This review is for the Adventure Center specifically. I…read morewanted to love the experience but the staff is very scattered and the process to rock climb is ridiculous. We tried to climb multiple times and were told to come back. When we did come back at the right time (two separate times) they said the time changed. They don't let you reserve in advance (which would alleviate this problem) but most of all the staff was super rude and went out their way to be unhelpful (Katelyn from st albans - most of all). They could easily have helped but they did not and walked away with us standing there with upset kids (for the third time) For a cost and supposed level of service-- this is shocking. Been a big advocate of this resort my whole life but the atmosphere has sadly changed.

Our tour group took us here, for the Gondola View for Falls colors…read more I'm not disappointed, there were lots of snow up there, by the time we got there, it was very windy, and we're dressed like winter. Inside the upper building, there are shops, restaurant, a coat section with warm setting, and restrooms. We weren't having lunch here, it was packed! We already made plans, to eat elsewhere. Going up or down, even though it was foggy, and spitting, we were able to enjoy some of the view of the season! The gondola ride was still pretty amazing, being up there. It was fun!

Highlights: DUSTIN, MARCEL, STEVE at the valet: good crew. Friendly and professional. Exactly what…read moreyou want when you give your keys to a stranger. ROSHAWN: took care of us twice at Alpine Hall. Warm and easygoing guy. Bonus points for splitting our soup order into two bowls when we said we would split the soup. Duck cassoulet was yummy and filling - somehow savory and sweet and a little spicy all at once, whew. Pumpkin soup was also fire, so pleasantly maple-y. And then the butternut squash panna cotta... on paper thats sounds like an affront to god but, wow that was a nice one. Also this was probably the most decked-out hotel gym I've ever seen. Really decent spread of equipment and offerings. And the high-pressure showerhead was good stuff too. hate those impotent little drip-drip-drip shits. Improves: * Would have liked if the concierge (check-in) acknowledged us once we walked up to the desk (no one was ahead of us) - we of course understand that being busy is a thing, but the eye-contact-and-the-curt-nod maneuver costs all of half a second. Otherwise you're standing at the desk watching someone blast away at the keyboard and you're like, hello? Do I exist? [The check OUT experience was much better.] * Concierge did not offer details about the resort e.g. locations or vendor operating hours. It was more like: okay here are your keys, enjoy!!! * Lockers would be nice at the swim-out - of course we're all here to have a good time, but I'd have a better time if I knew all my shit were locked away safely while I'm swimming around. * Alpine Hall brekkie service was a touch slow - but we only went twice. If that's the average fire time, then so be it. * Our Googling revealed a lovely prix-fixe in the days leading up to our visit.... once we got to Alpine we learned that the PF was off. Daggone it!!

This lodge is its own small town. Restaurants. Shops. Dining options. While valet is an option,…read moreit's totally worth the daily fee! They provide you with a text message option to call for the car and you can track its arrival. Check in and out was a breeze. Our room was tidy and the bathroom was equipped with a beautiful tub and shower! The room was equipped with essential needs including a two-burner stove, microwave, fridge, dishes, dishwasher and more. Although we didn't participate, I saw a sign that yoga was offered daily and guests were always in the pool, indicating it was warm :)

Expansive. Uncrowded. Affordable…read more Being on IndyPass (and its local predecessors far before) I've rediscovered the joy of skiing Bolton Valley dozens of times over the past several years. It's a family-run, independently-owned mountain atop what feels like a winding, never-ending mountain traverse to a snow castle of three distinct peaks, each with its own personality and profile. A magical place so often ignored and eclipsed by the shadows of Vermont's trifecta of trees and trail count mega-resorts: Stowe, Smugglers, and Jay. But what Bolton lacks in quantitative vertical, it more than makes up for in qualitatively experience: endless untouched glades, sprawling peaks, and unrivaled affordability. It's a unicorn of beginner, intermediate and expert terrain that rivals the best glades of Jay or the sprawling multi-peak vistas of Stowe. Saturday 2/21/26's skiing with completely full parking lots and shuttle busses of visitors was still impossibly pristine and uncrowded on slope. Stunning glades filled with the hoots and hollers of fellow powder hounds tearing up pristine powder and poaching untapped stashes all through the day. An amazing apres ski waitstaff that ensure no one waited longer than a few minutes for service, and an unattended, self-service lodge food service setup that looked like something out of Star Trek. Let me illustrate further the superiority of Bolton Valley with a simple comparison: one day at a local independent mountain (Bolton Valley) vs one day at a corporate machine (Sugarbush). SATURDAY AT BOLTON VALLEY: riding up 10m lifts with zero lift lines, skiing uncrowded glades/trails laden with soft, natural powder atop zero ice - a natural consequence of force-limiting ticket sales with smaller parking lots, less traffic, and a family-friendly, independent focus. Window pricing $49 - $109/day, but equally skiable for an entire weekend on a modest $300 season pass (Indy). SUNDAY AT SUGARBUSH: riding up high-speed 5m lifts with few lines, but dumped into crowded trails laden with bumpy pockets of snow atop any icy, unpredictable base - a natural consequence of pushing hordes of skiers faster and faster up a mountain without any ticket limits that might ensure a better skiing experience. This is the fundamental choice we all make as skiers and riders: choosing to support independently-owned resorts who prioritize experience over exploitation, independence over incorporation, and presence over pace OR the continued corporate consolidation that threatens to make skiing an elitist, pay-to-play hobby of the one percent. As with all things consumer, we all have a choice of where to spend our dollars. Having spent decades skiing the mega-mountains, traveling across the world skiing mega-resorts across like Vail, Mammoth, Tahoe, and Park City I can legitimately say the experience is always the same: over-crowded, icy weekend skiing corporate Frankenstiens trying to solve an unsolvable problem of over-sold slopes with fake snow and higher pricing vs the still-here, uncrowded independents like Bolton Valley continue to over-index on reliability, affordability, and uniqueness. There's value in slowing things down, taking in stunning vistas, and paying a lot less to experience a lot more. See beyond trail counts and lift speed and you'll find an entire world of better skiing by generations of family-owned resorts beholden to a different master: your enjoyment, not corporate's bottom line.

I very much enjoyed Bolton valley. The slopes are very beginner friendly and the staff is very…read morehelpful and friendly. Night skiing was fun except for when I fell pretty hard and ended up with a swollen knee but other than that, I highly recommend. They have multiple lifts for different parts of the mountain and various levels. This is my go-to place for snowboarding in VT.

Sprawling. Crowded. Pricey. As a longtime skier in the northeast, I lose a little bit of ski soul…read moreevery time I encounter the reality of $249/day window rate lift ticket pricing, like what Sugarbush and its corporate overlord Alterra have unleashed on former independent gems like Sugarbush. Yes, most people will never pay $249/day because they're buying $200 online tickets, but sit with that for a second... $200/day x 2 days for a weekend + food/gas/etc means at least $500 for an average weekend of skiing before you even get to lodging. And that's absurd. Its no exaggeration to say that setting day-of pricing to over $200/day is a marketing (read: extortion) ploy to advance sales of even more expensive multi-mountain passes like Ikon, intended to lock customers into a collection of other overpriced mega-mountains, ensuring customers never know what alternatives there are out there to the over-priced, over-skied, nickel-and-dime experience that modern corporate skiing with has become. And while most customers will mindlessly one-click renew their Epic (Vail) and Ikon (Alterra) passes each year, economically the only reason these passes makes sense is when you have plans for a week away at a different exotic ski resort under the same corporate ownership that epouses equivalently over-priced day rates. In case you missed it, that's an increasingly large array of Vail and Alterra's mega resorts, as consolidation within the ski industry continues its supernova trajectory, targeting any mountain nearing triple-digit trail counts as the next pin in their corporate hats. If that sounds extreme, it's not. It's the reality many of us who've been around a while have seen play out. And it's important to understand because of the very real, far superior options available to the mainstream corporate pass skiing experience. Let me illustrate by a simple comparison: one day at a local independent mountain (Bolton Valley) vs one day at a corporate machine (Sugarbush). SUNDAY AT SUGARBUSH: riding up high-speed 5m lifts with few lines, but dumped into crowded trails laden with bumpy pockets of snow atop an icy, unpredictable base - a natural consequence of pushing hordes of skiers faster and faster up a mountain without any ticket limits that might ensure a better skiing experience. I consider myself an expert skier, who's skied some of the steepest terrain in the world, but skiing icy, unpredictable slopes like Sunday at Sugarbush force-limits anyone's ability to improve, by defaulting to minimum viable slopes stripped of any natural snowfall. It's the equivalent of the mafia offering to fix your garbage problem that it, itself, created. It's the false claim of fixing over-crowded, over-skied trails with more snow-making and faster lifts... which just put more bodies, scraping more snow, creating more of a problem than existed before. However, more bodies on mountain = more food/bev sales for corporate coffers, which ever-present signage reminding you of $1/paper cup charges won't let you forget. Heaven help anyone who just paid $249/day at the window is not also paying for double-digit drinks and $38 pizzas - the horror! SATURDAY AT BOLTON VALLEY: riding up 10m lifts with zero lift lines, skiing uncrowded glades/trails laden with soft, natural powder atop zero ice - a natural consequence of force-limiting ticket sales with smaller parking lots, less traffic, and a family-friendly, independent focus. Window pricing $49 - $109/day, but equally skiable for an entire weekend on a modest $300 season pass (Indy). TL;DR: a split-view compare of independently-owned resorts who prioritize experience over exploitation, independence over incorporation, and presence over pace. Most folks reading this review will assume it's an advert for competitors. It's not. It's a rare insight into two mountains 45m from each other who've taken entirely different paths to profitability and achieved radically different outcomes: one driven to maximize pricing and bodies on the hill, another by nearly six decades of family ownership that's driven by affordability and great experience. As with all things consumer, we all have a choice of where to spend our dollars. Having spent decades skiing the mega-mountains, traveling across the world to ski other Alterra/Ikon resorts like A-Basin, Mammoth, Stratton, and Palisades I can legitimately say the experience is the same: over-crowded, icy weekend skiing in the corporate Frankenstiens trying to solve an unsolvable problem of over-sold slopes with fake snow and higher pricing vs the still-here, uncrowded Indies indexing for reliability, affordability, and uniqueness. There's value in slowing things down, taking in stunning vistas, and paying a lot less to experience a lot more. See beyond trail counts and lift speed and you'll find an entire world of better skiing by generations of family-owned resorts beholden to a different master: your enjoyment, not corporate's bottom line.

The farmhouse rental and ski repair shop which is the sugarbush ski service shop did a great job…read morewax and tuning the edges on my skis. I felt as though I had a new pair of skis after they worked their magic (took about a half hour in the morning). The grooming of the slopes and the friendly lift operators and mountain representatives were also great when I visited the mountain yesterday. The Ted's beef chilli stew topped with cheese and Jalapenos was a great lunch.

A community treasure. We are so grateful to the Cochran family for making skiing accessible to…read moreeveryone and for being a shining example of generosity and goodwill to all.

Make no mistake: only 1 star because we did get a refund…read more Advertised night skiing for Friday night from 3-8pm. Even let us purchase tickets for that time slot 2 days prior. We called around 10am that day to double check our reservation and got no answer. I figured it was because they might not be open yet but no they were and just didn't answer. We drive an hour to come ski only to be told by the car next to us that they closed at 4 when we showed up at 3:30. The staff seemed confused were the mishap was and offered to just move our reservation to another night and eventually just gave us a refund. It said in very small print that they changed the hours for this week. Looked like an alright place to ski for an hour or two, really we were just excited to ski for our Friday night. If you're from out of town I'd steer clear of this place for lack of communication. :(

Another great ski trip in the books! It was my first time to Jay Peak and it was wonderful. They…read morehad a nice variety of terrain, tons of on site lodging options and non skiing family friendly activities. Overall, the terrain was a little more advanced but had a few short trails for beginners. Several long blue runs and a few groomed black runs in addition to many more difficult mogul black runs. Lots of glades areas if that is your cup of tea. The resort was big enough that you had plenty to explore for a few days and also if you went with a group it wasn't so huge that it was impossible to meet up or find friends if you took an accidental detour. We opted for a package and it was reasonable. We chose to stay at the golf cottages which were perfect for our group, and could get around the resort with their shuttle system. There was a movie theater, bowling alley, climbing wall, mini golf as well as general store, bars and restaurants on site. If you buy a package some of the activities might be included in your price. If you want to eat off site there are a few restaurants about 15 minutes away. It was nice that they had so many things to do because this resort is in a pretty remote area and there isn't a ton around in the near vicinity.

Skiing at Jay's was an experience. The groomers were all…read morepretty rough, with barely any parts actually groomed. Did not enjoy any of them at all. The top half of the mountain was all just a tiny powder on top of ice . The ice gets shaved throughout the day to build up the powder that then gets slapped into something akin to moguls throughout the slopes. Talking to people on the lifts made it very clear that the focus of skiing here is on the glades and not the groomers. Unfortunately my lack of experience made it rather tough to enjoy that. It also wasn't until midday on our second day that we finally discovered some more beginner friendly glades. We ended up being able to enjoy the moons and the bushwacker path. The layout of the lodge is also strange. It feels cramped and crowded even though there werent too many people there. All the lifts feel far too slow as well. A wind cover at the least would be highly appreciated considering how long the ride up is. The misc Ramen truck is a highlight. Delicious lunch option. Truely a gift. Would recommend.

I'd give it a 1/2 star. Felt like this was a bait and switch. My granddaughter was looking…read moreforward to the rooms being near the river and mini golf etc. instead we were put into the condos that were away from everything and they were substandard. It looked like they were poorly refurbished 2 bedroom condos that were cheaply redone to 3 bedrooms. The floors felt like they were rotting.

Excellent location a must stop And enjoy Stowe Bowl, a…read moremartini and an app

I'm not a skier and visited Burke mountain for the first time with family who come every year…read more From what I hear and read, Burke is very affordable compared to Stowe and others. Ski lifts start at about 60 a person and work their way up. Rentals are $60 a person for the day. Not as crowded as others (from what I hear). Modern

If I could leave zero stars on this review, I would. First of all, they try to put two twin…read moremattresses on top of some old box springs and call it a king size bed however the separation between the two twin mattresses while you're sleeping creates a gap in the middle of the bed that you have to deal with every morning. I tried to switch rooms, but they didn't have any available. Also, we didn't have hot water for three days while we were there. I kept calling the front desk and they said that they would let management know. I asked if management was working on the boiler system or where they were in the process but got no answers. Also, in the north wing of the hotel, there was only one elevator working. That caused delays getting to and from anywhere that we needed to go on that side of the hotel. Naturally, we took the stairs just about every time which was better for us anyway. It's highly unfortunate under this new management. It used to be a really nice resort and we really used to love staying there.

What skiing and boarding used to be...., before hedge funds and satanic corporations bent on…read moreextracting every penny from the public went on acquiring the vast majority of ski areas. Middlebury still has the mojo. It still has the customer service. It still has the small town ambiance. Still a place where kids can get dropped off by mom and dad to have fun. We came here through Indy Pass, the multi-resort pass that honors and supports independent ski areas. What a joy We got here and it was evident we were going to have a great time. No crowds. The customer service people were just super. A couple of skiers gave us points on where to go. The place has glades galore. A couple of the best runs can be pushers and so is the top transition between the two mountain side terrains. Other than one or the main runs used for racing and therefore groomed accordingly from top to bottom, some of the rest were groomed but still leaving plenty of room for ungroomed runs and natural skiing. We got there at 9:30 and had freshies and powder to suit us. Their cafeteria is small but plenty for the place. Truly a congenial and old school ski area. May it multiply to bring the best experience to every skier and rider.

Wowwww. I loved this lil mountain. One of the last remaining holdouts that hasn't been usurped by…read moreevil-company-that-shall-not-be-named, & you can literally feel it in the air when you get there. The vibes are so good. I can't even remember the last time I got a hand-written lift ticket - I laughed out loud when I got mine! It was only $55 for a half day which was 1 PM to 4 PM. That would be like one bazillion dollars if it was run by evil-company-that-shall-not-be-named. A pass for an ENTIRE day (9 AM to 9 PM) is $75 on non-peak days & $85 on peak days. That would be like fifteen bazillion dollars if it was run by evil-company-that-shall-not-be-named. I went to Middlebury Snowbowl with two friends, both of whom needed to rent gear. The attendants in the rental shop were super friendly & fun to converse with, & my friends were both geared up (snowboard & skis respectively) for a sensible $50, helmet included. It was time for me to put my teaching chops to the test, so we tackled the bunny hill first. It was equipped with a magic carpet thingamajig & had the perfect amount of slope for beginners - Not too flat so that you have to scootch uncomfortably to get any speed, & not too steep that it's intimidating for a newbie. We made excellent progress! My BFF/student was ready to tackle the chairlift, so that's where we went next. We asked the liftie if he could slow the lift down, since it was my friend's very first time riding a chairlift - & on a snowboard, which is even scarier! He gave us an evil grin, reminding me of Scar from the Lion King, & I swear he SPED the chairlift up. No matter. We made it work. So we took the Sheehan Chair up & the Lang Trail down. The best conditions I've ever seen? Absolutely not. Still very much enjoyable? Absolutely. After our tired & very accomplished newbie retired to the lodge, my skier friend & I explored the other side of the mountain using the Worth Mtn. Chair. Not as good! Many ice patches! Many flat spots! I even had to unstrap & basically ice skate across a flat sheet of frozen terrain at one point. We went back to the original side of the mountain & ran Lang & Kelton a few times to cleanse our palettes. We retired just before 4 PM, feeling incredibly satisfied & like our money was well spent. The whole experience honestly made me a bit emotional. Bear with me here. For me & so many other people, snowboarding has become almost inaccessible. I started at Yawgoo Valley (shout out Yawgoons) in 2011 on borrowed gear & a dream. For years after, I just made it work. I slept on couches, took 5 AM busses, saved up my paychecks to buy season passes, waited in line for Burton warehouse sales, rocked FLOW BINDINGS (ew) until they snapped, & generally just lived the snowboard bum lifestyle. I snowboarded, like really snowboarded, all the time. That's basically impossible now. It's not ONLY the fault of evil-company-that-shall-not-be-named, it's also the fault of the commodification of the entire industry, with a generous sprinkle of isms. That's why the SPARK is gone. That's why it costs more & not only do you GET less, you FEEL less. When an industry defined by "bum culture" is now financially, logistically, & socially impossible for bums to partake, what happens? It becomes a ghost of what it once was. If you've made it this far in my review/rant/diary entry, I commend you. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Shoutout Middlebury Snowbowl, I will definitely be coming back.