winter Park is great in my book! More places should have that opportunity, and very cool that one might end up with a very small group or private lesson that way.
A smaller ski area/resort can have a good ski school with enough very experienced instructors for semi-private lessons. A couple of the most experienced instructors I've worked with out west are at Bridger and Wolf Creek, both independent ski areas with over 1500 acres of skiable terrain and plenty of powder. However, neither has slopeside lodging. It's been worth figuring out how to get back with friends who are willing to split a lesson or two.
At my home hill, there was a special multi-week lesson program put together by one of the locals who was good friends with one of the L3 instructors who only taught 2 days a week, Thursdays and Sundays. The ski school at an independent resort can probably be more flexible than a destination resort.