AMC Lakes of the Clouds Hut — Hotel in Hart's Location

The staff is downright hostile and I'll never forget it. After doing work for stay on my thruhike, I waited for the weather to clear (as forecasted) before leaving, but was repeatedly pressed to leave early (at one point receiving nasty looks). Meanwhile, other hikers entered early in the afternoon and didn't dare to go on to Mount Washington in the freezing downpour (perhaps because of the sign that said "if the weather is bad, turn back or you may die"). They were told to leave, but disobeyed. These were hardened hikers that had been through snowstorms back in the month of March (one of the coldest on record), and a few of them had experienced hypothermia before during that time: they were not exaggerating. When my friend learned that a group had cancelled reservations, he asked to order a room (he'd slept in a tent for months but the weather was bad enough that he was still willing to pay over a hundred bucks to stay inside). The reply he got was "We will not have hikers (i.e. thruhikers) in the rooms." (In another hut, we were also forbidden to talk with a guest in the rooms.) At 15h the weather finally cleared, and never on my trip was I so relieved to be out of a place (not even when I was stranded in Damascus for weeks). I've had a lot of difficult experiences during my thruhike, but being stuck with those people was the one I have the worst...

Spent two nights here with my daughter, 7 years old, and 80-some other smelly hikers during what was intended to be a multi-day, hut-to-hut hike of the Presidential Traverse. Alas, the weather was so violently cold and windy that my ambitions and abilities were not aligned, so instead of seeing great views I enjoyed thinking about if what I was actually doing was more an experiment in child endangerment than a nice daddy-daughter vacation. Nevertheless, outside of the actual hair-raising mountainside wind gusts and cold, we had a great time and I am certain my daughter won't forget summiting Mt. Washington for the rest of her life. That said, the hut is incredibly well-appointed. The Hut Croo was awesome, funny, warm, welcoming, and gracious throughout. Their theatrical reminders to not litter and to fold bedding were A-list. Yes, the Lake of the Clouds hut is aptly nicknamed Lake of the Crowds, but for 80+ hikers it felt spacious and gracious and - well, it kept us warm, fed, and well-rested. And on top of it all we met some awesome hikers that ended up becoming a key part of our adventures and experience. Can't wait to...

I have stayed in five of the AMC high mountain huts and Lakes of the Clouds was my least favorite. The hut amenities are pretty much the same with the individual croos being the only real difference.||||At mealtime, the LOTC croo seemed to be in a race to serve the menu items and remove the dirty platters / dishes as quickly as possible. I sat at a table with members of an AMC trail crew and let's just say they had hearty appetites. Several platters / bowls were empty before making their full tour of the table. The croo simply grabbed the empty platters and took them directly to the sink for washing. There was no effort to refill any of the items or ask if we needed anything. Fortunately, the trail crew members took matters into their own hands and scavenged leftovers from other tables.||||It's a numbers issue. Other huts had four croo members and Lakes had five, but with a much higher guest count. ||||In summary, it wasn't a bad stay. It just wasn't up to the same level as I have experienced in Galehead, Zealand Falls, Mizpah Spring or Madison Spring Huts. Either way, it was a welcome place to spend a wet and...