Journal Contest Entry Winner!

Congratulations Melissa! Melissa was chosen as the lucky journal contest winner and recipient of a two-night stay in a Luxury Suite, breakfast daily and dinner for two. Thanks for all your great journal contest entries. It was difficult to pick just one. The following journal entry written by Melissa offers ideas to plan your next family vacation in Stowe.

Our 10 year Anniversary and our son’s 6th Birthday

Day 1
After a beautiful drive from the Boston area, we checked in into the Green Mountain Inn. We had a beautiful room in the new building that immediately made us feel at home. The Chess game, fireplace, beautiful bed, Jacuzzi and flat screen TV made this a great retreat after a long day or to sleep late! Our son especially enjoyed the Jacuzzi as well as the space in the room to set up all of his Star Wars figures!

We dropped our luggage and headed out on an adventure--dog sledding for the very first time ever! We found a company in Elmo, VT called "Peace Pups" http://www.peacepupsdogsledding.com.
Ken and his teammate were friendly, professional and very knowledgeable. This idea was inspired by the movie "Snow Buddies" and our son was thrilled to do this for his Birthday. The dogs were very well behaved and loveable and the three of us will never forget this special experience.

That evening, we headed to “The Whip” for a fabulous dinner in celebration of our 10 year Anniversary and our son’s 6th Birthday. Our favorite was the goat cheese with apricot jam, mixed greens and this terrific balsamic dressing as an appetizer. The filet mignon was mouth watering and coupled with an Otter Creek Copper Ale was the ultimate icing on the cake! Our son equally enjoyed his meal and was excited to head to the Arcade once we had finished out meal.

The Arcade was quiet and we had the entire room to ourselves. We played air hockey for over an hour together and had some good bonding time and a few laughs.

On the way back to our room, couldn’t help but notice the folks in the heated pool, outside in March??!!! How fun! To bad we forgot our bathing suits, or we would have jumped in. Matthew chose the Jacuzzi in our room instead and WOW was that fun. Tip- may not want to put “Mr. Bubble” in a Jacuzzi…….

Day 2
How could we possibly top Day 1?? Well, we headed to “McCarthy’s Restaurant” for the best breakfast ever! The entire restaurant was decorated for St. Patrick’s Day, absolutely stunning! David and I had Ham and Cheese Omelets and Matthew had French Toast—What a great start to the day.

We then headed to the Stowe Mountain Ski Resort for a ride on the Gondola. This provided terrific views of the mountain and the surrounding area. We especially enjoyed watching the skiers zooming down the mountain!

As our fun filled weekend came to an end, we headed to Ben and Jerry’s and the Cabot Cheese Store for some afternoon treats. Matthew loved Ben and Jerry’s and stumped the tour guide with the Question of the Day, “Why do they use milk in ice cream”? We were sad heading home, yet looking forward to another visit this winter, back to our favorite family retreat at the Green Mountain Inn.

Green Mountain Inn Plans Major Room Renovation

A major renovation project slated to begin this spring at Green Mountain Inn will completely refurbish nearly a quarter of the historic hotel’s Main Inn room inventory.

Twelve of the hotel’s second floor rooms within the property’s central Inn building will undergo a substantial revitalization. Plans call for complete remodeling of bathrooms, air conditioning system improvements, floor plan readjustments to maximize space, installation of new high grade noise-dampening windows and the addition of new large screen plasma TVs.

Says Innkeeper Patti Clark, “Our goal has always been to offer comfortable, inviting accommodations which provide our guests real value for their travel dollars. Over the years we have continually re-invested in our facilities to update, renew and enhance our offerings. Every upgrade project – such as this one - has been undertaken with a commitment to preserving the hotel’s unique character and charm so that the Inn remains a destination of choice for our loyal customers.

“We’re always looking for feedback from our guests so we’re able to better understand and meet their needs in providing the lodging and service choices they’re seeking. We listened when guests told us they’re looking for a more consistent room experience throughout the Inn. And that’s exactly what this project will accomplish.”

The Inn has also recently rejuvenated its massage facility which, in addition to treatment rooms, includes an extensive sauna and adjoining Jacuzzi area. The Health Club will have a wood floor in the workout area and addition of an arc-trainer machine to our cardio equipment. Massage services, available to the public as well as to the hotel’s guests, have also been expanded to feature an array of treatments ranging from sports to reflexology, deep tissue options and LaStone.

In the 25 years since the Inn has been owned by the Gameroff Family Trust, every portion of the Inn’s property has been refurbished and several extensive construction projects and additions completed. Past enhancements projects have included the Annex building renovation and Clubhouse, expansion of the Old Depot Street building, construction of the Sanborn House, Mill House, Mansfield House rooms and luxury suites as well as the Depot Street Townhouses. The Inn offers 108 various room, suites and apartment accommodations.

The Inn was recently ranked as the #1 Hotel in Stowe by TripAdvisor.com and was listed as a “smart pick” by New England Travel’s Best of New England 2009.