Mountaineer Inn — Hotel in Dover

We spent two nights at the Mountaineer in September (2024). This is after the summer rush, and before the leaf peepers in October or the ski season in winter. Therefore the hotel appeared to only have two rooms rented (another couple besides my wife and me.) Therefore, one would expect that we would get personal attention.

I received an email the day before we arrived stating that we needed to check in no earlier than 4 pm and no later than 4:30 pm. Because that's only a 1/2 window for check-in and because both the website AND the confirmation stated a check-in of 3 pm, I sent a text message (per Expedia) to the hotel asking them to clarify. There was no response.

When we checked in at 4:20 pm, there was no one at the desk. Our room key was in a basket. We went to the stairs to find our room (first floor) and as we were talking a voice asked if I was Ted R* and I said I was. The voice from above (apparently not God) said to go down the stairs. I never saw the woman that was later identified as the House Manager. I was very surprised that she did not come down to greet us, give us information about the hotel, tell us about the breakfast or the area, or the code to get into the hotel at night, etc.

When we got to the room, there was no soap at the sink. I texted and a bar of soap was delivered. I didn't think too much about that at the time. The next morning as I walked to the breakfast area, the same woman called out (no greeting or welcome) that they were out of plain coffee pods (it was a Keurig coffee maker) and that they "should" have more if I wanted to wait an hour or so for delivery. That was the only source of coffee or drink. They did provide a "breakfast" of a bagel and cream cheese or butter. I'm not sure how you miss you are low or out of coffee pods when it literally is displayed on a rack that holds the pods.

I discussed with the General Manager the issues I had faced with the House Manager and that not greeting a guest or giving them information (or not saying "Good Morning" when there are only four total guests in the hotel) was not a good look for a hospitality business. He agreed and said that she was "very busy."

Things got worse. When we arrived back at the hotel after dinner, both of our key cards had been deactivated and we had to find the General Manager to make new cards. After we got into the room, my wife discovered that there was no spare roll of toilet paper and we were down to our last squares. She placed the box of tissues near the toilet.

When we saw the House Manager that second morning (again, no hello or response to our Good Morning), we told her that we were out of toilet paper and I asked if the room should be stocked with at least one extra roll. Her literal response was "When you are out, you are out, and then you should call me." Huh? Call her from the toilet? When I said that there should be extra, she said, "If I forget something, I'm only human." Yes, but she forgot to greet us and tell us about the hotel; she forgot the soap for the sink; when I took a shower, the bottle of shower gel was completely empty and I had to use shampoo as soap; she forgot to stock bath sheets (there was only two hand towels and two wash cloths); she forgot to stock the coffee pops; and she forgot to check if there was extra toilet paper in the bathroom. When does "just being human" turn into incompetent. What justifies such a bad attitude? What justifies being snarly to guests?

There was a nice sitting room and the restaurant and outside areas were nice.

The place needs a new coat of paint (the paint in our room was peeling). There were no chairs in the room; the only furniture was a bed.

Frankly, two stars is...

This is a small motel close to Mount Snow, 3 stories. The parking lot is tight, not completely shoveled, so some double-parking. Watch the parking lot exit due to snow piles up, makes it hard to see folks coming on the road so several near-misses.

Check-in on your phone (they text you a form and then send you a code to your door when the room is ready). Doors use a security code to enter the rooms.

Desk hours are 9-5p, check-in after 3pm, so on the first day when we couldn't get the door code to work, we go down at 4:45p and want to ask about why the door code doesn't work or get a new one - and then find out the staff is already gone for the day, that was a problem. The day we checked in, a lot of people had issues with their room access (all different reservations from different groups, too), and the staff left early that day. Eventually after texting a number and the hotline for customer service goes to the closed room (no one picks up on the number and there's no central phone line staffed), they get back to you via text - I believe the staffer on duty was apparently in the shower as she came down with wet hair after about 45min of folks getting anxious about what to do, and she had folks take a key to use instead of using the door code.

Rooms are small, simple, and have an exit to the long shared balcony areas. Was clean, so that was good.

Breakfast on the weekend included bagels, boiled eggs, and yogurt in a small fridge to the side. They also have a coffee machine. There was also a water cooler to the side, but the staffer didn't have any water to refill that after it was empty in the first hour we were there... so only hot water for the rest of the long weekend.

Hallway had a closet for self-service on the towels and supplies. Another closet at the entry for your skis, boots, and snow board to hang and dry a bit.

Shared common room downstairs, a little library, fireplace, pool table (needs some repair), a bar with plastic cups, a piano that's out of tune, and some card and board games. Good for the kids to run around and enjoy talking loudly away from the rest of the motel, which was good.

Overall, value this place for the location, 5 min from the mountain, and it's a motel. Don't expect 24-7 service. Shuttle stops by to get to the mountain, too. Expensive but not as much as any resort on...

I would highly recommend Mountaineer Inn if you are looking for a quaint 'vermont inn' experience! I stayed with my SO during the last week of February to hit the slopes and explore the surrounding area.

Pros:

1. The host/family that own and manage the inn are extremely nice, considerate, and attentive

2. The room was simple, but clean and well-appointed

3. The outdoor hot tub was large enough for a few couples and the sauna was wonderful!

4. I loved the continental breakfast! It was a mix of eggs, waffles, bagels, baked goods, cereal, coffee, tea, and other breakfast items

5. The location is QUICK to Mount Snow and there is shuttle access (although we drove - it was 5 minutes max)

6. There are many unique nooks and crannies throughout the inn - game room (pool, darts, air hockey, mini-basketball game), sitting area, small pub, quaint lobby, sitting area around fire place (with board games and puzzles), etc

7. The location is perfectly located between Wilmington and Manchester

Recommendations:

1. The room didn't have conditioner, but we also didn't inquire about it - no big deal

2. All the darts are in some way shape or form broken

3. We couldn't determine how to get alcohol from the fridge - a paper sign or the like may be helpful? Also some pre-mixed drinks would be interesting for us non-beer/hard seltzer drinkers. Maybe consider monetizing it in the off hours, but I understand the rationale for not doing so

4. Water jug in the hot tub/sauna area

5. Increase the board game selection

Summary I would highly recommend Mountaineer Inn to anyone that is traveling to the area, and I will...