We thought hard about reserving this motel in Stowe for our fall foliage trip to Vermont and New Hampshire. I tried getting opinions on the motel from the Vermont forum, but that was for naught, I don't think one person answered my different queries. So, we went ahead with the reservations and now I wish I had listened to my gut instinct. The place could be a little gem for Stowe. The prices were one of the lowest around (now I know why) and they had vacancy up until the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend, another sign I should have taken into consideration. However, I saw several motels with half full parking lots in Stowe, so they couldn't be full either.
Checkin was quick, the lobby is nice, various books, magazines lying around for you to peruse. No fire in the fireplace. The office looks to be a mess, as they keep the door open from the back hall. A computer is available for your use, but we did not partake. I believe there might be games also, but never saw anyone playing. Our room was okay, it was clean upon arrival, the bathroom was nice-looks to have been recently remodeled. We had a nice deck to use, but there were leaves all over in piles, and the furniture (2 chairs and a small table) were filthy. So, we never sat out there, though the weather was perfect for doing so. The room was very warm, and we had to keep that deck door open most of the time we were there during the daytime. The hallways are extremely dark and hot. Our bed was terrible, very, very uncomfortable. Our remote broke the 2nd day, and they did fix that by our return later in the evening. Our room, however, was not cleaned that day. Our room was also very dusty upon arrival-the headboard, the lamps, the clock, the nightstands, like the old saying, had an inch of dust on them. The room decor is cute. The shower pressure, the plugs, the phone, the lighting all worked. The lighting, however is pretty poor, just 2 lamps on the nightstands and not bright enough to read well.
I found the 2 men working the desk (morning/afternoon shift and then evening shift) both rude, uninformative, and cocky as hell. When I inquired about our room not being cleaned, I was told it had been listed as clean, when I again stated it was not cleaned at all, they just stared at me, and then offered a lame apology. No compensation upon check-out. So, I asked for one-a meager one at that, and he stated, "Do you want the change that is in my pocket?" I also inquired of the evening person about getting the room cleaned and his response, "I wasn't here during the day, not my problem." I think that says it all-customer service is their lowest priority at this place. Every time I called, they were very odd. Another sign I should have listened to!
The pool looks to be in need of some paint and maintenance. We did not swim, but you can see a lot of rust stains and scrapped paint off the bottom of the pool and the steps. Very, very hot in there. The game room has 3 games, 2 vending machines and a very dusty, old TV sitting on the floor with a note that it doesn't work-hello-maybe take it out of the room. They also have a sauna, but I wouldn't step foot in it-lol. The breakfast was lacking, in everything. Coffee not hot. A couple of hard muffins left, and this was 45 minutes before it ended. There is a decent sized room downstairs with a small bar, but it appears that it is not in operation as a restaurant/bar.
The grounds are pretty. There is a river running along the back of this property, and we saw someone working outside a few times. There are Halloween/fall decorations; flowers. Parking is adequate.
If they put some upkeep into the place, and changed their entire customer service attitude, things would improve and it could be a nice place (and replace those mattresses-OMG-bad!). Too bad it doesn't offer these basic things as a motel should.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
