Hotel Review: Stowe Mountain Lodge

“This is so nice.” We had been at the Stowe Mountain Lodge for about two hours & I couldn’t stop repeating myself. “This is so nice,” I said over & over again. I honestly didn’t know what to expect: I’d never been to a ski resort before. In fact, I have never skied a day in my life. Luckily, it turns out that visiting a ski resort when there’s not a single snowflake to be found is nice. Really nice, in fact.

 It was not only our first time at a ski resort, it also was our first time in Vermont – talk about a double-wammy of awesomeness! Stowe Mountain Resort (the Lodge, where we stayed, & the Inn down the street) is located in the extremely picturesque New England town of Stowe. The eco-friendly, ski-in/ski-out* Lodge opened in 2008 & expanded to a second building in 2010. All 300 rooms in the resort offer amazing mountain views, many with super cute balconies to enjoy them on.

We stayed in the newer south building in an Alpine Studio. The room was beautiful & rustic & filled with warm woods & comfortable textiles – exactly like what you think a room in a Vermont ski resort should look like. In addition to a giant king-sized bed, there was also an ample seating area with a sofa (that folded out into a queen-sized bed – by far the most comfortable sleeper sofa I’ve ever sat on!) & coffee table. Nestled next to the electric fireplace (which was more for decoration than heat – a great feature when it’s 80 degrees out!) was a creamy leather chair, perfect for curling up & reading.

The generously sized bathroom had a beautiful slate tile floor & a very cool barn door that closed off the toilet room. The giant glass shower was perfect for scrubbing down after a muddy hike & the oversized marble tub is perfect for soaking sore post-skiing muscles (or I’d guess it is… in fact, skip the skiing & just head straight to the giant tub).

 The room overlooked Spruce Peak & many of the summer attractions, including the Alpine Slide, rock climbing wall & inflatable obstacle course. In the evening the only sound that could be heard was the chirping of crickets & the clanking of shuffle board disks – how often can you say that? While we weren’t on the side of the hotel which overlooks famous Mt. Mansfield & the black diamond ski runs, it was almost nicer to be on the quiet-er back side of the hotel. During the winter, our room would overlook pretty scenery & some of the easier ski runs.

 Now, I know what you’re thinking: what the heck is there to do & eat in the middle of a New England ski town in the middle of the summer? Well, actually, plenty. As I mentioned, the Lodge has all kinds of summer activities & we conquered at least attempted them all. Stowe Mountain Lodge has plenty of eating options right on campus, including Solstice, a nicer restaurant on-site, & Hourglass, a bar with amazing flatbreads (flatbreads & pizza are a very big thing in Vermont). I’ll be writing all about playing & eating at the Lodge later in the month.

One of the most interesting things about staying at Stowe Mountain Lodge were the other guests. Everyone was just so darn nice! Since the Lodge also sells their condos in a time-share-type arrangement, there were many return guests. The resort was filled with many families, with children of all ages, but unlike when we’re usually surrounded by kids, it really didn’t bother us. Yeah, there were always a lot of kids at the pool, but we had our balcony or seating area in our room to escape to. But there’s something fun about roasting marshmallows around the campfire with a few families who are really excited to be on vacation & traveling together. I think this is one of the rare places where you can have both a DINK-friendly & a family-friendly vacation on the same property.

 We absolutely, without a doubt, lets-go-back-next-weekend would stay here again. The service was top notch & staff provided a high level of service to every guest they came across – from smiles in the hall, to holding doors open, to lots of suggestions of things to do (major kudos to Brian, the bellhop, who helped us without prompting throughout our trip). Maybe I’ll try it in the winter next time – perhaps we could skip straight to the apres-ski?

*See what I did there? With the fancy ski word? Truthfully, I have absolutely NO idea what ski-in, ski-out means, but everyone tells me it’s a big deal!

Know if you go… 

– Stowe Mountain Lodge is an all-valet parking hotel. We know how I feel about valet parking after a certain Ft. Lauderdale incident, but the valets here were top notch. Parking in a heated garage is $19 per day.

– There are many different accommodations options, so make sure to take your time & explore the website to figure out which one is best for you.

– An Alpine Concierge will help you out with all your pre-arrival needs. Once you make your reservation, get in touch with them & they’ll hook you up to ensure that everything is perfect when you arrive. There’s also a friendly concierge desk on-site. Peter, one of the concierge’s, recommended a great hike for us.

– As I mentioned, I don’t ski, so I can’t offer much advice on the skiing activities. I was told by a few people, though, that if you’re headed there to ski, look into a mid-week stay when the slopes are quieter & room rates are lower.

– Each room also includes a little kitchenette, which has a two burner cooktop, a small sink, a mini-fridge & everything you need to cook a simple meal. We found the fridge to be helpful to hold beer, wine & a few snacks. There’s also an extensive room service menu available, & you can get take out pizza from the bar in the Lodge.

– Bring your swim trunks, no matter what time of year it is! The pool has a very cool feature: an indoor pool entry allows you to enter the heated pool indoors & swim out to the larger outdoor pool. I think it would be pretty awesome to swim when there’s snow on the ground!

– There’s a large, luxury spa on site, which we unfortunately didn’t have time to visit. Next time!

Our weekend at Stowe Mountain Lodge was provided compliments of Destination Hotels & Resorts. All opinions, including the gushing about the Lodge & lack of any sort of knowledge about skiing, are my own.