Tälta Lodge, a Bluebird by Lark — Hotel in Stowe

The Millennial Chum and I decided to go on our Vermont adventure about two or three weeks beforehand, which meant we didn't have the pick of the Airbnb litter. I'd be curious to know what was out there with more time to play with; from what I saw there was literally one cute, intriguing little ye olde farm guesthouse in the Underhill area, and everything else was just run of the mill (which isn't an insult, but if I'm dabbling in the Airbnbs, I want something edgy/memorable). We then pivoted to Talta, which was a Millennial Chum pick and turned out to be a good one. It was conveniently located just north of Stowe and on the way to Mount Mansfield (still about 45 minutes from the trailhead, but there wasn't much to be done about that). Once we got into town, it was easy to find and check in to our accommodations.

This isn't a five-star hotel; it's down to earth and clearly caters toward a lot of my people - low maintenance, outdoor adventurers. There was a wedding being held in the back area the first night we were there, so we saw a few guests dressed up on the grounds but it was pretty much just hiking pants and shorts from everyone else. It's also Nordic-themed, which you can tell from the furniture and interior design (our beds were on a conjoined wooden platform, and there was a small bar area in the corner of the rec room that I believe was Finnish in nature. Very unique atmosphere and felt a little Ikea-ish, minus the delicious mac and cheese.

The lobby feels like a winter lodge (and it basically is - this is clearly an area that's more about the ski world than random summer high point hikes) with a small little store off to the left of the front desk and a few coffee decanters to the side. You're not going to get the amenities of a Marriot, but it did the job. I'm an early bird compared to the Millennial Chum so for the two mornings we were here, I brought my laptop out to the empty lobby area and made myself comfortable on one of the couches. There were plenty of electric outlets and someone came in with fresh coffee around 5:30am. Hilariously because of the target demo, I saw a solid handful of guests roaming around before 6am. Your tribe is your tribe.

It's a shame the weather was unsettled and humid for the duration of our visit because we both would have liked to have taken advantage of the outdoor area behind the hotel. We did see the low-frills wedding from our little wooden balcony (cool seating option) but there was also a hot tub and a little barn-like structure that had some comfortable looking couches with fire pits to hang out in, which unfortunately I only noticed on a walk shortly before checking out. There's also the West Branch Little River back there, which is accessible though I didn't see much in the way of seating by the water's edge. There's been a ton of flooding lately so that's probably for the best.

There weren't a ton of downsides, but my one overriding piece of constructive feedback is to do something about the air circulation in the lobby and hallways. I suspect a lot of it has to do with the wet weather and the pool/sauna situation on the lower level, but it honestly smells a little mildewy - that's probably an easy fix. Our room was clean and pleasant overall, but I noticed it could also use a little TLC. Some of the walls needed a fresh paint job, for example; I'd imagine this is actually a pretty convenient time of year for them to do a little upkeep in that regard. Also, the TV in our room was not placed in the best location - it was in front of my bed and pretty small. It seemed like it easily could have been placed between the two beds. But those are quibbles by and large. We didn't interact with a ton of employees (and it literally might have been exclusively front desk people) but everyone was very hospitable.

If you're looking for an affordable alternative to some of the nearby Airbnbs and other bougie accommodations that still has a unique personality and feel to it, this is a...

Overall, we were satisfied with our stay at Talta. We stayed in one of the Stuga cabins, and Payton was especially helpful when we interacted with them. We liked almost everything about our cabin (especially the comfy bed and the view of the trees), but I do have some (hopefully) constructive feedback for management/guest services:||- The kitchen shelves inside our cabin were slanted downward, away from the wall. In short, the anchors for the shelves appear not to be holding, and I think the shelves should be reinstalled. They're (sort of) functional for now, but eventually, I fear the dishes and pots will slide off.||- The heating unit in the living room of cabin #1 was leaking water onto the floor. We have no idea why. We placed towels down when we eventually noticed and notified the front desk during checkout.||- One of the gas heaters in the outdoor lounge area was not working when we tried to use it, and the cushions needed cleaning.||- Some of the jets in the hot tub were not working, and it wasn't apparent to us how to increase the hot tub's temperature. Overall, we liked using it along with the heated pool and the sauna, which we also used during our stay.||- Lastly, we requested cabin #5 but were placed in cabin #1 (which was closest to the dumpster and the lodge itself). I'm not sure why our request was not accommodated since it seemed that cabin #5 was empty throughout our entire stay, but I know there can be internal reasons for where guests are placed. It worked out fine in the end, but it would have been nice if guest services had offered a brief explanation for the decision. I used to work in the hospitality/service sector, and I personally found context to be so helpful...

Beautiful location. On the main road, but set far back enough to not feel like it. Attractive grounds and decor.

We had a lower level room facing the river with a patio. The stairs down to our wing were a bit treacherous, noticeable on the second night after hiking and sore muscles! As a result that wing would not be very suitable for someone with mobility issues. The hallway was very dimly lit, as well as the room... Only three small lamps. The bedding was luxurious with a plush comforter and pillows.

There was some construction going on which wasn't mentioned on the website when we booked a couple of weeks earlier. There wasn't any related noise that we noticed, but some hay on the ground which we and our dog managed to track in every time we went outside from the sliders in our room despite our best efforts not to. There was a nice area with a waste bag receptacle to walk our dog.

There was complimentary coffee and tea in the lobby. Unfortunately just milk, skim milk and half and half (we're vegan) to go with the coffee but fortunately a mini fridge in the room so we could store our own soy milk. There was a microwave in the dining area. There was a pop up Japanese Chef during the evenings, but no vegan options, so we did not partake/can't say how the food was.

There was live music outside on the main patio right next to our room on Thursday night. We did not appreciate it, but a bunch of people outside seemed to. Fortunately it was only scheduled until 8:30, so we went for a walk.

There was a hot tub outside and Adirondack chairs by the river and near a fire pit. The pool was located inside and looked clean and nice though we did not have a chance to...