Wyndham Bentley Brook

We have just returned from the Bentley Brook.

I would rate it 3 1/2 stars - But there is not option for that.

Pros - Ski on Ski off - very nice and on an easy bunny hill for those with little ones and newbies to the sport.

Next to the ski-wee drop of area - Just get up and go.

Cons - A little noisy with the party upstairs from us

Internet access was not working in the rooms - told it would be fixed soon - would had been a major problem If I was working remote while there.

No onsite-place to eat drink. This is suppose to be a resort - I wold expect to be able to ski down to the resort and order a drink, hot chocolate for the kids and a bite to eat. The vending machines just don't cut it. That only cost it a full star in the rating to me.

The workers at the resort seemed to have little knowledge of the ski resort itself. Everytime I asked a question no-one had a clue.

Examples = What time does ski-wee start? How do we get to the reastaruant?

Overall the ski area was nice - ski school was good for our advanced 5 and 7 year old which left the trip as a "fox" and "Coyote" - The meeting place is at the slope which caused a seperation problem for the 3 year old. A problem that is resolved at other resorts with the drop and go policy allowing the ski school to get the ready for the slop and forgot that mom and dad are skiing away without them.

Overall we enjoyed the trip and would go again, but there is room for improvement.

We had a 2BR unit during high ski season (XMas break). The unit was a decent size, clean and had all of the basic necessities.

The Wyndham units are set up in two buildings around one of Jiminy Peak's bunny slopes. Units that start with 22-24 are in the lower, main building. This building has the pool, small game room, movie theater, free coffee, a couple of fireplace lounges, etc. The upper building (units that start with 25-29) is very short walk (outside down some stairs) away. Both units are ski-in ski-out to the bunny slope, which is just a short ski lift away to the main mountain, or, alternatively, the main mountain lodge and main ski lifts are a very short walk from either Wyndham building. In fact, everything at the mountain (multiple restaurants, ski schools, shops, etc.) is just a very short walk away - very convenient.

The entire resort, including Wyndham and Jiminy Peak, is very kid friendly. The mountian is perfectly sized for kids - not too big, not too small. It was surprisingly well maintained, including all of the lodges and shops. The ski schools were well organized and well staffed. It was not nearly as crowded as the mountains in Southern VT.

Our kids greatly enjoyed the trip and are asking when we are going to return.

One critical comment. As mentioned in other reviews, the fire alarms are overly sensitive. The fire alarm went off about 2 out of every 3 mornings, and at least once every evening (sometimes multiple times). The fire alarm sets off a multi-minute long ear-piercing shriek that never fails to make you jump and cringe. There was no warning about the alarm when we checked-in, and no explanation from anyone after the alarm goes off (e.g., whether it was real or false alarm). When we tried to obtain an explanation from the staff, they blamed it on the guests and their cooking, and claim the alarm is up to code. This may be true, but this issue has obviously existed for several years and Wyndham has apparently done nothing to address it. If there ever was a real fire, no one is going to take the alarm seriously.

We had two 2 BR units in late August (23-30), Units 2620 and 2627. In the upper buildings (25, 26, 27), even units have parking lot views; and odd units have mountain views. Units ending in 20-29 are parking lot level (but the odd unit patios are one level above the ground, due to the uneven site).

The units were clean and reasonably well equipped, including washer/dryer, whirlpool tub, dishwasher, service for eight, and pots and pans. There was no sink garbage disposal or fireplace. Things to bring: measuring cups and a nonstick frying pan/skillet. (If the resort had supplied a nonstick skillet, there might have been less smoke alarms in the building. The smoke detectors are very sensitive!)

The staff was all friendly and helpful. Family-friendly activities fused glass designs and free movies with free popcorn. They generally show a kid movie at 5:30 pm and an older audience movie at 7:30 pm. There are two pools: an outdoor adult pool, and a indoor/outdoor family pool next to it. The pools are small, but adequate. Both pools are in the lower set of buildings (22-24).

There is plenty to do in the area. You can drive to the top of Mount Greylock for great views. It is also an enjoyable hiking area. You can also hike up the mountain at the resort. During the summer, you can walk to the adventure park rides at Jiminy Creek. (Warning: in August, they are short-staffed due to college students returning to school. They will close some stations at rides, making the waits much longer. The wait for the trampoline was an hour and 15 minutes when we went on a Tuesday afternoon. The wait for the roller coaster was an hour. Consider getting individual tickets rather than a day pass, since you might get tired of waiting in line.)

Other area activities: Our kids (ages 6-10) enjoyed the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. We enjoyed visiting Williamstown and the Williams University Art Museum (free!). The Berkshire Botanical Garden is pretty but had a lot of mosquitoes in late August. Wear repellent! Our kids both greatly enjoyed the Animagic animation workshop in Lee. They each got to make a little claymation movie.

We visited Bentley Brook for the first time this August ('09) for 4 nights and had two 2BR units. This was perfect for our gang of 10, though we could have accommodated up to 16 using the sofa beds. Beautiful weather and lovely scenery. The pictures at right are accurate. Not shown is the indoor/outdoor pool. One can swim in and out, which is nice when the sun gets too hot! We were able to use the activities at Jiminy Peak resort next door. Literature says they charge by the day but one can pay by the ride on the alpine slide and some other fun things. The pool table, which was downstairs in our building, was only 50 cents a game. Two free moves a night were offered, but we never made it down to see them. I notice that the overall list of "Amenities" has "Ocean" checked as being 8 miles away. Maybe 80?? This is far western Massachusetts folks. Don't be greedy.

Part of our group went into Boston for a day and visited Cheers! Another trip was up to North Adams to see the natural bridge. Not big but fun to climb around. Pittsfield is a nice town a short drive south. Hancock itself is just barely visible. We were glad to have picked up some food before we arrived.

This is a major ski area and we were a sort walk/ski from the lifts had it been winter.

Stayed Sept 6-9 2007 we had a great time the resort is nice. There are a couple of restaurants close by to eat at with very reasonable rates. The movie theatre was a great added attraction on a rainy day. The only problem was that the walls are not well insulated-we were told that this will be taken care of in a month or so. But other than that the staff was very nice. I am a Wyndham/Fairfield Resort owner.