Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Smugglers' Notch Resort that rank the ski resort and mountain town on a scale of one to five stars for attributes such as terrain, nightlife and family friendliness. See how Smugglers' Notch Resort stacks up in the reviews, on and off the slopes, from skiing and family activities to the après scene. Read up on pros, cons and other comments in reviews left by fellow skiers and riders. Don't forget to submit your own Smugglers' Notch Resort review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.
Reviews for Smugglers' Notch Resort
Total (3.3)
A ski resort's overall star rating displayed here is not calculated based on a simple average but takes several factors, including the age of a review, into account.
I made reservations 25 years ago, purchased a unit which sleeps 10 while we were there. My 4 yr old grandson learned to ski and each year he got better and better until he was on the "black diamond trails". Over the years he has had the opportunity to ski in MT, CO, and UT. But he always wants to go back to SMUGGS and as a family, we do.
Maria
The mountain never gets too crowded. Terrain for all and tons of amenities!
The very best shuttle service anywhere. Very friendly staff. Could use more restaurants.
Joyce Saturley
I booked a 3 night family ski vacation. I could not find anything on the resort from the map, the road signage and map are dreadful. Once you actually find the condo the shuttle service is fabulous and you do not have to drive again.
I booked 3 days of skiing lessons, equipment and ticket for 3 kids 6 and under, more than $3000. I was never notified the lessons were delayed by an hour the first day. At the rental store, wrong directions were given to my daughter and she and the kids walked uphill to the wrong place. She texted me, I called the school and was told to go to a kiosk at the hill, someone would be there. She looked for a kiosk - there was not one, but she found the instructor. When she returned to pick up one of the children he was sobbing because he was cold - WHY was he not brought into warm up? I have been taking kids to ski lessons since 1985 ( my kids, nieces/nephews, friends children, grandkids) I have NEVER picked up a child sobbing from the cold. Includes all over the US, France and Switzerland. We were glad to leave. Wednesday was kids lessons at Mt. Sunapee, NH. Organized, clear instructions on what needed to happen and picking up happy, smiling children from smiling, friendly instructors.
Robert Laham
Most relaxing vacation ever. Skiing was fantastic. Staff and facilities are wonderful. WE were lucky the weather was skiing perfect with fresh snow. Views and scenery beyond beautiful - winter magic!
Rudy
Family had an absolute blast. Staff is very friendly and competent. Both kids enjoyed the Fun Zone 2.0 and the ski camps they attended, all this while mom and dad skied. Only drawback was the accommodations at the resort. Time wrap to the 70’s.
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We were very excited for our stay at Smugglers Resort. The place overall is nice but the resort is focused on selling their Time Share.
We were invited for the presentation and offered $400 discount on our stay and additional $200 in vouchers for dining and fun zone. After over 2h of presentation, when we told the salesperson that we are not interested in purchasing, she called her manager, who told us “I want you get out of here”! We were shocked. Of course they refused discount and vouchers. Everyone at the resort was pretending like resort has nothing to do with Windham Vacations but in fact they are cooperating and covering each other backs.
I just want to worn everyone who is planing to visit Smugglers Notch Resort to stay away from any offers about Time Share presentation. That is an absolute SCAM!
Also, check your invoice at the check in carefully! When we booked our 5 day stay in September, we got an invoice with remaining balance of $900 (total price was around $2900 for a studio!). At the time of check in they gave us an invoice with a remaining balance of $1180 which we even didn’t noticed since we arrived late evening after 9h driving. The best part is that at the day of a checkout we got third invoice for totally different amount which showed that we were charged $1395 (as a remaining balance). We were overcharged $500!
When I called for an explanation, the vacation planner said she is just a human being and made mistake. Twice!? Really? They said my credit card will be refunded with $200 not $500 because meantime prices changed. That is totally irrational! We should pay the price that we got at the time of booking.
Anyway..... Just be careful there and check your invoices right away!
During our stay (in late December) the main lift was closed due to not enough snow ...... but they didn’t even run snow making units once! Other trails also had many black spots without snow (see pics). If they charge you that much and you are coming during Winter break for skiing, they should have all the lifts and trailers open or refund for the ski pass. They don’t care about it.
Best experience we had with skiing instructors. All of them were very nice and professional. I have only best things to say about them.
T K
Let me start by stating, we had an amazing week there...my 6 & 8 year old were crying that we had to leave. Also, helped that we got 20" dumped on us :-) We have skied out west and pretty extensively in the North East. This place is great, staff was all great. If you're looking to max out on runs and race to the top, it's prob not the place for you. This place is pretty low key, there are no high speed lifts, gondola, etc. However, this is what make this place awesome. There was never a crowded trail, lines were never worth complaining about (even on a Friday coming into the Presidents Day holiday). Activities for the family and the ski camp program for the kids is pretty amazing. Many of the instructors have been at the gig for 20+ years, etc. Most larger classes get an assistant, like most resorts these are kids from LATAM that get paired up with a more seasoned instructor. Great model. On the mountain the younger kids are left with many options to ski/board and lifts that are low and slow which helps ease the mind of a parent for kids not yet in their teens. Lots of cool things scattered throughout the lower part of the mountain for the younger kids to check out: cider teepee, village, log jam beginner terrain park, etc.
For day tripping it I think its pretty good facility wise, but could benefit from a bit of investment in modernizing the lodges. However, this should not be a show stopper if you are there for the mountain.
For vacationers that are spending time staying up there some things could be better:
They should invest in more pools, etc. With exception to a couple clusters of units that have there own private outdoor pool, there are no outdoor pools to use. You can pay to access one of the resorts indoor pools, but I just could not do this out of principle. The pool was small, like a motel's and you need to pay to access it? Seems like a really dumb way to try make money and there is probably way more at risk in adversely impacting the customer experience.
Food at Hearth and Candle is fantastic, but it's privately run...management company should take note and privatize some of the other food outlets on premise and improve the quality. Morse Grill and Black Bear were decent. The Pizza Shop is garbage...hard to imagine here on the East Coast couple hours outside NY and Boston people can't produce a half decent pie. There is an under utilized day lodge in the highlands that would make a great spot for a good restaurant / bar/ etc. to allow parents to apres while their kids make laps the highlands.
ALL IN ALL - Fantastic place that we will certainly head back to.
swtips
We LOVE Smuggs.. there could not be enough good to say about it and the staff.
Peter Anania
We had a really good ski on December 27th 2018. Overall the condition were good, with the beginner side in the best shape, That's not surprising given that the resort sort of concentrates on being a family resort, but even on Madonna what was open was really well tended. That being said, there is a huge number of really beautiful slopes that I have never been able to ski there; you just look at them longingly as the lift passes them by. It would be really great if just one year all the slopes were. Like I said, It's a beautiful mountain.
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