Cabin rentals as part of resorts
January 26, 2012 6:27 AM   Subscribe

The other night we were watching a show on the Cooking channel that highlighted a restaurant in Maine that is part of a cottage resort. It piqued our interest in similar resorts, but I'm having a hard time tracking down similar ones, especially outside of the North East. Can you help? Details inside as to what I've found, and what I'm not looking for.

The resort featured on the show was Hidden Pond in Maine. It is a perfect example of what we're looking for - private romantic cottages but a central lodge, access to water and woods, activities and a spa if we want them, quality dining. It appears that one of their sister properties is the Winvian in Connecticut that has the bonus of themed cottages. From poking around the archives here, the closest I've found is the Migis Lodge in Southern Maine. These are examples of what I'd like to find more of.

I guess to a certain extent I'm looking for something that leans more old school Dirty Dancing resort and less creepy run down "romantic" (a la the Poconos, we did our honeymoon there when we were young & didn't know any better - I often joke that our honeymoon was a mix of Dirty Dancing meets the Shining). I'm definitely not looking for the kind of cabin where you're alone in the woods and it's full of spiders and mice. My problem (and why I'm seeking your help) is that this is a new concept to me, so I'm Googling wrong. What I keep coming up with are simply stand alone rental cabins, not full blown resorts. I'd like the full package, where we wouldn't need to cook but would also be secluded enough to be romantic. I'm also not wild about "camping" per se - I do like spending the day at the beach or in the woods, but then coming back and having a comfortable bed with high thread count sheets.
posted by librarianamy to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
is there a specific location you'd be looking for, West Coast, Mid-West, North? South?
- tim
posted by fozzie33 at 6:33 AM on January 26, 2012


regardless, most ski resorts would have something like this, you have the main lodge, with all the amenities, then cabins to stay in... and not all of them require you to ski, and in off season, they still have people staying there...
posted by fozzie33 at 6:40 AM on January 26, 2012


Response by poster: We're not really picky geographically - if it looks like an amazing resort, we'd certainly hit the west coast for it.

I guess I'd mentally ruled out ski resorts even before I started to google. Not that you're not correct - you completely are - I think I was leaning more towards something seasonal (more of a high end summer camp for grown ups) vibe than a snow bunny vibe. I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense.

I just remembered another one in Wisconsin: Wandawega Lake Resort.
posted by librarianamy at 6:58 AM on January 26, 2012


as i said, most ski resorts are open during the summer, they still have cabins in woods, but often have other activities and their resort to boot...

heres some i found:

http://www.fivepinelodge.com/
http://www.stowemountainlodge.com/stowe-vermont-luxury-resorts.php
http://www.rusticinnatjh.com/index.php
http://www.stonewallresort.com
http://www.mtprinceton.com/

http://www.chicohotsprings.com/index.html
posted by fozzie33 at 7:22 AM on January 26, 2012


You might be interested in Cavallo Point in Marin County, just across the Golden Gate from San Francisco.

Awesome views of the City and the Bay, part of the National Parks system, and features Murray Circle, one of the best restaurants in Northern California.
posted by trip and a half at 8:08 AM on January 26, 2012


Funny you should mention Dirty Dancing, since the first place I thought of happens to be where Dirty Dancing was filmed: Mountain Lake, in southwestern Virginia.
posted by DrGail at 8:08 AM on January 26, 2012


Another one in Maine - Sebasco Harbor Resort. I've done a couple of family reunions there. It was very Dirty Dancing - meals in a dining room, and you could stay in a lodge or cottages, waiters and waitresses performed showtunes in a little cabaret show after dinner, there's a mini bowling alley, golf, sailing, pool. Looks like they have a spa now, too.
posted by mskyle at 8:09 AM on January 26, 2012


We've been to two Dirty Dancingish resorts: Tyler Place in Vermont and Woodloch in Pennsylvania.

Tyler Place is right out of the Preppy Handbook. East Coast elites sailing and riding around on borrowed beater bikes, cocktailing before sitting down to immaculately prepared country-club classics, no glitzy anything, accommodations worn in that "old family place at the Vineyard" way. Sort of like being in a salt-corroded 1985 Saab with fortyish Katharine Hepburn. Lots of families come, but kids and adults are strictly separated for all but a couple of hours a day. No kids in the adult dining room at all.

Woodloch is like a slightly downmarket Dirty Dancing. All of the elements are there -- the dining room in particular, which feels *exactly* like the one in DD, right down to the cringeworthy staff revue. Food not as good as TP, crowd considerably less fancy. Tons of activities, and you can stay in a lodge, cabin, house, townhouse. Shootin' and kartin' in addition to the usual tennis-swimming-sailing. Lots of families/kids.
posted by apparently at 10:55 AM on January 26, 2012


On the West Coast, there's Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay, north of San Francisco.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:38 AM on January 26, 2012


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