Smugglers' Notch Resort — Hotel in Cambridge

This is our second time staying at Smugglers, and it will be our last. I totally understand staff shortages are affecting everyone right now, but service this time around has been completely lacking. Room: 2/5 stars...We're a family of three booked in a studio. The pullout sofa had twin-size sheets for a Queen mattress. Called to have the correct sheets brought to us so our son could go to bed, and it took 90 minutes (and three phone calls) for the sheets to finally arrive at 9pm (WHY weren't the correct ones in place to begin with?). The Whirlpool tub in our bathroom was broken, and the top of the dresser was not attached. It's literally a piece of warped wood sitting on top of the dresser. Rooms are OLD...mattresses/carpets/appliances haven't been updated in decades. Dining: 4/5 stars...You MUST have a reservation to eat at both the Mountain Grille (which closes at 3:30 due to staff shortages) for lunch and the Hearth and Candle for dinner, but service was very good, and the food was great. Hearth and Candle is expensive (dinner for three was $190), but fantastic food. Mountain Grille is a bit cheaper (around $90 for lunch every day for three), and we enjoyed everything we got, but be patient as they are very short-staffed. Skiing: 4/5 stars...The skiing here is amazing, however, not all of the runs were open during our stay. If all you care about is skiing/snowboarding, then you'll love this place, but just know you may not get to run every trail. There are also very long lines for the lifts. Service: 2/5 stars...We stood in line for an hour and fifteen minutes waiting to rent our equipment as there was only one clerk working the rental desk. Found out the next day when I went to ski that my helmet was broken, so I had to go back and exchange it. My husband called numerous times to change our ski class reservations, but no one answered (he ended up changing them in person). He left four messages with the answering service, but no one ever called us back. We decided to check out two days early and got conflicting info. The girl at the desk said we'd be refunded for the two days we had already paid for but would no longer be using. Yet, when we went to the desk the next day to check out, a different woman said we'd be issued a credit for future use (NO, thank you). We asked for a receipt and they said one would be emailed to us. When we still hadn't received a receipt the next day, my husband called. Turns out, THEY NEVER CHECKED US OUT! The woman pulled up our reservation and thought we were still there! This place is a mess. She said she would take care of it, but I have zero faith in them. Overall, this just wasn't a great experience. The skiing was good, but the rooms are SEVERLY outdated with broken appliances, and the service is lacking. Everyone we dealt with was friendly, and we never showed frustration with the staff themselves because it's totally not their fault the place is understaffed and run by what appears to be all new hires. Still, if you can't offer the same service as usual, you shouldn't be CHARGING people the same rates as usual. We paid a lot of money to stay at Smugglers for 4 nights (originally paid for 6 nights), but we did not receive the level of service or amenities that we did last time, and people shouldn't have to pay full price resort fees for a severely short-staffed resort where the restaurant closes early and not all the ski trails are open....

Family of 3 first time staying at Smuggs. We came for the skiing. No kids in our group. There are a few reasons I chose Smuggs. I was looking for a short and reasonable flight that was easily accessible from the resort. I wanted a full amenities condo with a ski-out type arrangement with the easiest access to the lifts that I could get. Lastly I wanted plenty on premises to keep us fed and mildly entertained. Did live up to my expectations? Mostly I suppose. I thought it might help to put together a review for other first timers like myself. PROS: Unpretentious, large, older resort without all the flashiness. Full amenities condo that was clean and spacious. Skiing on 3 mountains with PLENTY of fantastic blue runs and excellent snow. Staff and clientele were friendly and helpful. The Country Store has everything you could possibly need including meals to prepare when restaurants aren’t open. CONS: I strongly suggest renting a car to get from the airport and I feel Smuggs should be suggesting that as well for guests who aren’t locals. Without a car we were trapped on campus the entirety of our stay and although there are restaurants options, they have very limited hours and days they are open. I felt Smuggs set their activity and restaurant hours more to the local weekend crowd rather than out-of-towners. Getting dinner after 5pm on a weekday was quite a challenge and led to frustration. There are a variety of others food options Smuggs recommends at check-in, but they will not shuttle you there, not even for an extra fee. There is also no ride share service available. The mountainside condo we had was NEAR the lifts but not a ‘ski-out’ in my opinion. It was still a bit of an awkward walk to the lifts. Lastly, no fault of Smuggs but plan accordingly. Our experience flying out of BTV was unlike anything I’ve ever encountered flying. It took 2+ hours to get a bag checked and get through security and our flight was the only one leaving that afternoon. TSA ran all of our coats and bags through the screeners multiple times and then for reasons unknown a second agent was brought in to evaluate a sealed container of hard pack cheese in my carry-on. I watched in shock as 2 agents took turns squeezing it to determine if was the ‘consistency of jello’ (apparently it was as it had been thawing all afternoon) and confiscated it. The whole experience took an hour and a half longer than it should have. I am fortunate we were not cutting the...

This is just for the snow tubing and Fun Zone We did not stay at the resort itself (because they don't allow pets). Family showed up after 5pm last Friday to go night "glow tubing" snow tubing. Went to the guest services - bought tix without a wait - employees were very friendly - the outside area of the resort was beautiful. After buying tix, went over to the snow tubing area (short walk from guest services). Total disappointment...they ran out of tubes for the 10yr old in our group and we were told we would have to wait until someone else was done with theirs in order for her to get one - so we took her to the Fun Zone. The older kids waited over 1/2 hour at the bottom of the hill just to take a "magic carpet ride" in the dark to the top of the hill to wait another 15 minutes to go on one of the only 2 lanes they had set up. (There was an inoperable chair lift right there so these 2 lanes were just the tail end of a normal ski trail - definitely not a snow tubing park) Then they had to walk half way down the hill before they were allowed on the tube so they wouldn't catch too much speed before they reached the bottom. They were instructed to "brake" by digging their hills into the snow before they reach the bottom. The "glow tubing" consisted of 6 "u" shaped led lights at the bottom of the hill; 3 on each lane that you could have purchased at Walmart. I've been to other snow tubing parks where there were multiple lanes, lines moved quickly, and there were enough tubes for everyone. Kids went down only once because it wasn't worth another 45 minute wait for a 5 second ride down the hill. Everyone regrouped at the Fun Zone where they enjoyed ping pong, air hockey, shuffle board, and the 10 year old enjoyed the bouncy house - nice small place for families that want to get out of the cold. The ice-skating rink was closed by the time we arrived so the kids missed out on that as well. The kids said they had fun anyway. If they want to make the snow tubing more enjoyable, set up an actual snow tubing area with more lanes with enough length to slow down at the bottom of the hill. Either take away the "U" shaped lights altogether or add a bunch more to make it a tunnel of lights. Maybe add a small hot beverage type stand with snacks. Perhaps a fire pit and log benches for people to hang out (for people who physically can't enjoy the tubing but can watch the kids having fun). So much more could be done to make it...