Over nine years ago I blogged about a bucket list trip to the iconic Mt. Washington Resort & Spa and how gorgeous it looks. Well I finally made it this past weekend! Let me say – it’s even better than expected! The Mt. Washington Resort & Spa was built in 1902 and is one of only two grand hotels remaining in New Hampshire. In their heyday there were dozens. It played host to the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference (after being closed for 2 years due to WW2) which established the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Here is a floor plan of the main floor. It’s a little older because the newish Presidential Wing and Conference Center isn’t included but it’s the original hotel:
The Mt. Washington Resort & Spa Lobby:
Hall of the Lobby towards the 1902 Dining Room:
Small Salon at the Mt. Washington Resort & Spa – I’m actually unclear what the name of this room is but it’s very pretty!
The Mt. Washington Resort & Spa Conservatory:
The Conservatory looks out over the famous back veranda overlooking Mt. Washington.
The Mt. Washington Hotel & Spa Veranda
My niece Katie and her husband Marc own a cute little cabin about ten minutes away from the resort and happily they were up there for the weekend as well so we were able to get together Friday night at their cabin for pizza and then on Saturday they came to the hotel for cocktails and snacks on the veranda.
We got lucky as Rob snagged some prime seating on the veranda.
Should have asked one of the guys to take our photo – my arms are too short for a successful selfie!
The view towards the relatively new conference wing of the hotel with rooftop entertaining space. The spa is on the right end of this wing and on the other side is the outdoor pool and private hot tub for spa guests. On the far left end of the roof top below you can see a tiny dark speck which is Marc and their 2 year old cutie taking in the views.
The Spa at the Mt. Washington Resort & Spa
The Spa is amazing – full stop. I spent all of Saturday at the spa starting with quiet time in the ladies lounge (which is a series of private curtained spaces with lounge chairs) and then moving to a fantastic facial followed up by time outdoors in the hot tub and lounge area and then a delicious lunch of chicken and cranberry salad wrap.
I didn’t take many photos of the spa – too relaxed plus privacy! The photo below was the other chair with ottoman in my little lounge space.
There is a men’s lounge which doesn’t have private spaces or actual lounge seating – no chaises or ottomans – just arm chairs. And it has a tv. My travel companion and dear friend Rob (who treated us to this adventure for my birthday!) wasn’t too pleased that the men have “lesser” options for quiet lounging. I assume that they have determined men don’t tend to use those sorts of offerings but am not sure.
There is a co-ed lounge which is mostly used after spa services and for lunching. I didn’t take photos as there were always folks in bathrobes about. Outside the co-ed lounge is the private hot tub and outdoor lounging and gardens reserved for Spa guests.
I will say that the indoor lounge furniture is in need of reupholstering. You can only clean fabrics so many times and there was a noticeable dinginess/staining from lots of use. As I’d done a blog post 9-1/2 years ago and used their promotional images – it’s clear that the upholstery has been around that long. Time for a 10 year refresh folks!
Rob looking relaxed after his head and shoulders massage below. He said it was the best he’d every had!
This the back of the conference wing (the other side shown above off the veranda). I didn’t take photos of the hot tub because again – privacy! It was cloudy and at times raining lighting but all was good!
Big recommendation – try out the eucalyptus steam room in the ladies lounge – AHHH-mazing! Rob said the men’s steam room didn’t seem to have the eucalyptus – but maybe he just couldn’t smell it well.
Mt. Washington Hotel Room and Accommodations
I forgot to take a photo of the hotel room before the unpacking began but it looked almost identical to this from their website – except that ours was a corner room with a side window and was a little wider I think. But the same furniture and fittings – which are lovely and of high quality up close. This is in the relatively new Presidential Wing which included a private lounge with continental breakfast in the morning and cocktails/appetizers/coffee and dessert in the evenings.
This is identical to the bathroom in our room. It’s lovely but not overly functional. The water closet has no door which it really should have (and could have) for obvious reasons. The freestanding soaking tub is nice to look at but like all freestanding tubs – not particularly user friendly. Also not cleaner-friendly. Set into this alcove – the cleaning staff must have to crawl around to clean behind the tub. No grab bars (you can get chic grab bars these days!) or towel hooks/bars makes it awkward to use – I mean – where does one place the towels to be at the ready when exiting the tub? That little stump isn’t useful and the hooks on the left are too far away to reach. A beautiful under mount tub with marble decking and facade would make so much more sense here (imagine if the marble were heated to boot? Ooh la la!) One could sit on the edge easily and get in and out much more safely. I’d love to know the stats on how often these are used. I didn’t use it and I love a bath. We used the edge of the tub to hang our bathing suits to dry. The shower was also lacking places to store an extra towel if one uses more than one. But the water temp and strength were very nice. One final nit pick – the towel bars by the sink should match the brass lighting and sink base. The mix of brass and brushed nickel cheapened the look a tad.
Here are some views off our balcony. The weather was generally pretty cloudy and the mountain tops were obscured most of the time – but still spectacular summer views.
And finally – after we checked out on Sunday we did the Cog Railway to the summit of Mt. Washington.
This was our cute little train. It’s really a push and brake situation. The engine pushes the train (really more like a trolley car) up the mountain. Coming down the engine basically rides its break down the mountain with the train car behind the engine. The two aren’t connected physically and the train car has its own stop-on-a-dime breaking mechanism in case something happens to the engine car. The seats are reversible so you’re never riding backwards and they are slanted in a way that when the train is going up the steep include you feel like you’re more upright. They still run two original coal fired steam engine trips daily and the rest of the trains are fueled by biodiesel.
This is the view up the mountain. The train runs around 4 miles per hour on an incline of 25% (25 feet up in elevation to every 100 feet of track). The trip is a little under 45 minutes in each direction for the biodiesel trains and an hour each way for the coal fired steam trains as they have to take on water part way up and back. There is one hour on the summit to visit the gift shop and museum and climb the final few feet to the actual summit and take in the views and have a snack. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t overly cooperative. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the continental USA and has the worst weather in the world – literally. People practice for climbing Mt. Everest or Kilimanjaro on Mt. Washington. It was in the 50’s F and the heavy mist was going sideways. Basically we were in the clouds.
This is the closest I got to the official summit and then I scurried back into the visitor’s center!
I hope you enjoyed touring the Mt. Washington Resort and Spa with me! Despite my few critiques it is highly worth the trip!
(Pin for future reference)
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