I went to Hunter twice, once in December and once in January for my first and second snowboarding experience. In December the snow machines were in full swing as the snow hadn't really started for the year and it was a warm winter. Although the ski conditions weren't that great, Hunter offered a variety of slopes for all levels of skiers. I took a lesson and Greg was my instructor and was a really great coach. We accomplished a lot in our first lesson and he taught us the basics so we could work on our beginner skills.
The second trip in January was a bit more conducive to real ski conditions. The snow was good, more powdery than the first experience. The only draw back was my snowboard instructor was a little young and wasn't that great of a teacher. I learned more in my first lesson than I did in the second one.
The lodge on the mountain is ok. They have things like chili and chicken fingers, hot coffee and tea, etc. The inside is a bit small so around lunch time the place gets crowded. They have lockers for your things which run about $7 and if you have a lot of things you can rent a bin for $10 and when you return for your things, you get $5 back. The lines to get your stuff at the end of the day can be long, but it moves quickly.
For the price, I would definitely return again. Especially since it's only about two hours outside of NYC.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.