Swain Resort — Hotel in Town of Grove

Let me start by saying, I grew up riding here- support the locals and things that happen at this resort, and used to love it. Sadly... as time goes on this place seems to get worse with age. The grooming here is terrible... literally more cat tracks and unfinished groom spots and craters than any ski resort I have been at in the last 2 years (I visit 20-30 a year for work) and I wonder what it will take to fix it? Probably better people in the groomers, and maybe a few passes on the same trail might actually make them acceptable to ride, rather than the 1 pass you can tell they do.

Terrain park... always sad to see considering this place used to have some of the better parks in the tri state over the years.. now, it's pretty awful and lacking of features, and new ones... the ones currently being used are old... and need love. And who is actually raking the park? Clearly they don't understand timing- schedules- freeze/thaw work times- and many other things that could make this park a whole other level of good.

Then there is the food...... The Shawmut used to be great, but last week my chicken wings sucked l, I got served a bowl of soup that was cream based(but broken) and had the consistency of water... and my wifes soup was the worst over seasoned French onion soup I have ever tasted, it was awful...

I love the idea of supporting Swain and keeping it alive, but the people who are running the show here need some serious help, many changes and the ability to listen to the customers. If they make some serious moves and actually change things, maybe it will survive? At the current rate.... I give it 2 years before...

The staff was super friendly and helpful giving us our equipment. Just not that helpful with advice. We told them we had absolutely ZERO experience skiing/snowboarding and they seemed to just ask us if we rode goofy or regular. Didn’t give us any recommendations on easy trails or any tips or advice on what to do. Some of us didn’t know how to even put on the skis lol. They told us the easiest trail was the lift on the far right, getting off the lift was a nightmare for everyone. My girl fell getting off and no attendant was there to stop it from hitting her in the back of the head..the group behind us ran into them on the floor bc once again the attendant was helping another skier on the mountain. The staff than told the girls that it was ok to take off the board and use it as a sled to go down. And so they did but got yelled at by another staff member on a snow mobile. It’s dangerous i get it. But its even more dangerous letting a group of 11 people on a mountain with zero experience ski with a staff that wasn’t prepared for that type of experience. Still a nice friendly staff, good equipment, not bad prices especially after 4, good food, bars. Just need the staff to be more informative with new people like us. Happy nobody was seriously injured, and hope nobody is...

Wow wow wow. This review is a culmination of every time I am unlucky enough to find myself invited to meet friends and family at this “Resort”. So let’s start with the skiing, Poorly kept slopes with many runs often shut down during peak ski season. Rentals are in poor quality and shape as well. The ski lounge is (surprise surprise) also poorly kept, dirty and outdated/rundown. Food is bad, atmosphere is worse. Went to the New Year’s Eve dinner and the food was poorly cooked, over priced, and bordering on unsafe (some food came out still frozen). Returned again for their winter ski weekend and a pipe had supposedly broken and the entire “resort” had no water, no food, and no bathrooms. We got to use port-a-potty’s in 10 degree weather which was a peak experience.

It is of note however that Ski patrol is staffed and very kind and was quick to respond in emergency situations if you are lucky enough to have any cell service within the general area of the slopes.

As a summary, for a similar price it’s worth traveling to other places for higher quality skiing and...