Where to go in Vermont for non skiiers

[Brettski]

OK, my Boss wants to take his non-skiing familly to Vermont. Ok, so his wife wants to see Vermont.

Husband and wife mid-forties
Son:: 17
Daughter: 10

They She (what the hell was I thinking) wants to "see" Vermont and get the Vermont "feel", and wants to stay in a "nice" place (OK, let's say upscale)

They will go into ski school, but it seems that skiing would be secondary (They don't own any equiptment) as conmpared to the overall trip.

Midweeek for 3 or 4 nights

So please offer all opinions about where they can go. Anywhere betwee 4-6 hours which puts everything from Mt. Snow to Stowe in range...who would also have the best package deals for an upscale experience

EDIT: Where the heck is the strikethrough option?

 

[Talisman]

Stowe or Stratton would fit the bill. If they are likely to bail on skiing and go shopping Stratton, other wise Stowe. How much of VT do they really want to see? Drinking Double Bag and frying up smelts caught earlier in the day while ice fishing in the single wide or a covered bridge, sugar shack and sleep on Laura Ashley sheets after a gourmet dinner with matched wines?

 

[Goblin84]

Drinking Double Bag and frying up smelts caught earlier in the day while ice fishing

ummm...that sounds good

 

[JD]

Trouble bag! The stuff'll $hit ya.

 

[andyzee]

I chose Stratton for the shopping. Stowe would be good if the transportation is available. i.e the family can drive themselves to different destinations.

 

[Marc]

Stowe or Stratton would fit the bill. If they are likely to bail on skiing and go shopping Stratton, other wise Stowe. How much of VT do they really want to see? Drinking Double Bag and frying up smelts caught earlier in the day while ice fishing in the single wide or a covered bridge, sugar shack and sleep on Laura Ashley sheets after a gourmet dinner with matched wines?

The fact that you know about and mention Laura Ashely sheets makes me question the wisdom of you keeping your man card...

 

[billski]

Upscale:// this comes to mind:

Stowe is fairly good shopping lots of pricey local yocal stuff.
Lots of places to eat well and linger
Pool, Ice skating,
dogsled ore one-horse open sleigh rides (book well in advance)
rec path
ice sculptures while you wander
lots of performing arts downtown
Don't ski? take the gondi (I think you can get a land lubber ticket for 1 ride, no?
Stay at Trapp Family Lodge, sing alongs sometimes, but I think all the originals have expired, while away the afternoons at the Austrian Tea House

check out the rest http://www.gostowe.com/

 

[thetrailboss]

Depends on what they want to do afterhours.

Killington is hard to beat when it comes to other entertainment. Especially with kids those ages. Kids are a bit too old for Smuggs. Stowe is nice...if money is no problem. No real things for the kids to do. Burlington is 40 mins. away....

So I think that Killington is probably the best bet. Pico if you want to dodge the crowds.

 

[nelsapbm]

Stratton is about as "un-Vermont" as you can get IMO. Same goes for anything south of US 4 LOL.
My vote is for Stowe. Lots of stuff to do. It's gorgeous there. Nice restaurants, shops etc.

 

[Brettski]

Thanks AZ'ers...keep it coming...KMart though, for a 10 year old? Or a 17 Year old that can't do the night life thing?

Yeah they will have transport

We are talking about absorbing the (so called) Vermont experience

and is it true that North of Kmart, there are no New Yorkers (Not that there's anyting wrong with that)? Seems to be my Experience anyway...your thoughts?

 

[ccskier]

Stowe, there is more to offer there. They would also be 40 minutes from Burlington which they would also like. Stowe is a great centralized location.

 

[thetrailboss]

I think that there is more for families in Killington than there is in Stowe. JMHO.

Stowe is aimed at the $$$$ crowd. It is a Vermont place....not as strip-mallish as K-mart, but then again, go to Pico.

For kids: K-mart has some arcades and other family centers....I don't know of anything like that at all at Stowe.

 

[gores95]

Mentioned this in your other thread. I chose Stratton with the town of Machester close by. Manchester is about as close as you can get to a stereotypical VT town. Stowe is a close second but SO much longer a drive from NJ.

 

[Greg]

Never been, but based on your boss's needs and everything I've ever heard about the place, the answer is clear: Stowe.

 

[2knees]

So I think that Killington is probably the best bet. Pico if you want to dodge the crowds.

lol, killington? I guess i missed the part where brettski wanted help getting fired.

 

[JD]

Snow shoe tours from Umiak. Walking in the notch. Gondi rides. Cold Hollow Cider Mill Doughnuts. Ben and Jerrys (lame IMO). Green Mountain Inn/Von Trapps. Burlington shopping is only 45 min away.

 

[thetrailboss]

lol, killington? I guess i missed the part where brettski wanted help getting fired.

I think that the kids are going to be :roll: at Stowe. Not much to do. There is more for the younger crowd at Killington from what I've seen. IMHO making the kids happy is important...if they are miserable, so are the parents.

And Stowe is certainly central in the state and not far from Burlington, but it is by no means really "central" because the ski area is like 5-6 miles from the village....and the shops are concentrated downtown and strung out along the access road.

Now we have some folks who are in the Stowe area, so I will defer to them regarding specific ideas on what to do. I don't think there is a perfect resort that will make all happy, so I am going for keeping the teens happy so that the boss is not driven nuts. But Stowe is a good option if the boss and just his wife were going.

On that note, I must retire for the night and thumb through my latest purchase...er...Christmas gift:

:wink:

 

[Brettski]

Cold Hollow Cider Mill Doughnuts.

Not that I want to sway an opinion...but...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


If you haven't had them, say so.....

 

[Brettski]

[delete] too much personal input

still...

 

[Brettski]

[Deleted]: Again

But how can you say NEK and KMart in the same sig?

Edit: Pick one