Durango's lodging scene splits pretty cleanly by who's staying and why. Downtown hotels and historic inns put you within walking distance of Main Avenue's restaurants and shops. Properties closer to Purgatory make more sense for a ski trip, and cabins and guest ranches out toward the edges of the valley suit visitors who came for the quiet as much as the mountains.
Booking windows shift hard with the calendar. Summer and the ski season both fill rooms well in advance, and Snowdown week in late January can sell out downtown properties specifically, even when the rest of town has open rooms. If your dates are flexible, the shoulder seasons — spring mud season and the weeks right after fall color peaks — tend to have the most availability and the best rates.
Whichever part of town you land in, Main Avenue is walkable from most downtown lodging, and a short drive covers almost everywhere else.