Damn gas prices. You finally have vacation time and you’re headed to New England. The problem is that you’re not quite sure whether you should stay in a hotel/motel, a B&B, or rent a vacation home. Here are some ideas on the best hosting for your needs.
Since we don’t know your specific interests, or what’s coming up as the best place to stay, we’re going to add some traditional variables into the equation, and that should help you narrow down your options.
If you are single or in a couple, before reading this, take a look at the many spas and resorts here. They are designed as the ultimate stress reliever and offer all kinds of exquisite pampering services.
If you are not interested in being pampered or you are a family, read on.
Let’s start with your budget. Gas prices are a factor and may mean the big hotel you had in mind is now beyond your means, so we’ll tell you that you can work with anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000.
Most people are convinced that the region’s ski season or the spectacularly colored fall leaves are New England’s biggest draw, but they’re wrong. Beginning with Memorial Day and continuing through Labor Day, summer is when most tourists flock to New England, even those who live within the region.
But as the seasons change, so do the rates, and if you’re looking for lower rates in the summer, you might be in for a surprise. However, while you may pay higher hotel rates in the summer, you don’t have to hand over your firstborn for lift tickets, unless your kids pester you to go up a mountain and make extensive use of the alpine slide and a number rising from other rides at something like $19 a ride if you go to Vermont or New Hampshire.
Second, how long do you plan your stay? For most people, five days is the maximum. When you’ve been away that long, you need to take a vacation from your vacation. Let’s say we will choose five days of the week. The smart thing to do is get away at a time when it’s nowhere near a holiday or weekend. There are countless advantages to getting away from Monday to Friday, especially for skiing if you decide to come in winter. You’ll have much shorter lift lines, more mountain for you, and cheaper lift tickets.
Third, how many people will go with you? Let’s say three and a half: your husband, your daughter and your son, aged eleven and thirteen respectively. The “middle” part is as follows.
Are you planning to bring pets, a dog, a cat, a boa constrictor? Let’s say Mugs, your chihuahua, will make the trip. While there are plenty of places to stay pets, pets are generally not welcome at many hotels, unless it’s a quiet motel that rents you an 8-by-10-foot cabin for $49 a night per person and you You can’t get the fold out bed to stay up, so it becomes your table.
Fifth, is it important to be near a single mountain or attraction, or will you be heading for the coast? Would you rather be near a lake? All of the New England states have wonderful ponds, lakes, or beaches. If you like to play in the waves, Newport, Rhode Island has three beaches, each with slightly rougher waves. Vermont and New Hampshire have wonderful lakes. Lake Champlain in Vermont reaches into the Hudson. And Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire is a prized vacation spot. Maine is full of beautiful lakes and rivers, especially the Kennebec. Connecticut has wonderful coastlines and lakes. Massachusetts has some of the best surf spots on Cape Cod.
No matter where you’re going, let’s find out which hosting is best for you.
Hotels/Motels
Room rates at hotels and motels typically range from $159 per night to $349 per night. So it pays to do your homework, which is best done on the Web. If you’ve decided to go to Vermont, Stowe in the north is packed with hotels, resorts and spas. On the south side, the Stratton area is a great place to stay.
Hotels offer more amenities than smaller lodging places, like indoor pools and the like, and there’s usually a piece of chocolate on your pillow.
Many of the lodging entities make deals with various ski resorts and summer rentals to provide you with stay and ski or stay and play packages that may work well for your budget.
B&B Inns
These really range from being incredibly romantic and luxurious to being a spare room in someone’s house.
Rules. Some B&B innkeepers seem to be busy in the morning thinking of new ones. They love them. Some are super strict, one in Vermont, for example, requires guests to “not sit on the bed.” Oh, okay, where do you sleep, in that wonderful shaker chair? How exactly does one get into bed without sitting on the edge? In this place, I guess you have to dive into bed.
While their prices are comparable to hotels and motels, you can find great deals at B&Bs, and just like hotels, many of them offer stay-and-play packages.
But… B&B inns are notorious for not allowing pets to stay unless it’s a dog-friendly inn, of which there are a growing number. Second, the thing about B&B getaways is that they’re geared more toward romance-minded guests; those who bring that all-important shiny rock with which to pop the question. They are also aimed at those looking to de-stress in absolute silence.
Rooms are often frilly but very nice and you want to find an inn with a good host or hostess. You can tell the difference immediately when they pick up the phone. I don’t know of any B&B where the owner doesn’t answer the phone. If they yell “What?”, go to the next one on the list.
The best thing to do is tell the innkeeper you’re bringing your son, daughter, and Mugs, and if they don’t growl or mumble on the other end of the line, that’s good news. While you get a room and breakfast (hence the name of these inns), some also serve dinner.
Some with larger dining rooms rent space to chefs who prepare wonderful delicacies for the most discerning palate. BB&Ds are very rare, though, and you’re still just for lunch, but you can always get that $25 burger and $14 soda at the base lodge when you want to ski or get the kids off the Alpine Slide.
Seriously, while there are plenty of great deals on B&B getaways, they tend to be geared more toward adults than families because there’s one bed per room. They won’t turn you down, but it may not be the ideal place to stay for your son and daughter, who would have to sleep on fold-out cots or in another room, double the rate.
House or Condo Rental
Ignoring timeshares for this article, that leaves us with renting a house or condo by the week. It is a hybrid mix of hotel and B&B, but with all kinds of rooms and total privacy. Landlords often have posted rules, and you have to be absolutely certain that you will obey or not abide by them next year.
You have a whole house to yourself, you can eat without having to go out, you can sleep late if you want without a lady with a cart knocking on your door to make your bed.
There are actually two types of rental housing: a house in close proximity to a ski area, or a condo right on the mountain or lake and beaches. If you’re not comfortable driving in the snow, then a trailside condo will be your best bet if you’re here to ski.
During the spring (after mud season, you don’t want to visit northern New England during mud season), you can drive anywhere and spend most of your time sightseeing. Houses can also offer the best cheap deals. In towns with a ski area, houses and condos are around $150 a night depending on when you go (again, avoid holidays and weekends) and can charge up to $500 a night depending on where they are located . Typically, the closer to a mountain they are, the more expensive they are for a large home, but that’s not always the case with condos.
In the final analysis, renting a house or a condo with all its variables could be your best option. At $150 a night, that’s $750 for five nights.
Here’s a good tip: When you first arrive in the city, assuming you’re not exhausted from travel, visit a local supermarket and buy a week’s worth of food so you don’t have to dump a ton of dough at restaurants.
Most homes not only have TVs and cable or satellite, but also VCRs and DVD players, so your little boy and girl can bring along their favorite tapes or DVDs.
Not everything is perfect. Many of them insist that you change the sheets on the beds and leave the house as tidy as you found it. But if that’s all you have to do for some privacy, relaxation, and the freedom to do what you want when you want, this is the way to go. Just make sure Mugs don’t leave their mark on the rugs.
Finally, if you like the house and would like to own your own as a vacation home, now that the housing bubble has burst, prices are down a lot from ridiculous peaks, so take a walk and look for the “For Sale” signs . Take the number of the broker at a house you like and give them a call. It may be the best vacation investment you’ll ever make, because when you’re not there, you can rent it out and have your guests pay the mortgage.