Madbush Falls — Hotel in Waitsfield

Would have given 4.5 if Google allowed halves, so I'm rounding up to 5. I came up here from NJ for my nephew's wedding located nearby. I really liked everything about the place including its casual atmosphere, amazing ambience (even though it rained every day, it was still an awesome place), and rugged appearance.

There were a few things about the place that had me questioning things at first but made sense after I thought about it. For example, my ground-floor room had no carpet, just some throw rugs on the bare (polished) concrete. At first I thought this was odd but then I realized that the place was designed around outdoor activities so having an easy-to-clean floor that would undoubtedly have mud and water and such tracked through it made perfect sense. The shower was large and, I noticed, entirely handicapped-accessible; even though I didn't require that particular feature I was happy to see it there.

I have to give extra props to the restaurant. I had a "Bruce" burger and it was legitimately one of the best burgers I've ever had. The accompanying fries were hot and crispy and just about perfect. If I wasn't up there for a wedding feast I would have undoubtedly eaten a lot more at Madbush Falls. :-)

My ONLY complaint is about noise insulation. My room was on the ground floor and while there was next to no noise from our side neighbors, I could hear every footstep happening in the room above me. This was a bit annoying at 10am and later, especially when those guests were either walking around with hard-soled shoes or simply banging on their floor with hammers. Fortunately it wasn't a regular thing and sleep was achievable, but a little more insulation between the floors would have been...

Absolutely loved our stay. We arrived at 12:30pm on a Sunday after a long bike ride down from Stowe. We’re greeted by a live bluegrass band and cool draft beers. Couldn’t have been more perfect, except it was…

We then ate an amazing brunch and headed down to the Savu sauna experience. For the next 35 minutes, we switched between a state of the art sauna and frigid fresh waterfall plunges. It was spiritual. And especially so after coming off days of riding our bikes.

Then we moved onto the bed. Which was heaven. The sheets were cotton perfection, the mattress strong enough to hold our weary bones and soft enough to embrace our road worn bodies. We slept like angels that night.

Finally at breakfast, Travis gave us a lift to the top of App Gap, a super kind gesture which got us half the way back to Burlington (which our legs were so grateful for).

A memorable stay made all the better by the kindness of the staff and the amenities...

This is the kind of place I love to find as opposed to the chain hotels. I purposefully look for unique lodging that doesn't break the bank. This place covers both. A great setup with the rooms, a bar, a restaurant, tons of space around the property, and a cool and cozy atmosphere. I wish I could have explored the area and use the sauna but limited on time. I travel up to Burlington once every couple of months so I'll be sure to stay at this place again.

A quick note to the owner: I was just going to tell the cleaning staff in the morning but I didn't see them around yet when I left. I think someone must have brewed coffee directly in the jug for heating as there was debris floating in there. I couldn't really make coffee or tea because it was pretty yucky in there. It could be that people aren't used to that type of coffee filtration system. I know I wasn't and so it took me a second to read the instructions. But I like i the...