North Star Lodge & Resort — Hotel in Killington

While it is a little unusual to review a hotel without having stayed there, being called “a..hole” by staff members Amy and Walt warrants a post. This is not a short story. We were enjoying a tremendous week in Vermont and were really impressed by the friendliness of the people and the beauty of the countryside. We were trying to get an early start on our day of departure and woke to find no hot water (see separate review of Cedarbrook condos). I called the front desk and got a recording since they do not have night staff. There was an option to press for emergencies, which I did and was connected to Amy. It was not clear that I was now speaking to a person in a different business six miles away. Amy asked where I was and I gave our room number. About 30 minutes later we still had no hot water so I called back. Amy answered again and we finally both understood that I was calling from Cedarbrook, not North Star. I did say that when answering the phone she did not enunciate “North Star” clearly so I had no idea I had rolled over to someone outside of Cedarbrook. She became highly offended at this and as she went to hang up the phone she clearly said “a..hole.” I called back immediately to speak to a manager and got Amy’s co-worker Walt. He refused to give their names although he demanded mine, and told me to call back after 9:00 AM to speak to a manager. When I related my shock at what Amy called me, Walt said he had heard the conversation (although we were not on speaker) and added “you were being an a..hole.” I asked if people at his business routinely called customers that and he replied “it happens more often than you think, but usually after we hang up.” One of the benefits of being married for 20 years is that I get unvarnished truth from my spouse. She had heard my side of the conversations and was confident that I was not behaving as accused. For once :-). Later that morning we related this story to Mike at Cedarbrook and he was able to get me the North Star staff names, along with manager Dean Romano. Twice later that day I left messages for Dean to discuss my treatment by his staff, but he has not called back. How he responds to this review – defensive, apologetic or not at all – should be instructive for readers. I understand that in a small community like Killington the employees may be relatives or long time family friends and Dean may not have much latitude. We refuse to let this spoil a great trip, but we know where not to...

The pool makes it worth it. There's a lot to criticize here, as the building appears to be very sparsely maintained. There are unpatched holes all over, and the drop ceiling tiles are ragged. Some of the concrete by the pool looks like poles were ripped out and they didn't even think to fill the holes in with more concrete. The pool area fence is still missing fiberglass wind barriers in the same sections that were missing it two years prior. Their air hockey table still gladly accepts quarters, but the puck is missing. Are these oversights significant cost savings? Or just neglect?

The room contained ant traps along the perimeter, and as I wrote this review, an ant joined me on our bed (which is so hard, it hurts my back, and I prefer firm beds). Perhaps additional ant-control measures ought to be taken.

However, other than that, everything has a clean and sanitary feel to it, and the staff have always been polite and responsive.

Normally, I would argue that the heated outdoor pool makes this place worth staying at, despite all the aforementioned warts. However, they have reduced their pool hours since our first visit, and it is now only open from 3pm until 9pm. Sorry, but that is ridiculous. A pool should be open all day long.

Perhaps this review will be read by the right people, and some of the above will change for the better. Barring that, I don't think we will come back again. There just isn't enough to attract us here, as non-skiers, at "resort town" pricing during...

This hotel stay was horrible. Started with ants in the the bathroom, broken pool heater, toilet that takes 5 times to flush, a shower head that has 3 thin strands of water, and waking up to small bites on our bodies. I spoke with a woman ant front desk and explained this all. I stated I wanted a full refund for the stay and they said that would happen and I needed to speak to the Manager. We asked that the mattress be changed in the pull out couch and the main bedroom. The pull out couch had all crumbs and a Qtip on it. We left for alittle and they said they took care of mattresses. We checked before bed and the same crumbs and Qtip was there. Not to mention small little bugs and eggs once we shut light and used flashlight. We had to sleep in another room for the night. The manager in the morning did not refund us and told me if I wasn’t satisfied I should have paid to go to another hotel and sleep somewhere else for the second night. He was rude and did not issue the promised refund. The icing on the cake was when I walked out to the deck and my left ankle fell into a crack and reported it to the woman at front desk yes who said “what do you want me to do, be more careful.” There is a big gap between deck and door. They said they did not have issues with bed bugs but when we were leaving they had a truck taking away old mattresses and we saw people bringing in new ones to many rooms. See...