Ericka

We booked a few nights at the Stowe Mountain Lodge in order to ski with our 4 year old son. DavidO managed the Virtuoso booking and helped us negotiate an upgrade in advance of our arrival. We stayed in an Alpine View One Bedroom Suite which had an ideal layout for a family including a separate bedroom, pullout sofa, full service kitchen, washer and dryer, gas fireplace, and large marble bathroom with separate shower and deep soaking tub. Our unimpeded view was of the ski slopes and surrounding mountains.

The lodge is part of a recent upscale development called Spruce Peak Village which feels more "Alpine Colorado" than New England (and that's a good thing). The hotel has views out to the charming village and ski mountain from most every window. And there is a ski valet so that even if you require rentals, your gear is at the hotel waiting for you when you are ready to hit the slopes. The magic carpets, chairlifts, gondolas and well regarded ski school are all right outside the door. Ski in, ski out in Vermont! Despite rain the week before, the trails were in great shape thanks to top of the line grooming and snowmaking. There was also a year round indoor/outdoor pool which was fun for the families, and a pretty little ice skating rink.

The Stowe Mountain Lodge is a large facility, and can feel that way at times, but staff learned our names by the second or third encounter, and impressed our son with a customized "goodie tray" amenity. We found the service to be good, but not exceptional. For special requests, we had to offer reminders in order to get things done. Service in both restaurants was slow and the food was.... not up to expectations. And, housekeeping had an annoying habit of leaving huge blue bags of linens out in the hallways for hours.

Despite the lodge not being a total five star experience, we'll likely go back because of the beautiful facilities, luxury conveniences and fantastic ski school. Our 4 year old son is getting more serious about skiing and is stopping and turning after only two private lessons here!

Musken

When we go skiing, we do that closer to home, of course, but still always appreciate your TRs so thank you!

hannisen

We've been so close to going there twice, and this TR didn't really make me less interested. Thanks!

Ericka

We're just back from another stay at Stowe Montain Lodge. We stayed in a one bedroom alpine view suite and were very happy with the view and the room in general. See above for more details about the room. We were told our suite this time (#1537) had the best view of the Mount Mansfield ski trails.

Staff were always very friendly and accomodating. I can't recall any requests being met with a "no".

It was school vacation week and the place was crowded. The huge lobby was always full of people...maybe they were guests or maybe they were skiiers just coming in for a break. But there were never long lift lines or too many people on the slopes. All in all, it's a well managed operation. Also, Vail Resorts has jugst purchased Stowe Mountain. Interesting. We're probably headed back next weekend. I'll add more here if anything new develops.

Again, this is not a true luxury resort by this forum's standards, but it's Virtuoso and a great ski destination overall. The pretty rooms, warm service, ski valet, and ski in ski out facilities make it a great option in New England.

Ericka

We’re on our way back from Stowe and our annual SML stay. This time we had alpine suite #1501 which looked over the pool and onto the ski trails beyond. The mountain view was great but I can’t recommend this suite because of the noise (kids in the pool, elevator, etc.)

It was very busy as usual for this time of year. And there were lots of kids. One night it took us 40 minutes to get our car from the valet. The manager made up for it by comping the parking fee and buying us a round of drinks. Everything else about our stay was great...wonderful skiing, great spa appointments, attentive housekeeping, etc. We’ll be back next year.

farbster

Ericka - do you fly to Stowe or drive?

Ericka

We drive. If flying, you’d need to do some research on the closest viable airport. Burlington is the closest small city.

farbster

I have relatives and friends that go to Stowe yearly from Baltimore. I have found Utah to be so accessible and awesome, that I am not sure I would consider Stowe.

Ericka

If you can easily ski Utah, you should ski Utah.
Stowe is a great option for New Englanders with a long weekend but can’t compete with the skiing out west. Of course we don’t have altitude issues either.

farbster

The only time I had any altitude issues was my first day in Aspen. Boy, that hit me hard. I didn't realize that would be such an issue and I probably should have had more water to drink.