This was my 3rd stay at the Essex. Check-in and check out was a breeze. We stayed again in the Manor building (room 157) with a fireplace and kitchenette. room was very clean as expected. The mattress could use replacing, felt like we slept in a bit of a ditch, it was super worn in. I thought I had seen signs last year that they were working on replacing the mattresses so maybe they haven't gotten to that one yet. The first night we dined at Amuse. We thought the food was very delicious. Only thing holding us back from dining there more are the prices of the food. very expensive, but still very delicious. The food was a little slow to come out, it turned into a 2 hour dinner, so just be aware.
Saturday we decided to eat at the Tavern for dinner since we've done it before and liked the food. I called earlier in the day to make a dinner reservation, they told me 8:45 no problem. we were out all day and rushed back to the hotel to make our reservation only to find that the tavern doesn't take reservations only Amuse so the person who answered the phone got mixed up. we were just a little annoyed because we didn't need to rush, but oh well. The tavern menu has changed a lot over the last couple years, there wasn't even a chicken entree option which i was surprised about. i asked the waitress about it and she said embarrassingly that there was a grilled chicken option on the kids menu if i wanted it. Or that some of the salads have a grilled chicken add-on option if i want. Strange. Quality of the food at Tavern went down a little. i ordered a grilled caesar salad with shrimp, the shrimp seemed a little undercooked which caught me by surprise, but i was hungry and didn't want to send the food back so i just put the shrimp to the side. My husband liked his club sandwich.
We visited the spa again, the facilities are immaculate, and calming. We did a side by side couples massage. My husband's therapist (Ashely) was great (from his words), I had Rod (or Ron?) and he was very nice but i had to tell him 3 separate times to lighten the pressure, which wasn't super relaxing but overall i still had a decent massage.

I would still recommend this place to come and stay, enjoy the food/spa/hot tub. but at this point not sure if i can recommend the Tavern, it was a little disappointing this time around. Amuse was very delicious.

We love The Essex Resort more than any hotel we have ever been too! I mentioned that I wanted to spend the night for my Birthday and from that moment on Janette proceeded to make it the most magical birthday I have ever had ( I am 52, and have had many wonderful birthdays!) She included early birthday wishes ( colorful balloon bouquet. Image) on my confirmation email, then we arrived to find that she had not only matched the absolute lowest Priceline deal, but for my birthday they upgraded my room to King size, whirlpool bath and fireplace room , invited us to choose a complementary gourmet dessert ( I chose creme brûlée which was as good as the one I ate in Paris 5 yrs ago) and finally I was almost in tears to see a chilled bottle of sparkling wine with a card wishing me a Happy Birthday from the staff at The Essex!!!!
I have been here 4 times since August ( both with and without my children) it is a short drive to heaven! Swimming,shopping, biking,nature walks, tennis, campfires,Spa, gourmet yet reasonablely priced meals.... I could go on and on! It is always clean, friendly,relaxing, comfortable while feeling pampered! We love The Essex!

My boyfriend and I were staying the weekend at Stowe Mountain Lounge and needed a hotel near the airport for one night. We've seen The Essex Culinary Resort on Jetsetter.com a few times and found a great rate for $88. We arrived around midnight and were put in 'The Mansion' part of the resort. The Resort is very cozy and doesn't seem to be as expansive as the pictures. It was however snowing, so most of the outdoor areas were blocked off due to ice. The cooking area was in one big kitchen area, amongst guest rooms. When booking, request not to stay near the classroom as the close proximity could be noisy. The pool is massive and is located in its own building.. We didn't have time to visit the spa but the setting seemed tranquil and smelled amazing. The breakfast buffet tasted fresh and was well priced. $17 for a buffet, coffee, and juice. Overall, this hotel was great for one night but there isn't enough to do to spend an entire weekend.

Note-the pillow top mattress was like sleeping on a cloud. Heavenly.

Four of us visited (2 couples) for a Fri-Sun visit in January for skiing. I don't ski, so this place was perfect for me. It turned out my friend and I stayed on Saturday while the guys went skiing, so we could take full advantage of not just the spa, but the outlets, which were about a 10 minute walk away. And boy did we take advantage of everything! After our morning of wonderful shopping, we went back, signed in at spa reception, and took advantage of the fitness center, pool and hot tub before actually having our massages. It was perfect! When the guys got back, we went back into the hot tub (kids went in for about 2 minutes before they remembered they were kids and don't like scalding hot water). That hot tub was just perfect! Big enough for about 8 people comfortably. The indoor pool was impressive, quite large, totally swimmable if you want to get your lap swim on. The fitness center was tiny, but the view was lovely. The treadmills were a bit out of date, but I can imagine that's not the most important selling point for a place like this. It worked, but wasn't the best. Then it was off to dinner at Amuse. The dinner was wonderful, though definitely expensive. The cheese plate... ugh! So good. Really, the whole day was a delight for all the senses! We had the brunch buffet, which was yummy, with a great variety, too. Anything from smoked salmon to french toast. I was a happy camper.

The rooms were even better than I thought that they would be. Everything was modern and super clean. The beds were a bit softer than I would have liked, but I'm sure others would love them. Really nice soaps, which I appreciate. And reception could not have been friendlier or more helpful.

Really all in all, the whole experience was delightful. I would totally go back, any time of year!