Stowe Mountain Lodge

Reviews

• February 6, 2013
  "My family of four, children ages 11 14, checked into Stowe Mountain Resort in late January 2013. We arrived on Friday night during the rush when most families arrive for a weekend stay. We pulled up to a very long valet parking line and I was pretty sure we were in for a long checkin process. I was dreading this with the kids, but I couldnt haven been more wrong. This luxury resort operates like a welloiled machine. It was like something out of a movie. Multiple valets came streaming out of the hotel with bellcarts ready to take everyones luggage, skis and cars. We were inside in less than 5 minutes and soon after that our family was settled comfortably into our Ridgeline onebedroom suite. I am pretty sure this suite was bigger than my first apartment and definitely better appointed. We had a full sized gourmet kitchen with a separate eating area, a living room with a sleeper sofa, a separate kingsized bedroom and an oversized marble finished bathroom. There were lots of little touches that make it feel amazingly comfortable for our family too like a stacked washerdryer unit, a fireplace and the most luxurious sheets we have ever slept on. It is good to know ahead of time that most guest rooms type feature some sort of kitchen or kitchenette. You can bring your own food or if you forget, the hotel has a great little shop that sells just about everything. It is part sundries, part clothing store, and part souvenir shop. You will find milk, half half, OJ, english muffins, cheese and crackers, frozen lasagna, and organic juice boxes. If you forgot your bathing suit or need some Darn Tough ski socks, they can help you out with that too. Perhaps you want to bring home a little slice of Vermont? Grab a Simon Pierce bowl or Shelburne Farms cookbook. One of the nicest things about staying a firstrate hotel is firstrate service. Although you keep your boots in your room, our family really appreciated the Ski Valet. If you want to avoid the line in the Ski Valet room, be sure to call ahead so your gear can brought out on a cart and be waiting for you to hit the slopes. This simple thing makes staying in at a ski resort with kids great especially with all their stuff. The less gear you have to lug around the better! Once our family got out on the mountain they enjoyed two full days of skiing on worldclass terrain. Stowe has invested in its stateoftheart snowmaking operations, just incase Mother Nature doesnt pull through so the conditions are usually terrific. We always appreciate that this is an all highspeed lift access mountain. It means less time getting to the top and more time skiing. We are usually totally content to ski and ride only at Spruce Peak. There are plenty of beginner and intermediate trails, with just a few black diamonds thrown in. However my husband and daughter decided to try the Toll Road on the big side of the mountain. This 3.7mile trail is a long lazy run. Some might say it is narrow, but they disagree. Getting back and forth between the two mountains is simple there is an Over Easy gondola. You can also use this if you want to take the mountain gondola up to the Cliff House for a meal. Apresski we spent time in the hotels heated outdoor pool and hot tubs. Unfortunately, we weren't able to check out the game room as it was converted into meeting space during our stay for a large medical group that was also staying at the hotel. On Saturday night the only organized kids activity was buildabear, my daughter age 11 was a little old for this though she did it anyway and the free movie was Horton Hears a Who. My son was disappointed that there was no laser tag. It was a bit surprising despite the fact that the hotel was crawling with kids. We ended up just ordering food at the Hourglass bar and eating in front of the roaring fireplaces and playing cards. Which ended up being a great way to end our day. Some things families should know A rollaway bed is going to cost you 35night plus taxes The hotel is valet only 19night plus taxes The hotel is pet friendly, like many places in Vermont a real plus for dog lovers, but if you dont love pets, know that dogs are only allowed stay on certain floorscertain rooms. Dogs are not allowed in restaurants. You can request a late check out. It will cost you 75, but it gets you your room until 600 pm! Totally worth it for a full day if skiing. Shower, change, pack up and head out. No rush. No hassle. Although many people may find that Stowe Mountain Resort is pricey, we think you get what you pay for. This full service, luxury ski resort doesnt disappoint and delivered where it counts. Disclosure While I was invited to Stowe Mountain Resort and they paid for most of my expenses, my review reflects the honest opinions of my experience without outside influence."
  - missmagpie

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