We stayed in an Inn Room, the most basic type of room this hotel offers. It was a good-sized room with a nice view. Based on the hotel’s layout, I would imagine that all of its rooms have nice views. We had never been to Stowe before and chose this hotel for the ski in/ski out access. It was indeed VERY convenient. The “Tollhouse” double chair lift is a few steps away from the Inn, and at the end of the day you can just ski back to the Inn on the beautiful “Toll Road” trail. One very cold day we needed to return to our room to get warmer gear and it was nice not to have to leave the mountain and get in the car & drive somewhere… we simply skied back to the Inn, got our stuff, and jumped back on the chair lift.
The staff is very nice and professional.
Our room was clean and housekeeping came every day; however, one day we had to ask for a repeat visit because they had neglected to vacuum the carpet (the dirt/debris was ours but a simple vacuum would have been nice). They did return immediately and rectify it, so no problem. One day housekeeping left their key ring in our room (and all room numbers were clearly labeled). If we were dishonest, we could have gone on a stealing spree. Moral: don’t leave anything valuable in your room, lest another less-than-honest guest find themselves the recipients of the key to your room.
The room was not shabby but it was a little dated. The bed was very comfortable, and that’s worth a lot. There was an old TV on the floor of the closet, taking up space that we could have used for our empty luggage or shoes or whatever. The bathroom is small and needs more counter space; there is really no room to put anything. The tub drained very slowly and by the end of a quick shower, we were standing in a pool of ankle-deep water.
The electrical outlets in the room were not abundant. There were only two visible, and we had two cell phone chargers, a laptop, and a fan we needed to plug in. Let’s just say a power strip would have been nice; too bad we didn’t think to bring one. Speaking of the laptop, we could not use our regular wireless access to the Internet and had to get a limited-time-use access code from the front desk to use theirs. Even then, we found that the signal in our room was not that good, but if we went to the game room, it was acceptable. We had no cell phone signal in our room either. So I guess the moral is, leave work at home; do not bring your cell phone or laptop on your Stowe vacation! ;-)
The Inn was empty when we were there (week of 2/27/06). It was nice because it was quiet and felt like we had the place to ourselves, but this surprised me because when I tried to make my reservation online it appeared mostly booked.
The Fireside Restaurant, located inside the Inn, was not open for dinner Monday through Wednesday, so we weren’t able to eat there. They were open for breakfast, however.
The recreation room (or game room, as the Inn refers to it) is very nice. There’s a pool table, 3 or 4 arcade-type games, a large-screen TV, tables & chairs to sit and play board games, and a nice sitting area with comfortable furniture and a fireplace. There is a fitness center available, with a hot-tub that you can reserve for 30 minute increments, but it is outside and across the rear parking lot.
I thought the price for our stay was a bit steep compared to the other similar places in Stowe that I called. The Inn Room is very basic (and all of the things I said above), and frankly, $169/night is just too much. I overhead the front desk rep. telling another customer that walk-ins tend to get lower prices, so if you want to take a chance, you might get a better deal without an advance reservation.
Check your invoice before you leave… ours was $1200 more than it should be. The front desk did rectify this after we brought it to their attention; however, if we had not caught it before we left, it would probably have been a hassle to fix later.
In summary, I doubt the Inn at the Mountain is the best value in Stowe; however, the easy access to the mountain would still make it my #1 choice in the future.