Winter Update

We had the “chance” to tour all of the resorts last week. We started in Falmouth, drove to Ogunquit and then traveled to Lincoln where my group spent the night. In the morning we traveled to Jackman, Maine and back to Ogunquit before calling it a night at Angelina’s Restaurant. In the morning it was over to NH for a quick resort tour at Crotched Mountain Resort before returning to the Cape for a late day meeting. In 60 hours we had traveled approximately 1000 miles, eaten at 7 different restaurants, visited 5 Dunkin Donuts, a NH State Liquor store and three gas stations! What an adventure. In the same amount of time we could have driven to Florida!

What I learned on this march was that the resorts are in great shape. Cape Cod was cool and clear and you can’t beat the view from either Surfside or Captains Quarters. We’ve closed Harborwalk for several weeks for maintenance, deep cleaning and sound financial planning. Our first Shopper’s week end on Cape was a mild success. Upcoming Cape week ends include Spa treatments and cooking classes.

Ogunquit had plenty of snow. That town is just as pretty with snow as it is in the Summer, as long as you are inside. We have just completely renovated the indoor pool and deck at The Falls. That looks great. We just finished our first Stonewall Kitchen week end where members learned how to cook two meals, in their commercial kitchen, and then enjoyed dinner at a choice of 4 restaurants. It was an overwhelming success! Angelina’s Restaurant, next door to the resort is always a great spot and you can walk to and from it! We are now planning a wine week end and then a brewery tour week end. Watch your email for dates and rates.

Lincoln NH was snow filled and cold. Great weather for making snow and skiing. Loon Mtn opened a new double diamond ski run this week end to great reviews. It’s steep. There will a VCU class in Lincoln on Saturday January 24. Shortly after that meeting I hope to tackle that new run with my granddaughter!

Mountainview Resort loves winter! We saw more snowmobiles than cars while we were in Jackman. The lake is dotted with ice fishing shanties and the fireplaces were roaring. We offer packages at Mountainview that offer either snowmobile or ATV rentals. As hard as we looked we never did see any moose. We did stop at a great restaurant in Skowhegan called The Old Mill Pub, that overlooks the dam. It’s our regular stop on the trip to Jackman, the food, view and staff have always been great.

As usual I repeat my demand: Go Use Your Points!

Attention Vacation Club Foodies!

Due to your enthusiastic response to the upcoming Stonewall Kitchen Cooking Class weekend, the class has sold out!  

 For those of you who didn’t get a chance to book this specialty weekend, don’t worry!   We are in the process of trying to find another weekend to offer this great cooking class and discounted points stay. 

Keep your eye on the blog and the newsletter for information on more upcoming Specialty Point weekends.

After Christmas Sale Week end

The InnSeason Vacation Club is offering a post-Christmas shopping week end special!

Come to Falmouth for either Friday, Saturday or Sunday January 9, 10 and or 11 to take advantage of this great special.

The package includes just one or more nights, couple that with $50 shopping certificates to Mashpee Commons and Ski Market, then enjoy a $50 dinner certificate to one of 6 local restaurants. And the price for all of this is just 32,000 points! If you want to add additional nights they are value-priced at 5000 each. There is a small surcharge for two bedroom units, if available.

What better way to recover from the Christmas shopping mania but with more shopping, and using your points to do so! Contact us 888-333-1535 or reservations@innseason.com  for more information or to book your shopping getaway.

Specialty Week End in Ogunquit

The InnSeason Vacation Club is pleased and proud to announce the first, of many, educational get aways. We’ve broken our own rules and are offering one night packages in Maine, Massachusetts and Hampshire.

For one of our first, we’ve partnered with Stonewall Kitchen, in York, to offer a week end of cooking classes in their teaching kitchen. On the week end of January 17 and 18, members may book one or more nights (Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and attend two cooking classes (lunch on Saturday and Brunch on Sunday). The package includes the two classes for two people, a dinner certificate worth $50 and one night’s lodging at InnSeason Falls at Ogunquit.  The retail value of the package is $320.00! Club members can reserve it for only 32,000 points.  Each additional night is value priced at just 5000 points.

To book this great package or to learn more please call us 888-333-1535 or email reservations@innseason.com . This should be a great event. Sign up now and watch your email for other packages.

All Aboard the Polar Express!

This past weekend I stayed at South Mountain with my family for the Polar Express.  I think I might have been a little more excited than my  daughter who is 4 and my son who is 12.  I had planned the weekend as a surprise, so one week before our trip I presented them with invitations and brand new pajama’s.  Of course we had to watch the movie right then and there, for the 4th time in 3 weeks! 

We had tickets for the 7pm train on Friday night, luckily we had no trouble getting to South Mountain, as the ice storm had passed.  We arrived and checked in and ordered take out from Pigs Ear BBQ in the Village Shops, it was great, we had so much food we had leftovers for the next day.  Then it was time to go, thankfully, because my daughter had asked us about 50 times in the hour and half since we arrived if it was time to go to the Polar Express!

We drove over to The Hobo Railroad and got into the line, it was cold and crowded and everyone was excited.  The line formed inside of the gift shop, good thinking on their part, and it was filled with Polar Express toys and books and stuffed animals, and the kids wanted one of everything!  Finally the line started to move and we were on our way to the North Pole.  When we got up to actually board the train there was a man yelling “all aboard! Who is going to the North Pole?”, the kids were jumping up and down, yelling “me, me!” it was great.  We got on board and took our seats and got our hot chocolate and we were on our way, as we crossed over Rt 112 I looked out the window and it was snowing, it was perfect!

As we got closer to the North Pole the conductors started singing Christmas carols and everyone joined in.  We all received a Polar Express Chocolate,  and then along the tracks, elves were lined up with lanterns waving to us.  It was AWESOME! 

We exited the train and walked a short distance to the North Pole Theater, there was the North Pole Post Office for letters to Santa and we could even see the Northern Lights.  We filed into the theater and took our seats and all of the elves lined up on stage.  The boy from the book, who is now a grown man, came out in his pajamas and read the story to us, there were images from the book on the screen behind him. 

After the story, it was time to see Santa, when he came out the kids screamed and yelled and he walked around and talked to each and every one of them.  It was amazing, he even asked one of the adults if he remembered the Erector Set he gave him when he was a child.  He then selected a child from the audience to receive the first gift of Christmas-a Bell from his sleigh.

We filed out of the Theater and got back on the train, as we pulled out of the North Pole Santa was there waving to us.  The conductors then passed out bells from Santa sleigh to everyone on board.  On the ride back to Lincoln all you could hear were bells.

It was a GREAT time for all, watching the kids was the best part for me, it was magical and something we will remember forever.

New Hampshire Restaurants

On my list of restaurants to visit and enjoy are these in the Lincoln Woodstock area of New Hampshire. They are all very close to either of the InnSeason Resorts in Lincoln.

Fratello’s Ristaurante is the heart of the Village Shops and is connected to South Mountain Resort. The food is always good, the portions are large and the staff is usually very friendly. When I’m in Lincoln I’m always certain to have at least one meal at this restaurant. Their grilled steaks are delicious.

Also in the Village Shops complex is Texas Toast and Pigs Ear BBQ. They have the best smoked meats within 50 miles. They serve an awesome breakfast too, but they open too late for me. I’m up and out early which typically means breakfast at Dunkin Donuts!

Another favorite is the Gypsy Cafe. They have great lunches, dinners and Margarita’s.  It is a small spot just across the street from South Mountain Resort but is well worth the visit. There are lots of “earthy, crunchy, vegetables and fish” items on the menu. It’s all fresh and very good.

Calling All Adventure Club Owners!

It’s not too late to deposit your Adventure Club weeks to the InnSeason Vacation Club for 2009 points!

Call, go online, or click here to obtain your Club Member Release Form, send in the Participation Fee Form, and the resort’s confirmation of your reservation. It’s just that simple!

We’ll convert your week into points that can be used at our resorts, or to make an exchange with Interval International.

Recent Adventure Club weeks we have received on deposit have been for such resorts as the Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando and the Tahiti Resort in Las Vegas.

If you haven’t already deposited your 2009 Adventure Club week, this is a great time to do it! Click here to download the Club Member Release Form!

Food in Jackman Maine

I’m told an Army travels on its’  stomach. Well that must be true of me and my com-padres at InnSeason Management. While on the road inspecting or touring or visiting resorts we tend to see our share of restaurants.

When visiting Jackman, we suggest the following restaurants.  Please be aware that most places are closed on Monday and Tuesday nights in the off-season. So be prepared!

We always stop at Northern Outdoors Micro Brewery for great BBQ Cheeseburgers. They are located just outside of The Forks approximately 30 minutes from Mountainview. The restaurant/pub is large, clean with friendly staff and wireless internet service!

We often eat breakfast at Mama Bear’s right on main street. Watch for moose wandering through town  from their windows! (Just like that old TV show!)

Schmooses Pub on Main Street has good food and drink . We often have dinner there, enjoying the casual atmosphere and friendly staff. They usually have entertainment on week ends.

Bigwood Steakhouse is just that; a house. But it has GREAT STEAKS. The food is always good at that spot. They hand cut their steaks and do a great job at that!

For more information you can always go the Jackman Area Chamber of Commerce at www.jackmanmaine.org .

Owner’s Notes about The Ocean Reef Resort

We recently had an owner do an exchange to the Ocean Reef Resort in the Bahamas.  We are sharing this owner’s comments with you just so you are aware in case you were planning a trip to the Bahamas.

 

We wanted to share our vacation experiences at the timeshare, Ocean Reef Resort&Yacht Club. We were confirmed from 10-25-08 to 11-01-08.
We would strongly advise the InnSeasons management to remove any further timeshare exchanges with this resort. We were troubled by the fact we did not feel safe there. In spite of the fact that there was security on the premises, we we awakened one evening by loud pounding on our door which commenced around 1:30 am. We were too afraid to respond. The uninvited guest left in his car about twenty minutes later. We reported the incident to the manager the next day. We never heard anything further about our concerns.
On another occasion, we were denied dining privileges despite the fact that there was another forty minutes before the closing time. A member in our party is diabetic but it didn’t make a difference to the cook or waitress. Again we reported the matter to the site manager. He was very apologetic and instructed the restaurant staff to serve dinner free of charge to us. Unfortunately we could take advantage of his offer until the next day. It was a good thing that we had some food at our timeshare so to prevent any medical consequences to our diabetic friend.
We were also annoyed and awakened by the loud,vicious barking of dogs across the street from this timeshare. It sounded like attack dogs in training. The barking occurred most evenings. Again we reported our concerns but the problems persisted!
This timeshare was outdated in general appearance and amenities by at least twenty years. With rare exceptions most amenities involved some fee or charge. We were charged $85.00 for a surcharge on electricity.
Fr the most part the resort staff was not friendly to us. With one exception, Olive was the only resort staff person that showed any hospitality towards us during our stay. She went out of her way to locate our missing luggage that were delayed by a day. It seems lke delayed luggage happens on a regular basis in Freeport,Bahamas!
We were alaso told that the US economy has taken an early toll on their economy in the Bahamas. Crime is increasing on the island while tourism in general reflected a 90% reduction in occupancy at its major hotels.
We were most anxious to exit from this resort and the Grand Bahamas Island. It was a welcome relief to step foot on US soil at Miami International Airport. Amen!!

Spread Holiday Cheer in Falmouth

Falmouth is a great spot for getting into the Christmas Spirit.  With everything that Falmouth has to offer, plan a weekend getaway while point values are at their lowest to enjoy some of the great holiday programs offered.

Falmouth’s 2008 Holidays-by-the-Sea - Starting out on Friday, December 5th with Caroling at Nobska Lighthouse, the weekend will include Santa sailing into Falmouth at Falmouth Harbor (right across the street from HarborWalk Resort!), the Lighting of the Village Green, and end with the 45th Annual Falmouth Christmas Parade.

Holidays at Highfeild- Historic Highfield Hall has been rennovated and is a wonderful place to experience the joys of the season.  With many programs being offered during the holiday sesaon, whether it be the Family Pajama Story Hour on December 9th or the Highfield Hall Holiday Ball on December 13th, spend a weekend and view this wonderful historic site!

For more holiday fun in Falmouth, check out the Chamber of Commerce’s calendar of events.