What a trip this was! Ya’ll if you haven’t been to Vermont, I highly reccommend penciling in a stay at Stowe Mountain Lodge. If you follow along on social media, you’ve probably noticed that I love all things fall. It’s my favorite season, however, it’s an inexcusably short season in North Carolina. With that being said, Bailey Schwartz from Here’s The Skinny and I set out to find the perfect fall getaway destination. After a little bit of research, it became apparent that Stowe Mountain Lodge was the perfect place for this. Below you will find a complete review of our stay at the lodge.
The Rooms:We stayed in a classic guest room with a view of Mount Mansfield. Our room was a little over 450 sq. ft and had a beautiful marble tiled bathroom with a separate tub. The room was plenty spacious for two people (we had two doubles but rooms with just one King are also available), however Stowe Mountain Lodge also offers studios, junior suites, one, two, and three bedroom suites, residences that you can rent out, and cabins! So if you’re planning to come with a larger party, there is an option for everyone. Bailey and I actually got to tour some of these rooms and the amenities were fantastic! My personal favorite, the fireplace. I also want to take a second to talk about the decor. When I think of Vermont, I think of the mountains, skiing, fall, and being cozy. Each room embodied these feelings perfectly! Everything looks and feels brand new, but has that cozy lodge feel to it – right up my alley!
Dining: I’ve mentioned this in my reviews before, but food can make or break a trip for me. I’m a foodie, and if I’m going on vacation I like to experience better food than I could cook at home. We experienced two different restaurants at Stowe Mountain Lodge, the coffee shop, lobby bar, and in-room dining. All were exceptional, but I will break down the details for you here:
Solstice Restaurant:We had both breakfast and dinner here and both were delicious! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I was exceptionally excited to try it! I ordered the superfoods egg white omelet which came with spinach, turkey, tomato, avocados and potatoes and it was excellent! Typically I would’ve gone for the stack of pancakes, but our wedding is only two short months away so you know how that goes. I also decided to splurge a little and order the banana bread which was warm and amazing! You need to order it if you go! I kept craving steak while we were visiting, so for dinner at Solstice I ordered the 10 oz Bistro Steak which was also really delicious! Overall, the quality of the food at this restaurant is excellent – you really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu!
Hourglass Lounge: Before dinner, Bailey and I were both ready for a drink after a long day of exploring so we grabbed a seat in a cozy little nook at the Hourglass Lounge and tried out their Vermont flight of beer! I’m not a big beer drinker so I had a specialty cocktail (strawberry margarita) that was to die for! However, Bailey said the flight was excellent as well. We grabbed the crab dip as our appetizer, which again, you can’t go wrong with!
The Cottage: The Cottage is up at the golf course in the clubhouse! It’s a beautifully built building with a cozy fireplace in the center of it surrounded by tables and chairs. We just had a light lunch here before checking out, but the food didn’t disappoint. If you’re looking for something a little more simple like a burger, dog, or wrap – I would reccommend hopping over here.
In room dining: Our flight getting into Burlington was delayed by an hour, so we arrived at the hotel rather late and hungry! We decided to try out the in-room dining and had a Kale Ceasar Salad with chicken, charcuterie board, and the pulled pork nachos! We reccommend them all.
The Pantry & Beanery: Coffee is my thing. Okay, I have a lot of things I know – but this is the one thing I couldn’t live without in the world. So when we found out that Stowe Mountain Lodge has it’s own little coffee shop, I was thrilled! I couldn’t wait to try a Maple Latte as I had heard they were super satisfying, and I heard right. I reccommend giving one a go if you’re visiting! We didn’t get a chance to check out The Pantry, but it looked like they offered lunch items like deli sandwhiches, wraps, and salads!
Something else worth noting about the food at SML is that they grow their own herb garden. So all of the herbs used in the food around the lodge are snipped directly from their property. Additionally, they mentioned many times that some of the offerings on the menu were from locally owned farms, which I appreciate as I’m a big supporter of local businesses.
Service: In today’s world, finding good customer service can be challenging. This is a sad statement, but all too often I find that customer service is not the main area of concern for businesses anymore. A few things that stood out to me in terms of service at SML were as follows:
The lodge offers a complimentary Mercedes during your stay for up to two hours in case you would like to leave the grounds.
A lady by the name of Diana checked us in upon arrival and was absolutely delightful and welcoming! It’s always nice to be greeted by an employee whose as happy as you are to be there. Ask for her if you’re planning a stay!
Valet was exceptional in helping us get situated, coming and going from the lodge, and making sure we never had to wait for anything.
We enjoyed a spa experience that was above and beyond – I will talk more about this below.
Grounds: We chose Vermont as our destination in leui of it’s natural beauty. Mount Mansfield serves as the backdrop for one side of the lodge, and in the fall, the mountain looks like a sea of color! Its spectacular. The grounds were perfectly manicured, very clean, and walkable. Something I found interesting about the lodge itself was that it is made out of the trees that were cut down to build the property. For instance, the hostess podium at Solstice is made out of a tree trunk taken from the property during building. I found this to be a really nice touch! We were also told that most of the art and decorations within the lodge came from local artists.
Spa: We had the opportunity to experience the spa during our stay, and boy it didn’t disappoint! As mentioned before, we were in search of a fun filled fall weekend, so we chose the Stowe Cider Uber Scrub and Massage as our treatment. Let me just start by saying that I get massages regularly, but I’ve never actually done a scrub before. So this was a first for me. This is a 110 minute treatment beginning with 50 minutes of a local cider scrub for exfoliating and smoothing your skin. After the first 50 minutes, you take a shower within the room while the therapist steps out to allow for privacy, and then you begin your 50 minute massage. My skin has never felt softer, ya’ll! I got out of that shower, and my skin felt like a babies bottom – completely rejuvenated! Upon completion, we were escorted to a relaxation room (the sanctuary) where our therapist gave us a cold can of Stowe Cider to enjoy. This was all around such a “must” experience! I can’t rave about it enough. Additionally, the facility itself was state of the art. The spa manager gave us a little tour prior to our experience, and mentioned their scented shower heads are so popular they actually sell them in the shop after customers requested them so often! The spa manager was also full of little beauty secrets and tips outside of services the spa offers, which I really appreciated! She had a wealth of knowledge in the health and wealthness field and was delightful to talk too.
Overall, I highly reccommend a stay at Stowe Mountain Lodge. In fact, Bailey and I have already talked about coming back with our hubbies next time! We’d like to re-do this trip during the winter and experience some of the amazing cold weather activties the lodge has to offer. Everything we experienced was top of the line, and superb in terms of customer service. I can’t imagine ever having a bad vacation here! Wether you are looking for a family vacation, a romantic couples trip, or a weekend with the girls – this property has something for everyone. Two thumbs up!
