Best resort for a non-skier

[Warp Daddy]

Been to Tremblant . WF and North Conway MANY times ---------------WF and LP =Handsdown no brainer .

Been to WF , North Conway and Tremblant many times . LP and WF win hands down


Tremblant is Colder than a well diggers ass , I 've been there when it was -75 degree windchill, the village is like a kitsy, schlock version of disneyworld AND god forbid you get HURT --YOUR Americanski insurance won't be worth a deuce in Quebec . So if u decide to go there check out tremblant-insider.com for how to deal with insurance issues and for REALISTIC unbiased trail reports --ITS CASH BABY

 

[jaywbigred]

Whiteface/Lake Placid-In my opinion nothing is close. It's also the opinion in just about every survey result put out by every ski rag. It isn't just #1 for off hill acivities in the NE, it's #1 in North America. Your wife will love it there.

Stratton/Bromley isn't a bad choice either with Manchester and it's outlets, shops and restaurants a short drive away

Also, if she's not skiing, are winter outdoor activities in general not in her favor?

Whiteface, hands down. The off-mountain activities are so good, its hard for me as a skier not to give up a day of skiing to go do them. Last year we managed to fit in a bobsled ride, a curling lesson, a night at the Aerials competition site (the World Cup was in town), take in some Skiercross racing at WF, and a midnight walk on the lake. Of course, this is in addition to skiing, dining out, and some bar hopping.

The only caveat is a lot of the off hill stuff at WF is best enjoyed with at least a partner, if not a larger group. If she is more into shopping/spa stuff, Stowe (quintessential NE ski town) might be the way to go, or as some have stated, Stratton/Bromley (for the proximity to Manchester and the outlets, which I recently visited and was impressed by).

 

[Warp Daddy]

Re Tremblant there are some short term Canadian med insurance you can buy to cover you while skiing in Quebec --otherwise its CASH That is what i was meaning to say in previous post

 

[Kerovick]

LP has a free shuttle from downtown to WF btw.

 

[bigbog]

Try doing a little driving to check out some of the places mentioned....first..all good options.
$.01

 

[TeleMac]

Lake Placid alone?

As mentioned above, many of LP's off-slope activities are best enjoyed with company. Speaking for my (mostly) non-alpine wife, the Olympic sites and the village would hold little attraction or charm if she were flying solo.

On the other hand, both Stowe and LP have great nordic skiing that would be enjoyed by a former alpine skier such as your wife.

 

[billski]

Las Vegas

 

[gladerider]

I'd recommend:

- WF
- Tremblant
- Manchester VT

in that order. If you have younger kids and if your wife is going to be alone

- Tremblant
- Manchester VT
- WF

Some people who question why some families who go up to Tremblant for a fun family skiing trips in a faux-european village SIMPLY have not been there and seen the reactions they get from their family. But, it is COLD. Yes.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I'd recommend:

- WF
- Tremblant
- Manchester VT

in that order. If you have younger kids and if your wife is going to be alone

- Tremblant
- Manchester VT
- WF

Some people who question why some families who go up to Tremblant for a fun family skiing trips in a faux-european village SIMPLY have not been there and seen the reactions they get from their family. But, it is COLD. Yes.

I've been to Tremblant and after a few days it gets old walking around their fake Euro village.

Manchester I just don't get, it's a bunch of outlet stores. His wife probably has the same the same kinda of shopping options close by to where they live.

Lake Placid is a real ski town with great shopping, resturants, bars PLUS tons of things to do that are unique to Lake Placid only. It's surrounded by the beauty of the High Peaks, Mirror Lake and Lake Placid with WF just down the road.

 

[gladerider]

I've been to Tremblant and after a few days it gets old walking around their fake Euro village.

Manchester I just don't get, it's a bunch of outlet stores. His wife probably has the same the same kinda of shopping options close by to where they live.

Lake Placid is a real ski town with great shopping, resturants, bars PLUS tons of things to do that are unique to Lake Placid only. It's surrounded by the beauty of the High Peaks, Mirror Lake and Lake Placid with WF just down the road.

hpd i know you love LP. so do i. in fact, i spend more time in LP/WF each year than any other mt. but, IMHO, there are many things LP cannot match with Tremblant and here is one. food. i have many friends with family who frequent both LP and Tremblant. depending on their tastes they have their likes. what i see in general is that people with little kids and wives who don't ski tend to like tremblant a lot. here is another one for you - you walk to everything. once you get to your lodging, you don't need to touch your car for your entire stay. but i do agree with you WF LP is really hard to beat.

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

Manchester I just don't get, it's a bunch of outlet stores. His wife probably has the same the same kinda of shopping options close by to where they live.

i've never been to north conway, but, someone mentioned outlets there, too. is north conway that different compared to manchester?

LP has a million things to do and i'm definitely partial, but, if the guy's wife just wants to relax in a spa, curl up next to a fireplace and chill, maybe stowe isn't such a bad option....the town is definitely "cute" in a new england sort of way, and LP is a lot of things, but it isn't "cute" (though, maybe you could say that it is more "real" feeling).

if she wants to go out and "do stuff", then there is no better option than lake placid.

http://www.lakeplacid.com/

http://www.orda.org/newsite/togo.php

 

[severine]

i've never been to north conway, but, someone mentioned outlets there, too. is north conway that different compared to manchester?

Manchester has more of a village feel to it with outlets spread throughout. North Conway has a bunch of outlet plazas spread along the main road. It also has a lot of food options because it's a built up area, which there aren't many in that part of the state. There is a cute downtown area to browse, but it's not the same atmosphere as Manchester (Manchester feels more uppity to me but I've only driven through it; never stayed or shopped there).

The reason why I added Stowe was that even though it's an expensive area, it's not far from others where you can do things that are not shopping--as long as you don't mind driving. Like I said, while I was pregnant, Brian did an ESA clinic at Stowe and I did some sight-seeing. I went to Cold Cider Mill, Ben & Jerry's (which has a tour), Warren/Waitsfield's downtown, Stowe's downtown, Cabot, and all the way up to St. Johnsbury to see the Dog Chapel. You could also, if so inclined, drive up to Burlington. Plenty to do there.

The thing is, I'm not afraid to drive. I know some women are so they would be more limited.

 

[Geoff]

Also if you have time: Quebec City. There is plenty to do in town while the excellent skiing choices are Mt St Anne at 30 minutes, Le Massif at 50 minutes, and Stoneham at about 25 minutes. Quebec City is beautiful and the food is awesome.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

hpd i know you love LP. so do i. in fact, i spend more time in LP/WF each year than any other mt. but, IMHO, there are many things LP cannot match with Tremblant and here is one. food. i have many friends with family who frequent both LP and Tremblant. depending on their tastes they have their likes. what i see in general is that people with little kids and wives who don't ski tend to like tremblant a lot. here is another one for you - you walk to everything. once you get to your lodging, you don't need to touch your car for your entire stay. but i do agree with you WF LP is really hard to beat.

My wife, who is basically a non skier liked Tremblants alot too. As you say you can walk to everything, basically cause it's not that big. After 3 days there my wife got so bored that she went skiing in 25 below zero temps. Even she (who is a big league shopper) could only go into the same little shops so many times.

 

[chrisrunsi]

Tremblant kept m entire house busy. I do an annual trip to Canada with about 14- 20 young adults with about 25% of them looking to ski/snowboard. Mont Sutton had people bored in 2 days but the great lodging deals and short drive to montreal made us come back another year. Tremblant was expensive but kept people busy for 6 days. This year since only 3 out of 12 are skiing, we're staying in Montreal and driving wherever we decide to ski. There are 4 good mountains all about an hour away which is nothing to us who usually drive 2.5+ hours for a day trip.

 

[philly_bluenose]

My wife isn't a big shopper, and I guess we have all the same outlet stores in tax-free Delaware. So North Conway and Manchester don't get high points. She likes a variety of things and Lake Placid sounds ideal.

My children vary from 6 to 16. The 6 year has one year of skiing behind him, so a decent ski school is important.

Initial reaction to WF from the 16-year old male is 'Not many slopes. Won't I be bored after a couple of days ?' What do you think ?

Tremblant is an option, as we have some family in Ontario.

 

[tarponhead]

Initial reaction to WF from the 16-year old male is 'Not many slopes. Won't I be bored after a couple of days ?' What do you think ?

Tremblant is an option, as we have some family in Ontario.

Quebec City in terms of food/variety will have LP beat, no doubt. What is the exchange rate these days? But to your sons comment, WF has ~3.2k of vertical. Thats more then many western resorts (e.g., Alta). I just don't see getting bored at WF at a family trip, ski-wise.

 

[gladerider]

My wife isn't a big shopper, and I guess we have all the same outlet stores in tax-free Delaware. So North Conway and Manchester don't get high points. She likes a variety of things and Lake Placid sounds ideal.

My children vary from 6 to 16. The 6 year has one year of skiing behind him, so a decent ski school is important.

Initial reaction to WF from the 16-year old male is 'Not many slopes. Won't I be bored after a couple of days ?' What do you think ?

Tremblant is an option, as we have some family in Ontario.

WF is bigger and more challenging than Tremblant. WF is an olympic moutain. Tremblant is not quite there. But, it's has an area he would like called EDGE.

 

[gladerider]

My wife, who is basically a non skier liked Tremblants alot too. As you say you can walk to everything, basically cause it's not that big. After 3 days there my wife got so bored that she went skiing in 25 below zero temps. Even she (who is a big league shopper) could only go into the same little shops so many times.

no arguement there and i did not mean it was a shopping heaven. what i meant was that i don't have to drive outside of the resort because all the amenities are all in walking distance so it is convenient. if i want to drink some beer, i can just walk outside the hotel to grab a six pak at a convenience store. in the morning, i can walk a few minutes to get buy fresh baked bread. after dinner, you just walk home. most of the village lodging is ski in ski out so when you have young children, it is really convenient. no loading and unloading the car every morning. that's huge.

maybe it's just me, but i loved not driving for a week.

 

[gladerider]

The reason why I added Stowe was that even though it's an expensive area, it's not far from others where you can do things that are not shopping--as long as you don't mind driving. Like I said, while I was pregnant, Brian did an ESA clinic at Stowe and I did some sight-seeing. I went to Cold Cider Mill, Ben & Jerry's (which has a tour), Warren/Waitsfield's downtown, Stowe's downtown, Cabot, and all the way up to St. Johnsbury to see the Dog Chapel. You could also, if so inclined, drive up to Burlington. Plenty to do there.

The thing is, I'm not afraid to drive. I know some women are so they would be more limited.

i took my family to stowe for a week 2 years ago. before i went, i asked the AZ guys which restaurants to go. i have to say. i was really impressed with some of the restaurants at stowe. of all the new england ski towns i've been to, i'd rate stowe area restaurants at the top. and yes, my kids liked the Ben n Jerry's tour.