For more than a century, the Omni Mount Washington has been a destination, now open year roundEnjoy Omni Mount Washington Resort’s grandeur Matthew Elder November 12, 2024 349 The image of the classic mountain hotel typically invokes a castle in the Rockies. But one of the continent’s great mountain hotels isn’t a half-continent away; it’s only a few hours south of Montreal in New Hampshire’s imposing White Mountains. The main entrance will decorated for the Christmas Holidays The Omni Mount Washington Resort is familiar to many who have travelled to the Maine Coast. It’s that huge, white-walled hotel with the red roof, the centerpiece of the broad plain below Mount Washington and the Presidential Range that you pass on the highway before descending into Crawford Notch. For more than a century, though, the Mount Washington has been a destination, not just a sight along the way. It fully retains the atmosphere of the great hotels of the turn of 20th century, but with 21st century luxury and convenience. Displaying the elegance of a bygone era, the main lobby remains a meeting place for guests The experience begins, fittingly, the moment you enter the hotel. While the mountain view is fundamental to this hotel’s setting, its majestic lobby is the interior’s heart and soul. This space, more than a hundred feet in length and dominated by tall columns, remains nearly the same as when the hotel opened 122 years ago. Entering for the first time almost takes your breath away. First and foremost, it is the building’s main entrance, with prominent front and concierge desks. But more important, it is a place to meet and greet friends and family before going to dinner or one of the adjacent bars – or simply a place to settle into a book in a cozy armchair in front of a roaring fire. This is in stark contrast to a new trend for large hotels, where grandeur is gradually giving way to efficiency. Many new hotels focus on entrances designed to whisk guests to their rooms in as little time and as few steps as possible. Some iconic old hotels, particularly in cities, have renovated their lobbies into curb-to-elevator spaces – or, if they have retained the large open space, it has been transformed into a multi-purpose hall that includes a bar and restaurant. The 1902 Main Dining Room provides the classic resort hotel gourmet experience Not at the Omni Mount Washington, where its rich and colourful past is an omnipresent celebration. Built in Spanish Renaissance style by mining and railroad magnate Joseph Stickney, the hotel’s ornate architectural features are the work of 250 Italian masons and woodworkers. Stickney previously had operated the nearby Mount Pleasant Hotel, which itself had evolved into a noted luxury destination, but decided to build a new and larger hotel to take better advantage of the mountain panorama. Opened in 1902, the Mount Washington Hotel was also a technical marvel, with innovative heating and plumbing systems and its own telephone system. Floor-to-ceiling windows welcome sunshine into the Sun Dining Room For its first half-century, the hotel catered to wealthy families from Boston, New York and Philadelphia – and Montreal as well – who would stay a month or often longer, escaping the city heat. Easily accessible by train from major cities in those days, husbands/fathers would join their families on weekends. Celebrities were frequent visitors, including Thomas Edison and three U.S. presidents. But the hotel probably is best known as the site of the 1944 International Monetary Conference that saw representatives of 44 countries set a standard price for gold and adopt the U.S. dollar as the world’s benchmark currency. The conference room used for these meetings, known as the Gold Room, has been preserved. Guests enjoy the elegant Corner Vista Room, at Omni Mount Washington Resort. At the center of the hotel’s historic lore is the “presence” of Carolyn Stickney, Joseph Stickney’s wife who owned the hotel for three decades following Joseph’s death just a year after the hotel opened. Known as “The Princess” after she was remarried in 1910 to a French aristocrat, Carolyn would observe the guests in the main dining room from a mezzanine above and would upgrade her choice of dress to ensure she was the evening’s best-dressed woman. Fast-forward a century, and Omni Mount Washington Resort, previously a summer and fall property, now operates year-round. The resort’s 303 guest rooms and suites – spanning the main hotel, the Presidential Wing and the nearby Omni Bretton Arms Inn — combine old-world charm with modern comfort. Accommodations also include 11 large townhomes with full kitchens. The standard rooms are deluxe by most other properties’ standards, with 10-foot ceilings and stunning views of the surrounding mountains. There also are tower rooms, corner rooms, family rooms and suites, some in excess of 1,000 square feet. And, true to the hotel’s past as a summer home for the wealthy, a block of rooms forms an apartment that can house an extended family. A King room in the Bretton Arms Inn Omni Mount Washington Resort operates a dozen restaurants, bars and coffee shops. The cuisine is outstanding, with the 1902 Main Dining Room providing the classic resort hotel gourmet experience A recent addition is an 18-by-18-foot white marble bar in the middle of the vast dining area. Downstairs, Stickney’s offers more casual atmosphere and fare, and The Cave is the place to go for an after-dinner digestif and dancing. A buffet breakfast is served in the main dining room or at the Bretton Arms. If you want a cocktail with a view, visit the Rosebrook Bar which opens onto the 1,000-foot mountain-view verandah. Couples enjoy a romantic getaway The big winter-season draw is the adjacent Bretton Woods Ski Area, New Hampshire’s largest ski centre with 188 hectares of ski trails and ranked No 1 in the United States by SKI Magazine for terrain grooming. A year-round highlight riding the gondola up to the Switchback Grille at the ski area’s summit. Other winter activities include on-site cross-country skiing, skating, tubing, rock climbing and sleigh rides. In the other seasons, there is golf (27 holes), tennis, pickleball, trail and mountain biking, hiking, climbing (on an indoor wall and outdoor natural cliffs), horseback riding, disc golf, and a zip-line/canopy tour. There are indoor and outdoor swimming pools and hot tubs, a full-service spa and fitness centre. Timeless elegance has been maintained in the Conservatory and throughout the hotel Indeed, it is sprawling resort hosting up to a thousand visitors on a given day during high seasons. Yet a laid-back atmosphere prevails. This is enhanced by the staff, who in addition to excellent task skills also are trained to go out of their way to interact with guests. That, combined with the mountain vistas and fresh air, virtually guarantee a relaxing escape. The atmosphere is conducive to avoiding the big flat-screen television in your room and shutting out the world’s woes. The Omni Mount Washington is a special place to spend the Christmas season, Check the resort’s website: www.omnihotels.com/hotels/bretton-woods-mount-washington for offers and discounts, including packages including winter sports and activities. Climbing Mount Washington in winter – albeit halfway Trains ascend several times a day to Waumbek Station in an alpine meadow just below tree line 4,000-foot above sea level, halfway up the mountain Ascending the highest peak in the northeastern North America in summer is one level of feat – but what about in winter? While skiers and snowshoers achieve this feat, to an extent tourists also can find their way up the mountain between November and April. How so? The Mount Washington Cog Railway and Auto Road will take you up to mid-stations via train and “SnowCoach” respectively. The Waumbek Station looks out over the Presidential Range Conditions near and particularly at the 6,288-foot summit are inhospitable if not impassable in winter, and the Mount Washington State Park welcome centre atop the peak is closed. Weather year-round can be an issue, as Mount Washington and the neighbouring Presidential Range are battered by weather systems from three directions. The result is the highest recorded wind speed of all time (excluding cyclones or tornadoes) atop Mount Washington – 231 miles per hour, or 372 km/h, on April 12, 1934. Passengers leave the train for about 25 minutes to enjoy hot beverages in front of a blazing fire pit The Cog ride in winter is via the usual (but heated) rail coach, pushed by a diesel locomotive up Mount Washington’s west face. (The century-plus-old steam engines are put to bed for the season.). Trains ascend several times a day to Waumbek Station in an alpine meadow just below tree line 4,000-foot above sea level., or about halfway up the mountain. Passengers leave the train for about 25 minutes to enjoy complimentary hot beverages in front of a blazing fire pit. Roast-your-own hot dogs and s’mores are available for purchase at the Base Station prior to departure. Total excursion time is about an hour. The Mount Washington Cog Railway’s Marshfield Base station is about 10 km off US-302 at Bretton Woods. More information is available at thecog.com. The fourteen passenger SnowCoach tracks its way up to 4,200 feet, at the tree line Over on the east side of the mountain, the Mount Washington Auto Road closes around the end of October and reopens in mid-May, conditions permitting. During the summer/fall season, visitors can either drive their own car up the 12-kilometre road to the summit, or take a guided tour by van. The cog railway car While road is covered by metres of snow in winter, access resumes in mid-December until mid-March via SnowCoach, a 15-passenger van equipped with triangular tracks on each wheel. The SnowCoach tracks its way up the road to 4,200 feet, at tree line. From there, one has a spectacular view to the north and east along the Presidential Range and, in the distance, into Maine, before the vehicle begins its descent about a half-hour later. The outdoors-hardened can opt to nordic-ski or snowshoe back down. For more information, visit mt-washington.com. The auto road entrance is 20 miles north of North Conway via US-302 and NH-16. Tours depart from the base lodge at the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, across NH-16 from the auto road entrance.
