Grand Summit Hotel

Just got home after 4 nights at the Grand Summit. It is our 2nd time staying there. I can't find anything negative to write. Both times were memorable. From the moment we checked in, the staff was attentive and friendly. Yes, the hotel is older, but clean and easy to navigate. We never wanted for anything. All of our requests were fulfilled and we enjoyed the amenities the hotel had to offer. We spent time everyday at the pool/hot tub, CAMP, Ember, the snowshoe trail out back, ski check and of course, skied right out the door to the slopes. I could go on..... Thank you Grand Summit staff! See you again soon!

First, I am about to check out and have an all day lift pass for our last day. When I asked for a late checkout, I was told that checkout was at 10:30, but they can give me an extra half hour (11 a.m.) AND THEN IT WOULLD BE $30 AN HOUR TO STAY LONGER! Wow! I have never heard of only a 1/2 hour late checkout and then to be nickel and dimed after spending about $1000 for 2 nights of lodging and extra for meals....this is an insult and as I leave today with this in mind, I will NEVER come back to this outdated, poorly designed and very basic lodging facility! I have stayed at Air B and B on Sunday River prior to this year and even rented an on mountain condo for a season in the past. The last hour of the drive here can be described as nothing more than ugly.Once here, however, the scenery is beautiful. One huge draw back to Sunday River is that there is no main lodge. There are several lodges scattered around the mountains (Sunday River is not one mountain, but several peaks of hills/mountains. but no central place to hang out and shuttles go from facility to facility and often are crowded and at inconvenient times. The regular shuttle stops at 5 pm, so the night life and dinner restaurants are also scattered and often overcrowded. As for the Summit Hotel, the front doors open to a lobby that is designed like an atrium that goes up 3 floors which sounds nice, but all of the heat rises making the front desk lobby a freezing cold environment with a gas fireplace that throws off near zero heat. IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND A WARM COZY CORNER ANYWHERE IN THIS HOTEL....THE ROOMS ARE OUTDATED, BUT THE ONLY REALLY WARM PLACE TO HANG OUT WITH NOT ONE EASY CHAIR.....ONLY 2 OLD WOODEN KITCHEN CHAIRS NEXT TO A SMALL COFFEE TABLE SET UP. The hallway rugs are cut up and the building is not quite run down, but sure is headed in that direction. Valet was nice, but everyone is left to unpack and find their own luggage cart. The signs throughout the hotel are not well marked. The staff is friendly overall, but obviously limited as to what they can do for guests (like the 30 minute late check out. THERE IS NOTHING GRAND ABOUT THIS HOTEL AND IT IS NOT CLOSE TO THE SUMMIT, but along with many other aspects of watching Sunday River expand, the advertising is a big part of the business plan. Snow -- Sunday River is a wonderful resort to ski and I skied about 6 peaks in one morning....conditions were very good. As a former owner of a Sugarloaf condo, Sunday River feels very commercial whereas Sugarloaf has not lost that hometown, local atmosphere. Although Sunday River is a bit closer to my home in. Massachusetts, I am going to travel on more scenic highways towards Western NH and certainly Vermont. $30 an hour for late checkout really tells the story about how this place operates....while certainly within my budget, this was the final straw for coming here and certainly the Grand Summit Hotel is nothing special at all and a freezing cold building.....too commercial and built for show.

Meh... Paid for a room with certain amenities, given a room with fewer. Felt like I stepped back into the 80's, probably the last time the decor in the room was updated. The location was good though, at least they have that going for them.