Professional, courteous staff, made our stay at the Black Bear Lodge absolutely wonderful. The rooms are "home like", spacious, comfortable and beautifully decorated. There is much to do, you won't be bored, and need more than a couple of days to take it all in. Our family can't wait to return.

We stayed here for the Curious George Festival in August. We would not recommend it. We specifically asked for an air conditioned room. We received the only non-air conditioned room in the entire hotel. They offered to move us; we'd already unpacked. They also messed up the reservation and hadn't given us the package. This was remedied but it was still frustrating. And, the housekeeping was just changing towels-- no cleaning.

We stayed at the Black Bear Lodge for 3 nights in February 2010. The staff at the front desk were very helpful and pleasant. Our room had all the amenities we needed and was very clean. Lots of room! We were pleased. The pool area was small, but the pool was 1/2 inside and 1/2 outside - our 7 & 9 year olds loved that! There's also a small hot tub outside which was nice. The location was great! The lodge is within walking distance to shops, restaurants and the ice skating arena. Since we had a kitchen in our room, we chose to eat our meals there, so I can't comment on the restaurants in the area. There was a shuttle every 20 minutes that would take you to/from Waterville Valley Ski Area. That was sure convenient! The Kids Kamp at the mountain was great! We enrolled the kids in the camp for two days. They took care of snacks and lunch. The kids had a blast, while my husband and I were able to enjoy ourselves skiing. The instructors were fun and they sure work hard! Overall we had a great time. We would recommend the Black Bear to friends and we will be going there again for sure!

Our room was very spacious and well appointed. The kitchen facility was modern and well equipped. The decor is a bit dated and it seems to vary depending on the room. We chose a deluxe room, which was nice but upon arrival it seemed the bathroom lightbulb was out so we asked for another one. It seemed not to be available so we asked to be moved to another room. When I saw the alternative room, I was disappointed: indeed it had the bathroom light, but the room itself was far more dated and shabby (and smelled a little!) than the first and the view was of the rear of the hotel, rather than the mountain view of our initial room. What did I do? I took the working lightbulb from the shabby room and installed it in my original room, of course. The lesson I learned is simply this: the room quality varies at the BlackBear: it seems the BB is actually a condo association with individually owned units...some owners take better care of their unit than others, I suppose. Since you will have to pay the same price either way...keep this in mind.

Other than that, I was a little miffed to note that the outdoor hot-tub, one of the key features I'd hoped to enjoy with my family during our stay, was disabled. The desk clerk told me they are awaiting a new part and had no idea when it would arrive. As an alternative, we could use the local health club (to which we were given a free membership thanks to the purchase of our unlimited fun pass during the visit). The club's facilities were decent but it was about a 15-20 minute walk from the BB to the club and I wondered along the way about those BB guests who did not buy the unlimited pass but still wanted to enjoy a hot tub...Not only that, but the health club itself could use a little attention: For example, of the four steamrooms in the health club, two had lightbulbs out. Ever taken a steam bath in the dark? Creepy. I assure you I'm not a lightbulb freak...it just strikes me that something so basic should be easy to fix.

Otherwise, I thought the service was pretty good. One desk staff member who works during the morning hours (I think her name is Michelle?) went above and beyond every time we asked her for something...she deserves commendation, since her attitude seems to be naturally wonderful...but I can't say as much about the other staff members. Everyone was polite and friendly, but would only go so far for me. The lesson to be learned here: BB is a lodge, not a full-service hotel. As a frequent traveler, I'm accustomed to service typical of big hotels, so I should not expect the same from an independently operated lodge, which is really just an affiliation of condos.

One more thing: this is not a matter of the lodge itself but rather the Waterville Valley resort: There are some six or seven affiliated lodges at Waterville and I suppose that most of the guests purchase the unlimited fun pass for the entire resort when they stay, as did I. It includes free daily use of the Snow Mt. chairlift, ice-skating arena, paddle boats, biking rentals, 9-holes of golf and so on. The good news is that indeed all of those things are included; the bad news is that with so many people seeking to enjoy them, you may face a lot of competition trying to secure a time spot for access! The paddle-boats were simply unapproachable (first come, first serve basis and only 2-3 boats available to serve dozens of would-be boaters), the golf course's tee-times were largely unavailable (lucky I phoned to make a reservation days in advance!) and so on. You get the picture: caveat emptor. A reasonable person should assume this kind of thing is likely to happen, especially on a busy weekend, so I'm not disappointed...then again I thought ahead and made my golf tee time. Had I not done so, I may have been VERY upset to simply be offered no time to go out. All in all, with a little strategic planning and common sense, I could do everything I wanted to do...except the paddle boats.

Those are the negatives, which are really not so bad. On the positive side: the BB offers good accommodations at a reasonable price. My family were all pretty pleased with the BB. Its location is great...right in the heart of all action and as promised, every activity was more or less within walking distance. It was nice to ditch our car for a weekend. With the full kitchen and a trip to the supermarket, my family could cook and enjoy meals at a big table in our room every night. Taking small children to resort restaurants is stressful and expensive, eating in our room was relaxing and afforded us some nice family together time. The view from our room was wonderful, too. If you need super-luxury accommodations, you may be let down. If you can accept just a little less than that, you'll be pretty happy at the BB. Overall, I was.