We decided to take the kids on a skiing vacation over the Christmas holiday last year and, on the recommendation of friends, we decided to try Windham Mountain. There were many reasons including the close proximity to the New York metro area. These same friends gave us the Medlicott's phone number and suggested we call them about renting their condo. They said it would be cheaper than a hotel for our brood and was very close to the mountain. Well, right from the first phone call to Chris things couldn't have been better. We arrived late in the evening and were pleasantly surprised to find that Chris had asked a neighbor to turn the heat up and leave the lights on for us. Much appreciated with sleeping kids in the car. After tucking the tribe in for the night, my wife and I lit a fire in the fireplace and settled back to watch the spectacular view of the lights on the sno-cats twinkeling as they groomed the mountain. As we settled in, we looked around and were struck by how spotless and comfortable everything was. We felt like we were in our own home, only - and I hate to admit it - nicer!
The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we headed to the mountain, a short 5 minute drive away. Since we were new to the whole alpine experience, our friends recommended that we try snowboarding and said that the best way to start was to sign up for an introductry lesson. After collecting our gear at the rental shop, we ventured out to the slope to meet our instructor, a guy named Hoddy. Well, suffice it to say that our introductry lesson was the best lesson at anything that I have ever experienced. Not only did Hoddy have us very comfortable on the boards by the end of the lesson, he even had us making our first turns. We were so psyched that we booked him for the rest of the week! By the end of the week we were riding from top to bottom on the mountain with nary a fall!
I can't say enough positive things about Windham Mountain, our instructor Hoddy, and especially the Medlicott's lovely condominium. We have been back several times since then and each time we had a great experience!