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Family Ski Areas :: New Hampshire Ski Resort Reviews :: Skiing Bretton Woods Mountain Resort, NH |
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Family ski vacations at Bretton Woods Mountain Resort, New Hampshire
Who’ll love a family ski vacation at Bretton Woods Mountain Resort:- Beginning and intermediate families
- Families who like the ‘grand hotel’ style
- Families looking for shorter lift lines during vacation weeks
Who’ll be disappointed with a family ski vacation at Bretton Woods Mountain Resort: - Families that need bustling retail and nightlife options
- Families that need sparkling new lodging
- Families that need lots of steeps or thousands of acres of terrain
The two biggest reasons for loving family ski trips to Bretton Woods Mountain Resort:
#1) Everything designed for families
Bretton Woods takes families very, very seriously. The Family Center, adjacent to the base lodge, houses ski school for children 12 and under, children’s ski rentals, and the nursery. Bretton Woods really thinks about how to make it easier for families.
You actually feel as if Bretton Woods is looking out for families. One very nice touch is that the beginner chairlift just outside the Family Center is free. That’s particularly nice for a family just starting off since the kids may spend a day or two on that lift, along with at least one of the parents. As another example of how Bretton Woods sweats the details for families, they did a few things with that chairlift to make it perhaps the easiest one in America for starting a young child just learning to ski. And did I mention that they did that for a free chairlift?
The children’s ski school program is fantastic. Out of about 10 ski school classes that my five-year-old has attended, his two best instructors were at Bretton Woods. We happened to ski early in the season, which allowed for more individual attention in a group session. But if you’re the type of person who’d like to set up a private lesson for your child, you should see if Jill or Thaddeus are around that day—they were spectacular.
#2) The Mount Washington Hotel:
If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to vacation like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers, The Mount Washington Hotel can give you a glimpse. A railroad tycoon opened this grand hotel in 1902, and more than a century later, it’s still stunning. It’s a giant hotel parked right in front of the highest peak east of the Rockies. You’ll walk in and might find your kids transfixed by a choir singing carols. You’ll find kids’ après ski parties so the parents can slip away for a quiet drink overlooking Mount Washington. You can head down to the main dining room—jackets required for that option. You’ll feel as if you’re on the Queen Elizabeth II. (But in this case, you can walk out and escape in an incredible 100 kilometer trail network for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.)
But perhaps most stunning is that you’ll soon notice that every last employee will seem truly happy to be at your service. Seems sort of basic, but unfortunately, that just doesn’t happen much these days at resort hotels. The only minor service gap we saw on our visit was a couple of encounters with room service that were a bit off the mark. But given the overall service levels, we assume that issue isn’t typical for them, and we can still declare The Mount Washington Hotel as perhaps the best run large lodging property at any New England ski resort.
Getting to Bretton Woods Mountain Resort:
Bretton Woods is 165 miles from Boston. It’s the furthest of New Hampshire’s larger ski resorts, which keeps it from getting mobbed by day trippers, but it’s still a wicked easy drive for Boston families on ski vacations.
Communications at the ski resort:
The rooms at the Mount Washington Hotel have high-speed internet access. Cingular coverage is decent, but Verizon coverage is not.
Dealing with Bretton Woods:
Here’s the section where we try to help readers navigate the biggest potential shortcomings of a ski resort. But in the case of Bretton Woods, they’re on a crusade to eliminate shortcomings. The only real shortcoming is that without a real village, you’re pretty much limited to the dining options run by the resort. No problem if you’re the kind of family that likes toss on a coat and tie to dine in a formal dining room, but otherwise, the hotel options are limited. But they address that issue reasonably well. My kids are still talking about the train at Fabyan’s Station Restaurant down the road from the hotel, and the shuttle service is prompt and friendly. And if you’re simply not a hotel dining kind of family, Bretton Woods has convenient condos available as well.
Bottom line for your family ski vacation:
If you find the positives compelling, and aren’t concerned with the point above, Bretton Woods may be the safest bet around for a great family ski vacation.
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