CITY GUIDES | NEW ENGLAND
Vermont Hotels for the Postcard Version of New England
From lakeside resorts to mountain inns, these are the places that make the state feel like a true getaway.
By Maria Rodriguez | July 1, 2026
Twin Farms
AUTHOR BIO: With a day job that requires constant travel, Maria Rodriguez is likely a regular at your favorite restaurant. She’s reviewed restaurants since 2007 in magazines from Spain to Seattle.
Vermont has always had a certain medicinal effect. It’s where you go when the city has gotten too loud, when the calendar has turned against you, when you need mountains, lakes, old villages, and a bed somewhere that doesn’t come with a siren outside the window.
I’ve been lucky enough to travel through Vermont constantly for work, which means I’ve also become very good at turning an assignment into a weekend. Over the years, I’ve added a night here, two nights there, driving from Burlington to the Northeast Kingdom, from Stowe to Manchester, from Lake Champlain to the Mad River Valley. I’ve stayed in grand old resorts, small inns, farm estates, ski lodges, and hotels that make a very strong case for ordering one more glass of wine and not checking email.
These are my favorite stays, the best hotels in Vermont for that restorative trip you’ve needed.
Basin Harbor, Vergennes
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Basin Harbor is the classic Lake Champlain summer resort, with cottages, waterfront gear, cultural programming, family activities, and golf folded into the stay. The best version of it is probably a cottage near the water, a boat ride on the lake, and the feeling that you’ve landed inside somebody’s very well-kept multigenerational vacation tradition.
Best for: A lakeside family resort with boats, cottages, and old Vermont summer energy
The Hermitage Inn, West Dover
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The Hermitage Inn sits on 112 acres on Haystack Mountain, close to Mount Snow, but the draw here isn’t only skiing. The property has leaned hard into food and wine, with The Tavern, Birches, a wine cellar, private dining, and even heated gondolas for a French Alpine-inspired dinner.
Best for: A polished mountain inn with serious food and wine
Hotel Vermont, Burlington
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Hotel Vermont is the Burlington pick because it feels connected to the city rather than sealed off from it. The 125-room independent hotel uses local and reclaimed materials, puts guests between Church Street and the waterfront, and has Juniper downstairs, with Bleu Northeast Kitchen and Hen of the Wood and Frankie’s nearby.
Best for: A downtown Burlington stay with good restaurants close by
Shelburne Farms Inn, Shelburne
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This 19th-century country estate house on the shore of Lake Champlain is now part of the education nonprofit Shelburne Farms. It’s seasonal, open mid-May to mid-October, with 24 rooms and several guest houses, which is probably as close as Vermont gets to sleeping at the farm we all dream about owning.
Best for: Lake Champlain views, historic rooms, and farm-to-table cooking
The Lodge at Spruce Peak, Stowe
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
The Lodge at Spruce Peak is the big mountain-resort entry here, set at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort with ski-in/ski-out access, an outdoor pool, spa and wellness center, and a mix of hotel rooms, suites, residences, and penthouses. It’s the choice when you want Vermont scenery, ski logistics, restaurants, shops, and a whole village built around the mountain.
Best for: A full-service Stowe ski resort with mountain access
The Pitcher Inn, Warren
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
The Pitcher Inn is the small, expensive, deeply Vermont counterpoint to the big resort: nine guest rooms in the inn and two two-bedroom suites in the Red Barn, all in Warren’s Mad River Valley. Downstairs, 275 Main handles the polished farm-to-table side of the stay, while the wine cellar runs to nearly 500 bottles.
Best for: A high-end Mad River Valley inn with real dining built in
Rabbit Hill Inn, Lower Waterford
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Rabbit Hill Inn is an adults-only, pet-free luxury inn in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, with a farm-to-table restaurant, tavern, and 19 guest rooms, many with gas fireplaces and mountain views. It’s a quieter kind of Vermont luxury, the sort built around dinner reservations, breakfast, a pub drink, and the fact that there isn’t much reason to leave once you’ve checked in.
Best for: A romantic Northeast Kingdom inn for adults-only weekends
Reluctant Panther Inn, Manchester
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The Reluctant Panther has 20 rooms and suites spread across the Main House, Mary Porter House, and Carriage House in Manchester Village. The rooms come with antique furnishings, fireplaces, marble baths, and original museum-quality artwork, and the restaurant keeps the stay anchored with locally sourced contemporary American cooking and a Wine Spectator-recognized list.
Best for: A small Manchester inn with fireplaces, marble baths, and dinner downstairs
Swift House Inn, Middlebury
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Swift House Inn is the kind of hotel every quaint New England town should have: 20 rooms spread across three historic buildings, with gardens, fireplaces, a sauna and steam room, and Jessica’s restaurant built into the stay. Breakfast is included, dinner is downstairs, and the inn sits a couple of blocks from the center of town, which makes it an easy base for Middlebury College, the shops, and a slower kind of Vermont weekend.
Best for: A classic Middlebury inn with gardens, fireplaces, and dinner downstairs
Topnotch Resort, Stowe
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Topnotch is the resort for travelers who want the mountain town but not necessarily the base-village setup. The 120-acre property has a major spa, indoor and outdoor tennis, multiple pools, dining, and an equestrian center with trail rides, pony rides, carriage rides, and winter sleigh rides.
Best for: A Stowe resort with spa days, tennis, pools, and horseback rides
Twin Farms, Barnard
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Twin Farms is Vermont’s full-tilt luxury outlier, an all-inclusive resort on a 300-acre estate in Barnard with 28 individually designed cottages and suites. Rates cover Vermont-made breakfasts, prepared-to-order lunches, picnics anywhere on the property, multicourse farm-to-table dinners, cocktails, canapés, and the kind of service that makes a canoe paddle on Copper Pond feel like part of the itinerary rather than an activity desk suggestion.
Best for: A splurge-level all-inclusive Vermont escape
Woodstock Inn, Woodstock
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Woodstock Inn & Resort is the polished village-resort classic, with 142 rooms and suites, a LEED-certified spa with 10 treatment rooms, golf, tennis, biking, fly fishing, Nordic and Alpine skiing, and access to the Woodstock Athletic Club. The setting does a lot here: the inn sits in one of Vermont’s prettiest towns, with Billings Farm & Museum and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park close enough to make the weekend feel planned even when it isn’t.
Best for: A classic Vermont resort weekend in Woodstock
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