Having just finished law school and beginning to prepare for the bar exam in eight weeks or so, my wife and I decided to spend a nice weekend away at the Mt. Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. I've been going to the White Mountains for almost two full decades now, and have always wanted to stay at the posh, hundred-year-old resort at the base of the Presidential Range. Brooke found a great ski-and-stay package this past October, so we booked it and planned our trip accordingly.
We headed out Friday morning in the trusty Murano and made great time: three and a half hours after leaving our house, we pulled into the half-mile long driveway of the hotel. The snow-capped peaks of the Presidential Range were the perfect backdrop to such a majestic place. We checked our skis with the valet and headed to our room with our bags in tow after successfully checking in. Our room, twice the size of a standard hotel room, looked out onto Bretton Woods ski resort and the hotel's winding driveway. Being groggy from the drive, Brooke and I decided to take it easy. The sun had already begun to set, so we explored the palacial hotel and then grabbed a cocktail at the Rosewood Lounge, which looks out onto the Presidential Range. We opted for room service instead of eating out our first night, so thirty minutes after retreating to our room a cart large enough to tow a snowmobile was wheeled into our room to deliver our meals. Thoroughly full and exhausted, and with relaxation being the main theme of this getaway, we were quite thrilled to find a Criminal Minds marathon on TV and eventually fell fast asleep.
Saturday morning was cold, clear, and windy. Luckily for us, we were sitting in the dining room of the Mt. Washington Resort enjoying our complimentary breakfast buffet. Anytime a breakfast buffet includes eggs benedict, an omellette station, and a 12' round table of just pastries, it's officially historic. I made sure to eat as if it was my last meal, and then we headed back upstairs to get ready to go skiing. Our lift tickets to Bretton woods were included in our package, so we suited up in the room and made our way down to the shuttle to the mountain. It had snowed lightly all day Friday and most of Friday night, so the mountain had 8" or so of fresh snow and half of the trails had yet to be groomed. After our first run down an ungroomed trail of fresh snow, we opted for groomed trails the rest of the morning. The heavy snow was wicked hard to ski through, but made for great cushion for the inevitable whipe out. Four runs later, we headed to the lodge for our complimentary (again) lunch at the Slopeside Restaurant. It was a cold day, so we easily justified ordering the nachos as a precursor to our steak and cheese wrap and cheeseburger sliders. Having not spent any out-of-pocket money for the lift tickets we didn't feel the need to ski the entire day, so after lunch we headed back to the hotel and looked forward to an open afternoon. We peeled off the multiple layers of outwear and made our way down to the outdoor heated pool. It's kept at 89*, so despite the 16* temperatures we stayed plenty warm. Brooke found the heating vents that kept pumping in the hot water, and she hovered over one of those for the entire hour we were in the pool. I made the mistake of going all the way under the water, so every ten minutes or so I had to dunk again to thaw my frozen hair. It was my first time in an outdoor pool in the winter, and it was awesome. The entire Presidential Range served as our backdrop as we swam back and forth in the toasty water. Getting out of the pool was an entirely different story. In nothing but wet bathing suits we had to run twenty-five feet to the heated locker rooms for what was one of the single greatest hot showers of my life. We got dressed and made our way to the indoor hot tub to thoroughly defrost. Our dinner reservations were for 6pm, so when the clock struck 4:30pm we exited the hot tub and made our way back to the room. In my gift shop button-down shirt and borrowed, too-small sport coat, Brooke and I enjoyed an amazing dinner of pan seared Mahi Mahi and Grilled Beef Tenderloin. I can't remember the accoutrements, but I can remember that both dishes were out of this world. After dinner we enjoyed a few drinks at The Cave, the basement bar that served as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
We began Sunday morning much in the same way we began Saturday morning: at the free breakfast buffet. After breakfast we caught the 10am hotel tour, which gave us a nice overview of the hotel's history. I find it interesting that the things that would have brought me to tears of boredom as a child are now mildly interesting. We checked out in time for the 11am deadline, and hit the road back to Mass. We stopped at the L.L. Bean outlet in Concord, NH, as we do every time we're in New Hampshire, and then arrived at home shortly thereafter. It was another fantastic weekend away with my wife doing the things we love to do: anything outdoorsy, and eat fine food.
We headed out Friday morning in the trusty Murano and made great time: three and a half hours after leaving our house, we pulled into the half-mile long driveway of the hotel. The snow-capped peaks of the Presidential Range were the perfect backdrop to such a majestic place. We checked our skis with the valet and headed to our room with our bags in tow after successfully checking in. Our room, twice the size of a standard hotel room, looked out onto Bretton Woods ski resort and the hotel's winding driveway. Being groggy from the drive, Brooke and I decided to take it easy. The sun had already begun to set, so we explored the palacial hotel and then grabbed a cocktail at the Rosewood Lounge, which looks out onto the Presidential Range. We opted for room service instead of eating out our first night, so thirty minutes after retreating to our room a cart large enough to tow a snowmobile was wheeled into our room to deliver our meals. Thoroughly full and exhausted, and with relaxation being the main theme of this getaway, we were quite thrilled to find a Criminal Minds marathon on TV and eventually fell fast asleep.
Saturday morning was cold, clear, and windy. Luckily for us, we were sitting in the dining room of the Mt. Washington Resort enjoying our complimentary breakfast buffet. Anytime a breakfast buffet includes eggs benedict, an omellette station, and a 12' round table of just pastries, it's officially historic. I made sure to eat as if it was my last meal, and then we headed back upstairs to get ready to go skiing. Our lift tickets to Bretton woods were included in our package, so we suited up in the room and made our way down to the shuttle to the mountain. It had snowed lightly all day Friday and most of Friday night, so the mountain had 8" or so of fresh snow and half of the trails had yet to be groomed. After our first run down an ungroomed trail of fresh snow, we opted for groomed trails the rest of the morning. The heavy snow was wicked hard to ski through, but made for great cushion for the inevitable whipe out. Four runs later, we headed to the lodge for our complimentary (again) lunch at the Slopeside Restaurant. It was a cold day, so we easily justified ordering the nachos as a precursor to our steak and cheese wrap and cheeseburger sliders. Having not spent any out-of-pocket money for the lift tickets we didn't feel the need to ski the entire day, so after lunch we headed back to the hotel and looked forward to an open afternoon. We peeled off the multiple layers of outwear and made our way down to the outdoor heated pool. It's kept at 89*, so despite the 16* temperatures we stayed plenty warm. Brooke found the heating vents that kept pumping in the hot water, and she hovered over one of those for the entire hour we were in the pool. I made the mistake of going all the way under the water, so every ten minutes or so I had to dunk again to thaw my frozen hair. It was my first time in an outdoor pool in the winter, and it was awesome. The entire Presidential Range served as our backdrop as we swam back and forth in the toasty water. Getting out of the pool was an entirely different story. In nothing but wet bathing suits we had to run twenty-five feet to the heated locker rooms for what was one of the single greatest hot showers of my life. We got dressed and made our way to the indoor hot tub to thoroughly defrost. Our dinner reservations were for 6pm, so when the clock struck 4:30pm we exited the hot tub and made our way back to the room. In my gift shop button-down shirt and borrowed, too-small sport coat, Brooke and I enjoyed an amazing dinner of pan seared Mahi Mahi and Grilled Beef Tenderloin. I can't remember the accoutrements, but I can remember that both dishes were out of this world. After dinner we enjoyed a few drinks at The Cave, the basement bar that served as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
We began Sunday morning much in the same way we began Saturday morning: at the free breakfast buffet. After breakfast we caught the 10am hotel tour, which gave us a nice overview of the hotel's history. I find it interesting that the things that would have brought me to tears of boredom as a child are now mildly interesting. We checked out in time for the 11am deadline, and hit the road back to Mass. We stopped at the L.L. Bean outlet in Concord, NH, as we do every time we're in New Hampshire, and then arrived at home shortly thereafter. It was another fantastic weekend away with my wife doing the things we love to do: anything outdoorsy, and eat fine food.