The White Mountains

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No, it's not The White Mountains that are the little known but excellent books by John Chistopher, but rather, the White mountains that are in New Hampshire. A wintertime ski spot, and an all-around family vacation mecca in the summer.

We've been here, resting up a bit for several days now at Attitash Mountain Village, a timeshare resort in the area, and will head east and north tomorrow, to Ellsworth, Maine. It has been a relatively pleasant stay, although not as comfortable as it might have been, because the "resort" is nothing to write home about. I did write about it, however, reviewing it for a couple of timeshare magazines. Here's what I said:

A Run-down Resort in a Beautiful Area

Attitash Mountain Village in Bartlett, New Hampshire is a well-known resort in ski country, and doubtless does a big-time business during the ski season. We’re visiting in June, when the snow is gone, and the tourist load seems to have slacked off considerably. I expect the resort is very successful, but it is clear to me that it is not well-maintained……that’s not to say that there are any glaring inadequacies, but rather, it’s just worn out and needs to be completely refurbished, or maybe just bulldozed and rebuilt.

My bride and I are long-time time sharers and exchangers. I’m sure we’ve done more than 50 exchanges, perhaps 75.  I’m on the board of directors of two timeshare resorts--we have some experience in the area; the comfort and pleasantness of a unit is very important to us. This place is definitely on the low end of the exchanges we’ve experienced. The first negative thing I noticed when we checked in was that the check-in area shared space with a real estate office and a bar. The next negative was that there were no, I repeat, NO, luggage carts to use in schlepping things from the car to the unit, a distance of about 60 yards. I called the front office (that’s the place looking out onto the bar) to confirm that…no luggage carts.  It made for a lot of trips to the car. Then I found out that a two-bedroom reservation is almost meaningless because the configuration of the units varies widely. The one we’re in is a first-floor efficiency apartment sort of thing, with a narrow and scary stairway to a second floor sleeping space with a hot plate and dishwasher and a refrigerator and a washer and dryer in a closet (I’m not making that up.). There is a bath there, also, with a larger toilet, if you want that enough to climb the stairs. There is also a third-floor sleeping area, but I haven’t had the desire to challenge the stairs to get up there and look around.

Other squawks: There is a picnic table outside in the….I almost called it the back yard, but it’s not a yard, or a patio, it’s just the area out back. There is a worn and wobbly picnic table out back and the view is a close-up of a railroad…the “scenic” train just went by . . . it goes by several times a day, with its horn. There is a sofa on the first and on the second levels, but nothing like a good armchair on any level.  The bed that is on the ground level is a murphy bed, one of those things that folds up into the wall when not in use. You have to go to at least the second level to find a real bed. Several of the casement windows won’t crank out, and the wooden window blinds sometimes go up and down and sometimes don’t. The bathroom is tiny, with a midget toilet. But, to give it its due, the tiny toilet is the best rocking chair in the unit.

What’s good about the place? Well, the surrounding area, the White Mountains, is beautiful. There are plenty of places to get a meal, although none that I’ve seen look like fine dining. The shower in the tiny bathroom with the midget toilet has good water pressure. The internet is free, and so far, reliable. There is a middle-sized, flat screen television set on each level, with a DVD player, and the TV “package” here is good, with many channels and free HBO. There’s no Turner Classic Movies channel, however. Within the large complex, and it is very large, with more than 300 units distributed around a fairly large campus, there are swimming pools, hot tubs, a sauna and a game room. There is also a well-equipped fitness room. We’ve seen robins and lots of chipmunks, and one afternoon, a small black bear ran through the area out back; that was sort of neat. The short exchange with the staff when we checked in was fine, and so far, nobody has tried to sell us a timeshare . . . Things could be worse, I suppose. This unit would sleep at least 8 people, and probably more than that if they were good friends and the resort would allow it. I’m sure that if you were an avid skier, or just liked the skiing atmosphere, it could be a fun place to stay. And, based on our experience here, the motorcycle set finds it fun to cruise around at high volume. But it’s not my kind of place, and I don’t expect to be back.

We found a fun place to eat here. It's an unusual little restaurant that had young and old folks and lots of kids and they serve breakfast all day . . .it's my kind of place. Here's a picture of it:

It's called the Glen Junction Restaurant, and yes, there are model trains running around the room, just under the ceiling. I know it's hokey, but it was kind of fun, and the small fry we saw there were thrilled. If you find yourself in Bartlett, NH, swing by and have breakfast.