erinsM5861QV
Google
We have stayed at this property for three seasons and were looking forward to our stay under the new ownership. There were a few improvements, some things that missed the mark, and other aspects we were very bummed about.||First, this is now a self-service property. Upon entering, we were familiar with the welcoming lobby setup and were able to access our room with ease. However, upon entering the room, we were immediately disappointed to find that there was no longer a table or any useful furniture. The room contained a king bed, two small night tables, one chair in the corner, a full-length standalone mirror, a record player, a noise machine, and a large empty space. This was a huge bummer for us. There used to be a table and chairs or a built-in nook. There was no place to sit other than the bed, and all of our luggage, gear, and other items ended up on the floor.||The bed frame was a strange metal four-post style, and the middle leg of the frame was a serious toe-stubber. When getting ready, the only place to set your bag was on the bed. Both my boyfriend and I stubbed our toes about three times over the weekend.||On the plus side, the mattress itself was a huge improvement over the memory foam mattresses that were previously used, although it is still very plush. The new paint colors were also a big upgrade. The room still has a mini fridge with a small counter on top and a small area to hang clothes. The bathroom was as expected. I am not sure whether the toilet paper holder had been moved or whether this room was different, but it was oddly placed behind you to the left, requiring an awkward twist to reach it. There was also a full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, which made the standalone mirror in the corner feel like overkill.||At one point, the record player in our room (or so we thought) was trying to connect to our TV, and a pop-up warning kept appearing. The TV is a Roku TV, so there was no way to dismiss the code from the screen. We went so far as unplugging both the TV and the record player, and when we plugged the TV back in, the code was still appearing. We therefore had to assume that a record player from another room was syncing to our TV.||I tried texting the “desk” for help, but the link I was sent brought me to a webpage, and when it prompted me to “click here to text,” it did not open a phone number. I then tried texting the phone number listed on the website but received no response. On our way out, we noticed that at the bottom of the room access instructions there was a phone number to text for help printed in very small font. I had not read that carefully. Additionally, the TV has no sleep timer, which is always disappointing in a hotel room.||The cozy lobby area remained, with additional furniture and a wood-burning stove. This space seemed to have some improvements, including more seating, a TV, a chest of games, and a shuffleboard table. We were excited to play shuffleboard, but they used a synthetic material instead of cornmeal, and there was no happy medium with the friction on the table. It was either too slippery, causing the puck to fly off the table with a slight nudge, or not slippery enough, causing it to come to a dead stop. Replacing the synthetic material with cornmeal would completely solve this issue.||There was a great coffee maker in the lobby that allowed you to choose from a variety of drinks, including espressos, lattes, and hot chocolate. There was also a chest full of prefilled bags of ice available to take to your room as needed. There were two vending machines, one of which was nearly empty.||Downstairs, the “yard” was advertised as having many games, which I doubted would fit the space—and I was correct. Cornhole was set up, but the boards were only about six feet apart. To achieve proper distance, you would have to cut across the entire room and interfere with other games. There was also a ping-pong table with some nicked-up paddles. While we were playing, the lighting in the “yard” made it very difficult to see. I am not sure whether it was the bulbs they used or the green glass sconces, but something felt off. It also seemed like an odd choice of lighting fixtures for a game room with a lot of balls and tossing.||Our final note concerns the pool. The main issue was that there was no code required to access it. This was concerning because directly across the way was a small children’s playroom. While I assume all children are expected to be supervised, we all know little ones can slip away in the blink of an eye. The risk of a child falling into the pool could be reduced with a simple universal access code on the door. (This concern was raised by my boyfriend, who is a firefighter.)||Overall, the hotel was clean and cozy and works well for groups or individuals who want to spend time together in the common spaces. It is located right next to the entrance to Mt. Sunapee and right next door to the Salt Hill Pub, so the convenience cannot be beat. However, we were not pleased with the self-service nature of the hotel—particularly the website glitches when we needed help—or with the lack of furniture in the room. This hotel no longer meets our needs, but I know it will meet the needs of many others, and I hope some of this feedback can be used constructively.
