Hands down one of the top three ski resorts in New England and when it comes to customer service,…read moreeasily the best. After a superb trip to Saddleback three years ago, we decided to make another trip to Saddleback. We stayed about an hour away in the beautiful town of Andover, and came up early enough to make first tracks. Three years ago, the Resort had almost just opened up again after many years of being idle. This time, it had matured into an even better place, with a fantastic group of ambassadors greeting the guests at the resort entrance and being present on the mountain trails to answer questions, a wonderful staff that made our stay quite pleasant, great food, service, and most of all, superb conditions, grooming, and ski operations. Mother Nature had contributed copious amounts of snow before our arrival, and the conditions were awesome. Glades, steeps, groomers, it was all absolutely fantastic. We skied the very steep Tight Line several times, and many of our family members enjoyed the challenging tree-line skiing available at the resort. The outstanding food and drinks available at the Nest restaurant in mid mountain gave us a welcome break in our skiing day. We will definitely be back. This is a gem of a place in the entire nation.

We went to Saddleback for one of the summer Mountain Music Series shows. Fantastic show, beautiful…read moreviews, however, the ticket purchasing process was intrusive and the food selection was disappointing. The venue itself is about 2,000+ feet up on Saddleback Mountain and the view from the lawn is breathtaking. The lawn seats (byo blanket or chairs) are on a gentle slope which allows for great views of the performers and the mountains. The weather on this particular July evening was perfect, low humidity, a cool breeze, and the sun was shining on the lawn for almost the entire performance. The show itself was terrific. There were a few problems with this venue which started with the ticket purchasing process. They insist on capturing too much personal information: the usual name, address, credit card of the person buying the tickets, but also the names and dates of birth of every person in the party. I called to ask about this and the woman on the phone assured me that our info was safe in their "secure system". This, just on the heels of the Ticketmaster breach. She told me I could either put our dates of birth in or buy tickets at the mountain on the day of the show. The other big problem was the food. Doors opened at 4:30, the show was 5:00 - 8:00. Understandably they have a no outside food and drink policy, so I assume most people plan to buy dinner there. We were very disappointed by the food menu--the only non meat item was the "walking taco"--an actual bag of Doritos with beans dumped in--not an option for someone who can't have dairy, etc. When the show ended (again, it was fantastic) all of the restaurants in Rangeley had closed, so we ended up getting dinner at the IGA. There are several more shows in this series, I hope in the future Saddleback will consider all of its guests when planning the menus for the remaining summer musical performances. Alternatively, eat before you go!

What a gem - positively magical place!! I came to the lakes region in search of Moose and Loons so…read moreI made sure to book a room in the Haley Pond Lodge section to be right on the water. And while I still haven't found any moose, I saw my first loons in real life right behind my room AND managed to capture their haunting song on video right from my patio!! This beautiful inn has been around for over 100 years - and the inside of the main lodge is full of antiques and is oozing with Victorian charm - so warm and inviting!! All the staff were just fantastic- caring and eager to help and so friendly - in the lodge and the tavern both. I reserved a water view king room in the Haley Pond Lodge and it was huge!! Lots of shelf space and a huge patio overlooking the pond - just magnificent! The room had a standard coffee maker, microwave and fridge. The bathroom was beautiful and everything was spotlessly clean. Water pressure and temp worked perfectly. The grounds are the best part - there are mallard ducks all over the place. I saw two deer right outside my room when I first arrived. One night I heard a moose bugling (mating call) and it was so loud haha! Shame I never saw him lol. There are tons of species of waterfowl on the pond - I saw Ring-necked Ducks and Mergansers!! And the best part was I saw LOONS!! At first, I found a mated pair right out back from my room - and they were fishing - it was so fantastic! And I saw more out across the pond bathing and preening. The mornings were super foggy which created such an eerie ambiance and the loons were crying their haunting song - oh it was just magical! Breakfast isn't included but is served daily. I didn't try it so can't speak to it but I did have dinner in the tavern one night and it was fabulous. I got the Parmesan crab dip and a tavern salad with grilled salmon - all totally delicious. I visited in late September so the fall foliage was just starting to come in - I can only imagine how gorgeous it is during peak foliage. This is a marvelous place to base yourself out of for wildlife chasing, skiing, summer fun on the lakes - for really any kind of vacation honestly. Haley Pond Lodge is detached from the main inn and set quite a ways back - but the grounds are easily walkable. There's plenty of parking and it's very centrally located in the adorable town of Rangeley. I even walked over to the huge Rangeley Lake a few times bc it's so close - it's especially wonderful at sunset. Prices for food and lodging are reasonable, even during peak seasons. All in all I had a great experience and will most definitely be back - without a doubt!

The hotel was pretty, the location was just ok. The town in general wasn't notable. Staff was nice;…read moreespecially the lady at the front counter and the waitress at the restaurant. Breakfast was frustrating. They gave you a tiny bit of syrup for a large, thick stack of pancakes and charged $3 for extra syrup. Something so small and seemingly insignificant, but just weird. Waitress got defensive when I only ate half because I ran out of syrup and said she doesn't make the rules. I told her no big deal I just couldn't eat them. I didn't ask for a refund or anything, I just left them uneaten and it seemed to really bother her. You have to go outside and around the building to access the elevator, which wasn't an issue for us since it's October, but if it was winter and there was snow on the ground that would be a pain. Shower water was only lukewarm (the worst is not having a hot shower after a long drive).

We stayed in the lean-to several times for a week. We looked out over the little creek and it was…read moreabsolutely perfect. Only problem with that is that everyone walked right through our site to get to the water. Owners and workers were kind and the place was very clean!

Luckily we stayed here the first weekend that school started in the area and it wasn't packed with…read morefamilies and screaming kids. It says that they have tent sites and I guess they do, though there is not much space at most. It is set up very well for ATVs and RVs with water and electric at most sites. They have some lean to sites as well and this is where our story goes a bit weary. We booked months ago for a lean to site along the pristine swift river in Byron. A week before we knew bad weather was to come, so we asked if there was any way to swap sites to a flat ground site. The answer was no that they were booked up. I believed that, as it was a weekend. However many many sites round us stayed empty for the entirety of our trip. We had a very uneven, root and rock filled site. Our site was L16 and it was right in the river, just 30 feet down, and it also had its own small river running right through the middle of camp. It was a very very wet stay, even though it only rained a few times. It said one 8X8 flat spot for a tent, but there was none. We ended up with two extra people and it cost me another 100$ then when we booked originally and they charged us for 2 tent spots too, when they knew we where in a spot that didn't have that. The lady at the office with dark long hair has a bit of an attitude. So we didn't want to have to ask for much, we had to park our extra car and trailer behind the office. Also making trips back and forth as need be. She's abrasive and doesn't seem like she's happy to be there..... the place is in a beautiful spot, but beware. A few sites have parking quite a ways from sites themselves. These sites will have you walking back and forth to your vehicle quite frequently. They do warn you on the website which sites are best but photos can be misleading. Some of the lean to sites, seemed to have flat ground, and they looked real nice to say at. All in all we did the best we could with a crappy and wet situation. I really think they could have accommodated us and switched our sites to one on flat ground, since almost all around us were empty. It's in a beautiful part of our state, but I don't think we will be back. We will opt for something a bit closer to things, as Byron was a good 30-45 mins either way.

Beautiful rooms, super comfy bed, fantastic river views, and friendly service. Running a business…read morein this rural area can challenging, but my stay went super smoothly and I would come back again in a heartbeat. Note that the restaurant does not serve breakfast, but the rooms had coffee, a fridge, and a microwave. Thank you, Justin and team!

Finding a lunch spot as we traveled from Quebec City back to mid-coast Maine on a weekday in…read moreFebruary was not easy. Many restaurants are closed at this time but luckily The Hawks Nest Lodge was open the day we were passing through. We were the only patrons at lunch. Welcomed by several friendly staff and we decided to sit at the bar for lunch. A beautiful pine bar with rustic pine bar seats. The ambiance was very good and very welcoming. Really personable bartender talked with us about the area. Loved the menu of some classics and a lamb burger! Had to get the lamb and glad I did. Delicious. Made with lamb and feta cheese it was served in a burger bun. We upgraded to the French fries, glad we did as they were hot and had a perfect crisp. Really easy parking and good, clean restrooms. A wonderful stop!

What a beautiful place to stay. Vicki and Scotty are so welcoming. Their Inn is the only place I'll…read morestay when visiting.

I stayed here with my granddaughter and we could not have had a better experience. The Inn is well…read moreappointed and Scott and Vicki really go above and beyond to make sure your stay is wonderful. Our bed was very comfortable and we loved having a sink in our room. The fire ring by the river was really lovely and visiting with other guests.

Best campground in New England...lake front sites have gorgeous views of Flagstaff Lake...I book…read moreone week in July and one week in September every year...the general store right outside of the campground carries everything you might need or forgot...

We stayed only one night but so wish we were able to stay longer. Absolutely beautiful views of…read moreFlagstaff Lake Camping sites are large and open amongst the ginormous trees! Fun to bike the campground and we even peddles minutes down to a local food truck called Maturi's Kitchen... yummy food! We had the the fried clams & Caprese samdwich

Everything!! Nancy and Dave were the greatest hosts and we truly felt at home in this gorgeous…read moresetting!!

WOW. What an…read moreabsolutely lovely experience we had at Highland Heath House. We emailed to see if they had an availability for an overnight stay on super short notice. We heard back from Nancy right away, and booked something immediately. She let us know that we would have to show proof of vaccination upon arrival, and we SO appreciated the upfront conversation about their comfort and expectations during the pandemic. It set our minds at ease immediately, as did getting a confirmation email about our booking. The beautiful log cabin home sits on a hill overlooking the eastern shore of Rangeley Lake so expect absolutely stunning views of water and mountains, the call of loons early in the AM, and deer frolicking in the field in front of your picture window. It's about as Maine as you can get. The amenities were outstanding: comfortable rooms with fireplaces and enormous rain showers, an all day coffee/beverage station, a lovely interior (when we came, Nancy had decorated for autumn with faux foliage and pumpkin decor), and a British style pub in the basement. Breakfast was served at a reasonable time AND it was tremendously filling (and thoughtfully prepared given our dietary restrictions). Even though it was cold, we were encouraged to take our coffees outside to enjoy unhurried on their deck. Nancy is a gracious host, incredibly warm and welcoming. We immediately fell in love with her special space in the western mountains of Maine, and are already planning our return! Perfect for a little getaway/staycation (and loads of great hiking/scenic vistas nearby).