Holiday Inn Club Vacations Mount Ascutney Resort

Holiday Inn Club Vacations Mount Ascutney Resort is located in Vermont at 485 Hotel Rd, Brownsville, VT 05037.

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Day One Travel & Arrival at Holiday Inn Club Vacations Mount Ascutney Resort

Given the distance, I flew up to Vermont and then rented a car to go to the resort. The nearest major airport is in New Hampshire which is about 102 miles away. Which makes the drive a little over 1.5 hours. This airport is also a regional airport for Boston, MA, which tells you just how tight and close the states here up north truly are. When I said I flew to Vermont, I could have easily said New Hampshire or Boston, MA. It feels, but that is the way the cookie crumbles in this area.

Arriving at the resort, you are impressed with the fresh look and feel of this resort. The resort offers 1, 2, and 3-bedroom villas to accommodate any family or group size. All villas have full kitchens and plenty of space to relax and stretch out.

I can’t place a look at this resort. It reminds me of something, but I do not remember what. Maybe it is just so well designed and finished that it looked like a resort in a movie I had seen, not sure.

This area must be a hiker’s delight. I see many signs for various trails and that seems to be the big draw to this region. When in shape, hikes can be invigorating and empowering. When you are out of shape like me, they are not so much. But as the man said, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, or “you got to start somewhere.” On this trip, I will do whatever is graded as the easiest trail and give it a try.

Check-in was simple and easy and my room was great. On this trip, I had a villa that had everything you could want. The kitchen has stainless steel appliances, and the bathrooms are large and comfortable. I even enjoyed the fireplace and living room setup.

The accommodations were so nice. It made it worth the journey I had been on today to get here. A flight and a few hours in the car.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

We have visited the resort several times, but the first time since COVID. We had a terrific time at the Wassil weekend and went shopping in Quechee. The Main House comforts (restaurant, fireplace, fitness center, and game room made for a relaxing weekend. We have already booked two more trips to ski in January and February.

We picked this resort due to the separate living room and kitchen. We were able to put our baby to sleep and stay up comfortably, not worrying about waking her up. We loved this hotel. We had a great mountain view and enjoyed making breakfast in the morning and cooking dinner one night instead of going out. The location is secluded but only a short 25 min drive to Woodstock.

I have stayed at this resort, scores of times in large part due to its proximity to relatives in the area. It has improved tremendously over the past years.

Extremely friendly staff, clean and spacious lodging, and a restaurant that provided excellent meals and accommodating service.
A bonus is the Brownsville butcher and pantry with delicious homemade foods, beer and wine, and unique gift items. We were even able to pick up a Christmas wreath at the store that supported a local school.

This hotel is definitely my go-to place to stay while in the area.

The only negative is spotty cell service.

A true Vermont experience.

Relaxing, accommodating. The dining is excellent.

The fire pit was a source of down-home comfort in the evening. Enjoyed our stay immensely.

A large and interesting property located on Mt Ascutney. Its setup and design are for the skiing set, but being there in Autumn was just fine. Great staff all throughout the hotel complex. “Rooms” were more like small condos, and it was fun walking all around the property on the side of the mountain.

The kitchen for the restaurant seemed overwhelmed at times, with limited seating and service, but that’s how it is post-COVID.

Overall, a great locale to explore VT from, and I was able to do much hiking.

Well-appointed fully furnished condo. Very clean.

Comfortable. Lots of amenities and activities are available such as indoor and outdoor pools, a fire pit, tennis, movie nights, a restaurant on the premises, and game and fitness rooms.

The location is remote and the town is 6-7 miles away.

Many condos have 12-24 stairs. Ask for lodging with elevators.

We stayed in the resort while we visited our college daughter and loved this place a lot. The surrounding view was beautiful and the rooms are spacious and clean. Will stay again and hope I can ski here in winter!

Lovely resort, with beautiful villas, and lovely grounds. I wish the bar had been open, but they are experiencing staffing shortages like everyone else. Love this resort! Very nice staff and very clean rooms.

Day Two Hiking

I am not much of a hiker. I am too out of shape, and even when I was in shape, this was not something I had high on my list.

Mt Ascutney State Park

The state park is my starting point today. Then, after checking out the area, I headed for a local hiking trail called Futures Trail then I ended up on the Windsor Trail Address: 86 Back Mountain Rd, Windsor, VT 05089 Distance to summit: 2.7 miles one way. That is the shortest trail path.

You find your way with white markers and can track how far you have gone if, like me, your brain keeps asking “I’m I there yet?”

Distance from the parking lot to: (Gerry’s Falls side trail: 0.8 mi. (Halfway Spring: 1.6 mi. (Log Shelter via alternate route: 1.75 mi. (Blood Rock Side Trail: 1.7 mi. (Futures Trail junction: 2.2 mi. (Castle Rock side trail: 2.4 mi. (Stone Hut: 2.5 mi. (Summit: 2.7 mi. 2,520 ft. ascent.

I forgot how far almost 3 miles feels, especially going up in altitude. Wow, even wearing comfortable shoes did not get me ready. I did bring a small backpack and water. So, after stopping a ton, I made it to the top. But then it was time to take in the view. (Code for almost collapse).

Now I just needed to mentally gear up to get back out. This is the most already I have intentionally walked, much less hiked, in a few years.

Day Three Recovery

This part of my story about this resort and the trip is going to be boring. I am feeling every footfall from the day before. I folded myself into the tub and a hot, long bath.

Then somehow I managed to pull myself out of the tub and onto the couch. Luckily the resort has a great restaurant called The Maple Kitchen, so I reserved a table for tonight figuring I should be able to move again by then.

Until then, I will get by on some TV and some snacks just relaxing in the room. This is the place I will go for at least a few hours today as I hydrate and recover.

Dinner later tonight was amazing. I would have eaten here every single night if I had known how good this on-site restaurant was.

Want to stay at this amazing resort? Are you in better shape to hike than me? Make sure you book via Tzort.