The Woodstock Inn & Resort is one of Vermont's true gems for travelers. It offers warm New England hospitality amidst an atmosphere of country elegance and year round recreation. Resort facilities include the 10,000 square-foot Spa, the Resort's Nordic Center, Saskadena Six Alpine ski area, the Resort's Woodstock Country Club, and a 41,000 square foot Woodstock Athletic Club. However, it's the lavish details in guest rooms, luxurious terrycloth bathrobes, and locally-made furnishings, that defines the country sophistication and completes the picture of charm and comfort at the Woodstock Inn & Resort, which rises above expectations.
The Woodstock Inn & Resort is a 142-room, AAA Four Diamond Resort and a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. The village of Woodstock is located in Vermont's Green Mountains with antique shops, art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and specialty food markets in the downtown area...but if you also want recreation the Woodstock Inn & Resort delivers.
In the winter months, the inn's Athletic Club is situated close to the inn and the golf club hosts the Woodstock Nordic Center.
Scenic overlook from Mt. Tom at Woodstock Nordic Center
The Nordic Center has about 45 kilometers (km) of trails across two mountains that surround the destination village of Woodstock, Vermont. Behind the inn are about 4 km of generally flat trails with open areas and trails along the babbling Kedron Brook on the golf course. These flats are popular with daily classic and skate skiers who are there for a daily fitness outing, but they are also great for first timers to build confidence on the skinny skis.
Up the side of Mt. Peg are hilly and more challenging trails that offer networks for snowshoers and skiers alike, leading to scenic vistas.
Across the town of Woodstock, a few miles from the inn to the north are the Mt. Tom trails which are in the historical Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park including miles of historic carriage byways that provide views of the village from the peak.
Both trail networks are expertly groomed by groomers such as Justin Quinn, who was recently featured in a Cross Country Skier magazine article about groomers called Trail Heroes. Quinn and the other Woodstock Nordic Center groomers’ are responsible for the impeccable high quality trail grooming and snow farming techniques that are renown. They beef up the ski trails with snow that is drifted, on the golfcourse fairways, or piled in the parking lots to extend the number of ski days at Woodstock Nordic.
The Center is a leading supplier of retail products in the region featuring top brands of XC ski equipment, clothing, and accessories. Rental equipment and private ski lessons are also available.
Couple on a jaunt on Woodstock Nordic Center trails
Winter adventure-themed vacation packages are built around the Nordic Center and Alpine ski area. From romantic to adventurous, there are value-packed getaways with the resort’s adventure centers designed for guests to enjoy an exhilarating way to experience the peace and tranquility of Woodstock in winter.
My partner Kimberly and I enjoyed part of the Romance Excursion Package including accommodations for two nights, welcome gift basket, breakfast, and a four-course dinner for two at the Red Rooster Restaurant. We went XC skiing on groomed ski tracks accessed from the Nordic Center on a sunny morning followed by wonderful massages in the Spa. On the second morning, I went snowboarding at the nearby Saskadena Six ski area while Kimberly took a yoga class at the Athletic Club. Overall, we were impressed with the inn and its staff, each and every one of them. In all of our interactions, the Woodstock Inn & Resort staff was especially attentive to us, often without the need of having to ask.
MT. Tom Cabin in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park
We checked out the Sunday lunch at the Mt. Tom Cabin in the national park and reached the Mt. Tom Cabin after heading out on about one and a half miles on snowshoes up a snow covered trail. The food available was soup and other light offerings. We met a local guide associated with the national park, who was a naturalist that imparted some of his knowledge about winter nature and history of the park, which is the only national park in Vermont and dedicated to conservation stewardship. The park's 550-acre forest is one of the oldest professionally managed forests in the USA with 400-year old hemlocks and Norway Spruce.
The Woodstock Inn's Main Lobby is comfortably furnished and features a 10-foot fieldstone fireplace at its center. Don't miss the flannel-lined Game Room, which is a hoot for the kid in all of us. It has a mix of games including a 4-foot scrabble board on the wall played with magnetic tiles, shuffleboard, billiards, foosball, TVs, video games, and more.
The 10,000 square-foot spa has 10 treatment rooms, luxurious suite, tranquil men's and women's lounges, a light-filled Great Room, enclosed outdoor courtyard featuring a meditation tree, and a wood sauna and a hot soaking pool. Guests can choose from a wide selection of treatments performed by licensed therapists.
The Woodstock Inn & Resort's own Saskadena Six Ski Area opened in 1937, a few years after the first ski tow in the United States was rigged up just over the ridge at Gilbert's Hill. Saskadena Six has since evolved into a friendly and personal ski area that caters to families and local skiers. On Sunday morning when I visited, the slopes were covered with young local ski racers learning the ins and outs of skiing gates.
The Woodstock area offers other activities including day trips to nearby points of interest such as Simon Pearce Glass, Shackleton Furniture, or the Quechee Gorge. The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, is Vermont's first national park and it operates in partnership with the Woodstock Foundation, Inc, and the Billings Farm & Museum – a working dairy farm and agricultural museum that mirrors rural life in Vermont in the late 1800s.