The conditions weren't perfect as my bright-red transfer gondola swung out in the direction of Stowe's Mansfield slopes. But, I reflected, they were just about right on this day in late March in Vermont. A well-timed snowfall had dropped several inches, and the sun the previous day had warmed up some of the icy patches.
The snowfall hadn't done enough to help some of the trails, such as my beloved Toll Road, which were bare due to the brutally warm Northeast winter, and the ropes were up at several of Stowe's runs and glades. Still, many of the cruisers were open, the sky was blue, the wind was low, it was midweek and the slopes were mostly empty. All in all, it was a good day for spring skiing.
The resort this summer put the topping on its Spruce Peak base, which has been in the works through "starts and stops" for more than 10 years, said Samuel Gaines, a vice president and director of real estate development for Spruce Peak at Stowe. The base includes the 300-room Stowe Mountain Lodge hotel, timeshares and condos, the Spruce Camp Base Lodge with food options, a kids center, a performing arts center and the members-only Stowe Mountain Club.
Though the hotel opened in 2008, the final (for now) development phase that finished last month really ties everything together and positions the resort for an expanded all-seasons experience. "We've arrived," Gaines said.
The result is a decidedly upscale experience. And the on-mountain Stowe vibe is helped by more fine dining down the mountain, the town of Stowe itself (the definition of quaint Vermont) and an upgraded local airport; it's about an hour's flying time to Morrisville-Stowe from Boston, New York or Philadelphia.
Stowe has a storied history and its Front Four double blacks are justifiably famous, but Gaines called the mountain "boutique" when compared to the size and scale of the Rockies ski resorts. But, he later added of the base, "I think our model was definitely pieced together from what we saw out West. Mostly because that's where you see development of this scale."
The Spruce Peak base is anchored by a village green that is the setting for concerts in the summer and an ice-skating rink in the winter. The rink is ringed with upscale shops, including a small grocery where Vermont cheese and Burlington-brewed beer is sold.
Flanking the rink is the new Adventure Center, which caters to Stowe families year-round, and the Stowe Mountain Lodge, which has accommodations and service to rival any resort on the East.
The lobby of the Stowe Mountain Lodge, which is managed by Destination Resorts. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
Rustic luxury
As for Stowe Mountain Lodge's luxury-design bona fides: Rustic furniture? Check. Huge picture windows? Check. Roaring fireplace? Check. Local beer on tap? Check.
The lodge has a large spa and a heated outdoor pool. A soaring yet cozy lobby with comfortable couches, the fireplace and WiFi makes for a great relaxation spot for any nonskiers in the group. The Hourglass lounge and fancier Solstice Restaurant are accessible from the outside.
Stowe Mountain Lodge is managed by Destination Resorts, and it makes its pitch to agents prominent: the third link on the "Lodge" tab on its home page. Agents can book using Destination's DN code on all four GDSs, and the website says its regional sales director can coordinate tours or provide rates "at a moment's notice."
During my stay, as a guest of Stowe and the Mountain Lodge, my favorite amenity was the staff. Our bellhop was a friendly Stowe Mountain Lodge veteran with a daughter about the same age as ours, and he greeted me by name as I passed him throughout the day. The front desk, restaurant and bar staff were equally pleasant.
My second favorite amenity was the ski concierge. The hotel staff took my gear and placed it in a room just off the lobby. Once I was ready to head out, a staffer brought out my boots (heated overnight) and propped my skis on a rack outside.
From there it is just a short clomp to the Spruce Peak lifts (most of the greens and some blues and blacks) and the Over Easy transfer gondola en route to the longer, toughest trails.
The Adventure Center, the home base for kids at the Spruce Peak base, was under construction in the spring. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
Family first
Facing the Lodge is the now-opened Adventure Center, which is home base for children's programs. Although the Adventure Center was still under construction during my stay, I peeked in the windows and saw the 40-foot-high rock-climbing wall that is a focal point of the 35,000-square-foot space.
The center is positioned just a few paces from the beginner lifts and magic carpets on Spruce Peak.
Families are big business at Stowe. Around 600 kids are expected to be on the mountain during Christmas week, Gaines said. The Adventure Center was built for year-round use, and in addition to the rock wall it has a pizza restaurant and movie theater. But Gaines said it doesn't feel cavernous "because we've created these small rooms and areas."
Gaines said that the long-range planning for Spruce Peak enabled the designers to re-evaluate the importance of family vacations.
The developer mindset in the early 2000s, he said "was kind of the baby boomer model. ... It was really about time alone for empty nesters." But after the recession, he said, demographics and thinking changed: older and younger purchasers who were buying with family in mind. "The older baby boomer that's really buying for their legacy, really buying for grandkids. And then Gen X and millennials, and they're buying because they want to spend time with their family."
As a result, the resort literally put the kids front and center. Stowe even built residences over the Adventure Center so that kids could leave the family nest and play just downstairs.
Value proposition
Of course, like many ski-and-snowboard holidays, all the upscale offerings at Stowe aren't inexpensive. My lift ticket was about $90 (another Stowe upgrade is its Evolution RFID card, which acts as the lift ticket and can be autorenewed daily whenever a skier passes through a lift line).
The ski and ride school my daughter enrolled in was about $215 for the day, lunch and activities included.
Rates at Stowe Mountain Lodge start at $259 per night but vary based on occupancy. For those looking for a stunner of a vacation, the Lodge does make available the enormous two-, three- and four-bedroom Front Four suites that are part of its Residence Club: think two-story, floor-to-ceiling windows with mountain views, full kitchen, living room and so on. A two-bedroom starts at $1,139 per night.
I put it in context of a value proposition: the lodge at your disposal, the beautiful setting (e.g. views from the pretty Cliff House Restaurant at the top of the mountain, which is accessible to both skiers and walkers by gondola), the resort's comfortable, high-speed lifts and the relatively diverse terrain. Especially important for the Northeast: Stowe's $10 million, three-year investment in snowmaking.
Those who have a Mountain Collective pass will realize more savings, as it offers a $50 discount on the third ski day and includes West resorts like Alta/Snowbird, Aspen/Snowmass and Jackson Hole.
My daughter, an enthusiastic but novice skier, was tackling easy blues at the end of her day at Stowe, so I considered her time at the ski and ride school a solid investment. We abandoned our gear at the ski concierge and headed to the heated pool, where other parents sat in the hot tub and sipped Heady Topper beer.
At dinner at Solstice the restaurant staff catered to her, providing her with crayons and paper as I sipped a pinot noir and watched the headlights of the grooming machines working on the mountain.