We just got back from 4 nights at the Jackson Gore Inn at Okemo. We had a great time. The hill has come a long way from the ol' Poma days of yore.

The Hotel:

The Jackson Gore inn has the feel off an off-piste Condo complex in Avon or Edwards. It has a serviceable lobby with bar, an "upscale" tavern, a cafeteria, and the obligatory italian restaurant. The hotel has an attached outdoor heated pool (all-season, with indoor entry), and two outdoor 12-seat hot tubs, one indoor hottub, a steamroom and sauna. There is a mandatory (but free) ski check. There is daycare on the first floor, and children's ski lessons meet in the building as well. There is also a small convenience store and ski shop in case you left the simple things at home.

Having all the amenities under one roof is massively convenient, especially for families. Once you have your shopping taken care of there is little reason to leave the Inn. We didn't even make it to the "Spring House" pool complex next door, since the Inn's pool was so convenient (if a bit chilly). Having the daycare and lessons meeting area in the building made mornings very, very easy on Mom and Dad. The in-Inn (hehe) eating options were serviceable, but far from fine dining. The lobby bar gets PACKED from about 3pm to 8pm - it appears to draw quite a few people who are staying elsewhere, getting their legs back before heading out to farther-flung condos.

The hotel staff seems a bit overwhelmed, but maintains a great attitude in the face of type-A NYers and Bostonites screaming bloody murder about every minor inconvenience. [We personally witnessed two parental tantrums, one of which involved a grown woman throwing her kid's skis in disgust over some miscommunication, and whining that she was "tired of picking up things." sigh...] You might wait awhile for a bellman on changeover day, and you might have to wait in a line for something. If you can't handle that, you might have problems. We found the whole experience very pleasant.

The Room

This is a tale of two rooms. The "One bedroom suite" which appears to be the most popular option consists of a "studio" and an adjoining "bedroom".

The "bedroom" is a standard-size two-double bed hotel room - Holiday Inn size. The beds are nice enough, the bathroom has a very nice deep jet tub (not luxury, mind you, but nice) and there is an area at the entrance to hang ski equipment - as well as two large closets. HOWEVER - the TV is an old tube model, housed in a wardrobe cabinet at the foot of the beds. There is no more than 14 inches of clearance between the beds and the wardrobe, making the room feel VERY cramped. It is actually hard for two adults to find space to gear up in the bedroom, let alone the 4 that could theoretically sleep there.

The "bedroom" adjoins (via two lockout doors) the "studio". This room feels like a standard condo living room, with a flat screen TV above a gas fireplace, an (uncomfortable) sleeper couch, an armchair, a coffee table, and a four-seat table. The galley kitchen is well-equipped and has a dishwasher. There is also a murphy bed housed in an attractive wooden "cabinet" against the wall. The "studio" has a standard bathroom with tub, a gear area, and two closets (one in the bathroom).

Our little family of four was pretty comfortable in the suite, with the exception of the very cramped bedroom. I honestly can't imagine packing in the 8ppl that could theoretically sleep in the four beds - people would have to sit on the floor or folding chairs, and would be all over each other in the mornings. Add to that some (apparently common) thermostat issues which kept the temp in the rooms at 74 or above unless a window was opened, and you have a recipe for a nice big family fight. Maybe a batchelor weekend or college outing could hack it, but I think 5 is about the sane limit for this config.

With a holiday-week per-night price of $750, the overall experience is fantastic, but the room itself leaves a bit to be desired for a new construction time-share property. Off season or midweek, the price drops substantially, which makes the whole package much more attractive.

A note on Okemo:

Okemo doesn't get much respect, which I don't quite understand. It is a little light on amenities for the price, and lacks the old-world charm of Stowe or Sugarbush, but it also lacks the crowds. Even during peak weeks, there is plenty of space on the mountain to find some unmolested turns, and there is rarely a substantial lift line. There is a wide variety of terrain, including glades and nicely structured bump runs. The ski school is great for kids, and the staff is uniformly pleasant and friendly. Sure, Stratton is a bit closer to NYC, but escaping the crowds seems worth the extra 10 minutes of driving. As a father of a 6yo and 3yo, the lack of finer dining options frankly doesn't bug me, either. I'm sacked out by 9pm anyway. If you are with a family and you came to ski, this is a great little mountain.

We've picked up the midweek madness stay and ski package. It can't get more convenient. The room was gigantic enough, the staff was kind and the most important thing: you're two steps away from the lift. No lines, no parking. Just check your skis and be happy. I read some reviews complaining about the noise during the night (snow making and grooming). Yes, that's true. But come on! You're sleeping by the slopes!!

I also wouldn't recommend this place if you're a first timer. The carpet trail is very short and when it gets easy (and it does get easy after a couple of hours), the next green option is not very welcoming. In this case you'd better stay close to the main base, where there're many options of nicer green trails at the slow ski area.

The restaurants were too pricey for the quality.

We stayed 5 nights at Jackson Gore Inn, our second stay in three years, and the first in the main Jackson Gore Building. We had a two bedroom loft condo on the 4th floor. We stayed during the coldest stretch of days for probably the entire winter, and we could not have picked a more convenient location. Upon checkin by the helpful and friendly front desk, we were able to drop our skis at the ski check, which we would drop off our skis at the end of each day and pickup each morning. We parked in the underground garage beneath the building and headed up to our condo - underground is huge with a packed car, 4 kids, and a negative windchill. The condo was perfect. The loft area served as a third bedroom for some of our kids, which allowed the kids to get good sleep. The living area was very comfortable, with a gas fireplace and plenty of seating. The kitchen was well stocked - although I never like cooking with electric :), and we made our breakfasts and dinners each night. The place was clean, the linens fresh, mattresses were good. The only downside was no washer and dryer in the condo (which we did have when we stayed at the Bixby House two buildings down), but there were coin operated laundry facilities one floor down.

On the bitterest of days, there is no greater convenience, then being able to get to Daycare without having to go outside! We loved that we could go right downstairs, and be at Daycare, or walk 10 yards to Ski School, or 5 yards to Ski Check. The Roundhouse was a great place to get lunch every day, or a quick snack before it closed. We didn't utilize the Coleman Brook Restauarant this trip, but have in the past and it's excellent. Indoor pool and hottub were available as well, although we didn't partake - too tired from a day fo skiing - we saw many families enjoying it both in the Inn and about 25 yards away at the Spring House. There were a lot of great activities for the whole family, that we didn't partake this time such as tubing and the roller coaster (which is fun!), and plenty of restaurants nearby. The Corner Store was convenient when we needed to refill with some necessities for kids and adults, and the equipment store had everything we needed to make sure we could ski comfortably.

We didn't get back in our car until it was time to leave, which is a great trip in my book. Facilities were great, skiing was fine (it was bitter cold, so conditions were icy), staff was excellent and we will go back.

Rooms clean and well appointed with complete kitchen fireplace jacuzzi and good views. Location ski in ski out
A Colorado like resort and a not bad mountain if you hit snow and sun
Try to avoid the weekends for less running in the halls and crowds in the hot tubs