Basin Harbor Resort - Lake Champlain — Hotel in Ferrisburgh

My husband and I spent a week at the Basin Harbor Resort from August 13th to August 20th, 2022. We made this reservation on March 15th 2022 based upon the website photos and the reviews of the prior guests. We realized when we returned home, that all of the comments posted by prior guests were pre-covid. Apparently much changed in the intervening Covid years. Our reservation was based on a one-bedroom cottage with a screened in porch and a lake view. We were told that the Rockledge cottage fit these requirements and was booked for us. We were surprised at the price, of $868.00 per night including resort tax and an 18% service charge. For this sum, we expected a luxury resort. This is not what we found. We arrived to find that the Rockledge cottage that we had booked was occupied by someone else and we were given the only available one-bedroom cottage with a lake view. Unfortunately, it was a “handicapped accommodation”, with a handicapped bathroom with a shower suitable for a wheelchair to be rolled into it. Fortunately, neither of us are handicapped and each time we attempted to take a shower, the entire bathroom flooded. We were very upset that we had not been notified in advance that the accommodation was the only accommodation that would be offered to us, since we would have cancelled the reservation and gone elsewhere. The management did offer us a discount on the rate, however it did not compensate us for the disappointment in the accommodation and quite frankly the shabby state of the what was described as a renovated cottage. Furthermore, the website indicated that the cottages would have a fridge and a coffee maker and be air-conditioned. The photos also indicated that there would be a ceiling fan. No coffee maker, no ceiling fan, no functional TV and a tiny window air-conditioner in the bedroom, which would not have been able to cool the whole cottage. Fortunately, we arrived right after a heat spell, and were able to sleep with open windows, however there was no screen on the bedroom window. The management, who attempted to be friendly and accommodating, sent a carpenter who installed a window screen several hours later. I gave up trying to take a shower in the cottage and used the tiny bathroom in the poolside WC to shower, which was extremely inconvenient. A positive note is that there is a large, heated pool on the premises with several lanes suitable for swimming laps. The concrete pool, however, had not been resurfaced in a very long time. It had been repeatedly and poorly patched. Furthermore, there was no vacuuming of the sand which had accumulated both in the pool and in the marble surfaces surrounding the pool. There were also no pool towels available at the poolside and one had to take a 5-minute walk to the main lodge to retrieve any beach towels. The adjacent pool activity “Ranger Room” was closed, and no refreshments were available at poolside, which had been the case in prior years. Aside from our disappointments, the landscaping and beach areas around the lake were beautiful and well maintained. It’s just a pity that the standards from prior years were not maintained. The actual site is beautiful however, the accommodations and cottage cleaning staff, many of whom spoke not a single work of English, except “no speak English” were a major disappointment. Hopefully the critique which we are making will encourage management to upgrade their standards and restore the Basic Harbor Resort to the quality that previous guests described in their...

I am so sad to write this review and had really hoped our weekend at Basin Harbor Club would be a great Fall escape to a very special place for us. We had our rehearsal dinner at the Basin Harbor Club 13 years ago. The location is beautiful and we loved the rustic New England vibe.

BEWARE.

The video and description of the 2 bedroom cottage on the website is so much different from the one we were put in that it's false advertisement. Our cottage smelled damp even before it started raining outside. There were AC units in the windows that were covered mold. There were swarming bugs in our room and earwigs and spiders crawling on the pillows. We don't mind camping or being out in nature but my two daughters were crying and refused to sleep in the beds. There was only one bathroom when it was advertised as having two. The second bedroom was basically a closet with two twin beds in a line because it was so narrow. There was no closet in that room, only a shelf. There was no view, how can they advertise as a lake front cottage?? The cottage was in such disrepair that we couldn't hardly stand to stay in it, even when it was pouring buckets outside.

The swimming pool was closed when I was told it was heated and would be open. We visited in October so many of the activities were finished for the season. The hot tubs were green and smelled of such strong chemicals that it didn't make sense. Gross!

My family had breakfast two of the three mornings and we had one dinner there as a family. The food was decent but the service was hit or miss. Some people were very accommodating and friendly while others were rude and dismissive.

The coffee machine in the room was broken. The restaurant didn't have an espresso machine and the one in the gift shop was from a machine and it was horrible.

The biggest disappointment was that we were overcharged and it seems to be a common occurrence of theirs (after reading other reviews). One breakfast, I sat with my family while they ate and I didn't order or eat anything. They charged me for a full buffet. It was taken care of once we brought it to their attention. We were promised that appetizers would be comped after they canceled our dinner reservation one evening because a wedding needed to move inside and we were moved to the red barn. They forgot to inform them at the red barn and I had to bring it to their attention and they said I'd need to contact the hotel manager. After check out, I received 3 different charges and was told it was for things that weren't billed at check out but didn't send an updated receipt. The told me one charge was for a third breakfast but we only ate there twice! They finally credited me but that was after I demanded an itemized receipt otherwise I'd contact my credit card company.

I should mention that our room was $859/night before any taxes or extra charges. This was advertised as 40% off the rate. I wouldn't pay $400/night for the room we received and honestly we'd have preferred to camp!

We were very sad about our experience and we really hope that they can figure things out there. It's a lovely location and has such history and potential...

In short: Basin Harbor is the perfect wedding destination, with an exceptional events team who delivered the wedding weekend of our dreams.||We celebrated our wedding at Basin Harbor over Memorial Day Weekend, and calling it perfect feels like an understatement. With our wedding falling on a holiday weekend, we asked our guests to stay on-site for three nights. Our goal was to ensure everyone felt like they were not just attending a wedding, but enjoying a true vacation experience. Anne, Lauren, and the entire events team immediately embraced our vision and helped us bring it to life. ||The weekend kicked off with a movie night by the pool, followed by a round-robin pickleball tournament and a scenic sightseeing tour on Lake Champlain the next day. From there, we transitioned into a sunset cruise on The EScape, a flawless rehearsal dinner on The North Dock, and an incredible welcome party at the Burgee Bar. On our wedding day, both wedding parties were treated like royalty in our respective cottages, with lunch provided and every request seamlessly accommodated. The ceremony on the Lodge Lawn, overlooking the breathtaking Basin, was followed by dinner and dancing in Ardelia's. To end the night, we gathered around a campfire at the Red Mill for s'mores under the stars. ||A weekend with so many moving parts could have felt overwhelming, but we always felt supported and cared for by Anne, Lauren, and the entire team. No request was too big—even a last-minute change of ceremony location and a spontaneous addition of Aperol Spritzes during cocktail hour were handled with ease. Beyond that, an unexpected family emergency arose the week before the wedding, and Anne and her team worked seamlessly with our wedding planner, allowing us to focus on what mattered most. Their compassion and professionalism during such a delicate time meant the world to us. ||The planning process, spanning over a year, was equally seamless. Anne and her team maintained flawless communication, proactively checking in to keep us on track while expertly coordinating with external vendors, including our band and florist. From the moment we discovered Basin Harbor online, we had a gut feeling it was special. That feeling was solidified the moment we set foot on the property and experienced its natural beauty, endless activities, and warm, dedicated staff. ||We are forever grateful to the entire Basin Harbor family—the Beaches, Anne, Lauren, the waitstaff, bartenders, chefs, boat crew, housekeepers, and everyone else behind the scenes—for creating such a magical experience. We cannot wait to return to Basin Harbor, our favorite place, to continue making...