Vacation Village in the Berkshires — Hotel in Hancock

Pick a new place. When we first arrived we thought it was great.. because of the view. My boyfriend and I wanted to get away for one night so we chose Vacation Village in the Berkshires to go to Jiminey Peak. I chose this stay because it was $20 cheaper than staying at the resort.. which I'm assuming many people do. However, what I didn't realize is they charge an extra $25 for access to the gym, WIFI and house keeping. First of all, their "gym" was part of a conference room with outdated cardio machines and a broken boflex.. and who doesn't have free wifi?! They seem very cheap, they even charge you for ping pong balls to play ping pong. Next, once arriving in the room we read the booklet they have. It was beyond passive aggressive.. they pretty much tell you not to take long showers (how could you when they don't provide shampoo or conditioner?! Talk about an awful hair day), dont wash clothes too often and clean your room before leaving.. including washing your own dishes before you leave and take out your trash or else you will be charged $75 for not cleaning your room. I'm all about being spotless at home, but that's not what you pay to go away for. And on top of them asking this.. we found dead flys in the window and a leaf in our bed making it clear they don't do the cleaning they should.

Once returning home I realized they charged my credit card for both the holding fee AND the room fee. When checking in, my boyfriend and I made it VERY CLEAR that my card was only to be used for the $100 hold and it would be given back and his card would be used for the room. She took both cards and said she understood. When I called to speak to the manager about this she stated "you signed the form" and I replied "yes the room was under my name, and my card was used for the hold, I thought that's what I was signing for" and she pretty much told me I should read things before signing them. I explained to her what happened and confused why both cards were slid and how we made what we wanted clear and that her staff made the mistake. And even though I was very upset (not angry, I don't yell or get rude) she made it clear she didn't care and stated she could only fix it if she got my boyfriend's card. A good manager would have swallowed the $150 that was her employees fault in order to have a happy returning customer. I NEVER write bad reviews even when they're deserved, however I want to make sure people know what they're experience could be like. The pictures may be beautiful but the awful customer service and cheap atmosphere are not worth it. I HIGHLY reccommend going down the street to Jiminey Peak where the customer service the next day was...

Comfortable and quiet in lovely surroundings. Fake coffee with creamer. To further detail the good and less than ideal, i'll list the good first. Clean, and adequately spacious 1 BR for the two of us. We chose 3rd floor so we wouldn't hear people above us. 1012A. Our unit was in the corner, as well. We only heard our neighbors when they were in the shared hallway that led to the units from the main hallway. We were in the living area at the time. We did hear some noise from the parking lot at times but the clientele was largely quiet after 9 or 10 and didn't disturb our sleep. So, peaceful surroundings overall. Nicely kept grounds and common areas. It was a pleasure to sit on the patio and gaze at the mountainside. A pleasant firepit. Adequately appointed kitchen. We only used microwave, not the two burner hot plate. Helpful staff. Plenty of dresser space. Books and movies available to use while there. Plenty of towels. Bed ok Good location for home base while exploring the natural beauty. Felt safe. Nice to walk outside (no sidewalks, remember to walk facing traffic)

The coffee is a dispenser of coffee concentrate. It's quite drinkable, but an added insult is there is creamer only. Liquid Coffe Mate, and a couple different flavors to be sure, but for the $25 amenities fee, that was disappointing not to have real cream. There is a full sized coffee maker in the room but I am the only coffee drinker and didn't want to waste any. Light pollution took some getting used to. Our unit faced the parking lot and the window blinds did not block all the light. Consider taking a sleep mask if your unit bedroom faces east as the sun shines in brightly in the morning. I'm a morning person so I loved that experience. But my husband isn't and didn't. Skinny tub. I'm 5'8" 138 lbs and barely fit. Disproportionately small for the big bathroom. Water took a long time to get hot. We re-used our towels and found the towel exchange times too inconvenient. We were up and about exploring by the time towel exchange time came around at 10 am. Tuesdays and Thursdays. You have to drive about 15 minutes or more to find a place to eat unless you eat at the nearby ski resort. We bought food from a grocery store in Albany to eat for breakfast as we flew there and rented a car and arrived at night, It would have been out of our way to go through Pittsfield. Ventilation could be better. We kept all the interior doors open for ventilation. TV picture and audio not the greatest.

We didn't swim or try the jacuzzi.

All in all, the good outweighs the bad. I...

Just getting around to writing this review on the vacations villages property in the Berkshires. Me and my boyfriend stayed here for a week, and and it was horrible. We were here the week of July 4th, and would never had stayed here, if we knew that the place would have been so noisy. We checked in around 7pm on a Monday, and were given a first floor unit, building next to the office, which was probably one of the worst units available. We had a herd of noisy people above us, and we could hear every move they made. After 2 days of this torment, we finally asked the front desk if we could be moved, but they said NO, due to the fact that they we're booked and they said that they could not do anything for us until after 9pm if the problem persist, " Oh Really"! Front desk was not helpful at ALL, and it seemed as if we we're inconveniencing them by even mentioning that we could not rest in the unit. We rented for 7 days of misery, and only slept in the unit, as we we're busy about 10hrs of the day sightseeing off property with our family that lives in Pittsfield. The noise was unbearable, and after having my boyfriend handle the situation, I finally called myself and complained to the point, that the GM had to speak with the inconsiderate family staying above us to be more conscious of the people below...what were they? A herd of animals who didn't know how to behave in a hotel. It's not all their fault, as the property was not build properly with good insulation. There were Dirty walls in the hallways of the building, dirty, dingy green carpet throughout the property, and lots of noisy people. If your looking for peace and relaxation, you won't find it at this property. I thank the GM for his efforts in trying to correct the problem, but for the front desk, you get two thumbs down. Please, if you have NO choice, and have to stay at this unkept property with an uncaring staff, please request a 2nd floor unit so you won't have to be subjected to what we had to endure for a week! I do not recommend this property, and have told all my family and friends to Never stay here, even if it was Free! My boyfriend is from Pittsfield, went to Boston College, and still owns a house in Pittsfield and if it wasn't rented, we would of had 6 nights...