Snowy Owl Inn

Enjoyed our stay here. Staff was very accommodating and friendly. Granted it is not a high end luxury hotel with all the amenities but for the price it is good. If you are looking to go there and spend all of your time in the hotel you will be disappointed. You get what you pay for. That being said the Jacuzzi worked well and it was comfortable and spacious.

Stayed here for a hockey tournament, which sold out this hotel for the weekend. Despite the fact that the inn clearly relies on hockey families for winter business, the staff seemed annoyed to have us there. They did not seem to understand that their hotel would not be quiet with dozens of 8 – 12 year old hockey players staying there. Parents were continually admonished about noise, size of gatherings and appropriate areas for food and drink consumption. A security guard roamed the halls in the evening and the local police were called when a small gathering of parents watching football did not disperse promptly at 10 pm. If you are here for a tournament, be prepared to be monitored for the entire weekend. It was very cold in the common areas and, except in the lobby, the fireplaces were all out of order. Forget about the continental breakfast, which was a bunch of plain donuts, mystery muffins and coffee served for exactly 90 minutes (and which doesn’t start until 7:30). Head over to the local grocery for fresh baked pastries and coffee. Unlike others, I didn’t need a fancy tv or up to date décor. But I also wanted to stay at a hotel that I felt appreciated my family’s business.

We are skiers and Loved the Snowy Owl! Management was friendly, polite and accommodating! My wife and for the life of us can’t understand the negative comments! This place has great common spaces, comfortable rooms, walking distance to eateries and services. Waterville ski area is a 5 minute drive. It’s slightly dated, but it’s charm and cleanliness surpasses the need for new… I mean really, do you go skiing and rate a hotel on the TV set? Please go and enjoy the winter… If you need a TV, your not enjoying the winter in New England!!! We will go back and ask for the ski deals!!!

My wife and I were married at Waterville Valley last summer and wanted to return for our first anniversary in order to enjoy the resort without the stress of ensuring all wedding details were perfect.
In looking for an affordable place to stay close to the resort, the Snowy Owl fit the bill perfectly. To be honest, we had great concern with some of the lower reviews they had yet after our stay we can only guess that some folks need the glamour of flat screen TV’s and such. Our room was great and the staff quite friendly from the time we walked through the door and throughout the entire weekend.
We took advantage of their breakfast on Sunday and were definitely not disappointed. While we did not order anything extravagant, everything was cooked perfectly from the eggs to the toast to the crunchiness of the corned beef hash.
My wife and I discussed over breakfast of our return next year for our next anniversary (if not sooner) and will be looking to reserve once again at the Snowy Owl. Thanks again!

My girlfriend and i had a dinner party to attend and needed an affordable place to stay in Waterville Valley. The Snowy Owl fit the bill perfectly! We received excellent service during our stay and had great contact with the stay before we arrived to set-​up our reservation.
We loved our room! The space was big, the mattress was excellent, the sheets were cozy. The windows and skylights let in a wonderful amount of light. We didn’t use the pool or fitness club but we visited both and thought they were great!
Although the TV wasn’t digital it worked perfectly well for what little time we spent using it. The bathroom was nice and big and the Jacuzzi tub was deep and inviting! The main lobby and various side lobbies were set-​up perfectly for gathering. The covered front porch was another great spot to hang out on too. The inn is situated steps from the Village Center with lots of parking directly across the street.
Considering the location and price point, I would recommend the Snowy Owl Inn to anyone who is looking for an affordable, peaceful and friendly place to stay.

Ugggh! Worst hotel ever! My family went their for a hockey tournament and I felt sick the whole time! The rugs were disgusting (looked like they weren’t vacuumed in years!!)I had found popcorn under the bed! The TV is glitchy and small also extremely old! The loft room we stayed in had holes in the walls on the upstairs and on top of the beds the comforters have never been washed! The hotel was old and had scratches and bugs all over!!! The people who work their are rude and disrespectful one lady kept giving my family a nasty look! The pools had dirt all over the ground and had stone flooring wish is very slippery! Plus the bathroom hottub never really gets washed and there was hair all over the floor of the shower! I DO NOT recommend ever going to the nasty hotel! It’s over all Ian awful experience!

Cozy, Clean and Good Value with Rustic Charm. Family Friendly. I am going to admit, I love a good 4 – 5 star hotel, but when you’re looking for convenience and value for a weekend skiing at Waterville Valley, the Snowy Owl Inn is a great find and provides everything we… moreso the kids need e.g., Pool, fitness room if so inclined to exercise, tv, free wifi, free continental breakfast and directly next door to Waterville Village. We will be back!

My lodging dates March 13, 2015 to March 17, 2015
What can I say about the Snowy Owl Inn. Lets start with the positive:
1) They have online reservations.
2) The moose head above the fireplace in the main lobby wears a scarf.
3) It is really close to the Town Square and the ice rink.
4) They have an elevator (that’s been recently inspected.)
5) The room had a Jacuzzi.
6) Hot water was hot.
7) View from room.
Now the Bad:
1) The floors were dirty garbage on the floors.
2) The staff was either rude or just there.
3) Neither one of the 2 hot tubs worked.
4) The heated pool was not so heated.
5) It was about 30 years outdated.
6) The fireplaces were never on or working
7) The breakfast was sad (Stale donuts and muffins wrapped in cellophane and some brown liquid called coffee and some room temp juice.)
8) T.V. was tiny and I am thinking we were lucky it was color.
9) The beds were lumpy and old also the bed I slept in smelt like cigarettes.
10) The desk closes at 9 pm and doesn’t open till 9 am.
11) The staff is very unprofessionally dressed.
12) Water stains on the ceiling in my room.
13) 9 am they start banging on the door to clean the room.
14) Icy and snowy walks and steps not even touched.
15) Completely uninviting.
I would never stay here again. The website shows hot tubs working and says heated pool, and the breakfast what a joke. These were the reasons for booking this hotel. Instead I had to pay $ 45 for a family day pass, to go to the Mt. Washington Athletic Club, and use their heated pool and hot tubs. Those good reviews you see on here are big piles of horse sh*t. They are the people who never go anywhere or have never stayed in a hotel. I saw the bad reviews and the good, I figured I would give it a shot and try something new. So glad I wasted the money and it nearly ruined my vacation. Never were we told at check in that the hot tubs were down or that the breakfast was a sad stale muffin or doughnut. We were also never once asked how our stay was going. We were there for 4 days not a once were we acknowledged when we walked by the front desk. The staff was dressed like they were just going shopping at Wal-​Mart. My opinion the place should be closed and get a makeover great location could be a diamond. Snowy Owl Inn is just a rusty eyesore that no one in the business community around it says nothing nice about. Pretty sad when I am asked where I am staying and when I say the Snowy Owl people in the Town Square just wince. Good job Snowy Owl keep up that stay afloat effort.

The Snowy Owl has seen better days — I assume. It’s not very clean. The carpet in my room had not been vacuumed in a while. The sign reads «Continental Breakfast 730 — 9 am. Well, around 745 I saw a pitcher of apple juice (I think), a pitcher of something else (no idea what) and some muffins. Most of the employees I saw looked pretty miserable. As another reviewer wrote, the TVs are ancient and tiny. On the plus side, it’s right near the mountain and the other shops and restaurants there and there’s a free shuttle to Waterville Valley skiing. Oh and it’s relatively cheap.

Came here for a hockey tournament. They are unfriendly to teams. There is a 10:00 pm curfew enforced by «security» they hire. I don’t know what they expect when you have a bunch of 9 — 12 yo’s in the inn. The staff are rude and not accommodating to large groups of people. They should take their names off the hotel list for hockey tournaments because they clearly don’t want these groups there. In terms of the rooms: the mattresses were hard as a rock, pillows flat, the room was either cold or a sauna, the rug looked like it was last vacuumed 10 years ago. If going to a tournament up there look elsewhere… I actually had a positive experience at the Valley Inn.

I feel bad writing such a bad review, but the experience was so bad I felt like I needed to warn others. My fiancée and I ended up getting stuck in a terrible snow storm and got off of the first exit we saw. We knew we couldn’t drive in the weather so we ended up finding the first hotel we could. We got there and it was freezing in the lobby also very dark. The receptionist was alright, we got to the room and saw a tv that was from the 90’s very small and everything was outdated. We went to the pool and hot tub and the hot tub had stuff floating in it and I ended up getting an awful rash. The whole time we were there all we wanted to do was leave. It was that bad. By the way there so cheap they don’t even give you coffee. You have to pay I think it was 1.25 for a K cup.

Overall, I recommend the Snowy Owl Inn. Its a little rough around the edges, but a good value, and fun with kids. I stayed there 10 years ago for a brief stay with my wife, and then again for 4 nights in January 2015. Most recent visit was with wife and kids age 5 & 7. Stayed in a loft room.
The positives:
The staff is very friendly and helpful. The people working the front desk were consistently friendly and helpful during every interaction.
The inn has a rustic charm. Mostly wood (and wood panel) interior, many fireplaces, which mostly burn gas (understandable, but wood burning fireplaces would be much nicer). Multiple gathering rooms, most of which have their own fireplaces. Very intimate and cozy.
Loft room was really fun for the kids. They loved having their own space, and it gave us all a lot more space and felt more open than most hotel rooms.
Location: The inn is in the heart of Waterville Valley. Its a short 2 minute walk to the town square which has nice shops (love Jugtown), restaurants (Blue Moon and waterville Pizza), and other fun stuff (X country ski tracks, pond, fireworks on many saturdays, and other stuff…)
Price– price was reasonable when compared to much other ski lodging. Paid less then $ 200/​night during prime ski season for a loft room.
Pool/​hot tub room is attractive and could be great! (but isn’t… see below).
Negatives:
Furniture is old. Bed was reasonably comfortable. Chairs and tables were best described as «dorm room indestructible». TV is ancient, but honestly who would go to an inn in the mountains and watch tv, so don’t care about that.
Lighting in the bedroom is inadequate. It is «task lighting», lamp next to the bed, on a table by couch, and in loft. We like to play board games, and it was too dark at night. They need to put some track lighting or something to brighten it up.
The «hockey weekend» guests that they host are amongst the loudest and rudest groups of people I have ever encountered, in any hotel. (Please see reviews from several «hockey weekenders» from early January 2015, apparently in addition to being horrible guests, they also like to carpet bomb coordinated bad reviews).
The room cleaning staff were sub par. Upon check in, there were bottles (water bottle and soda bottle) under our bed from previous guests. During our stay, one of my daughters messily ate a muffin and left a pile of crumbs on the coffee table, which the cleaning staff left for us to clean after we got back from skiing. (Normally I don’t expect people to clean up after my kids, but we were in a ruch, and isn’t that what hotel room cleaners are for?)
The pool– its in the ground floor, in a octagonal room just off the main hotel. It is a beautiful room, filled with light, and with picture windows looking onto the grounds and the river behind the inn. Really pretty. Too bad its WAY TOO COLD to swim in. Way too cold. And I surf year round (in a wet suit) in New England, and I still found it too cold. Asked the staff to warm it up, and they said they would call maintenance, but it never changed. Bummer. The hot tub is nice tho.
The breakfast– in their brochure listed as a «limited continental». It consists of muffins, plain donuts, coffee, and juice. Selection of muffins is lemon poppy, blueberry, and choco chip, and corn. The muffins are ok, very crumbly (see cleaning, above). This does not rise to the level of a continental breakfast, and it doesn’t make sense to me… with a very little extra effort they could make this bfast nice– a little fruit, some oatmeal packets maybe? Bread and jam? I don’t know, I don’t run a hotel, but it was really lacking. And by the fourth morning, I was really dreading the breakfast. Makes me much, much less likely to stay there for a prolonged visit in the future unless improved. Seems penny wise, pound foolish to not make it a little better.

Unfortunately this was our first and LAST time at the snowy owl. The rooms are old and in serious need of a renovation. I would have had a better night sleep on the floor. Beds are awful, sheets are like cheese cloth and way too small, the heat is either way too hot or cold and extremely loud. I do realize its a budget type hotel but come on a little sometimes goes a long way.
The biggest problem over all is the EXTREMELY RUDE staff between the over bearing and frankly creepy security guard lurking around every corner and the lady at the night reception desk who makes more noise complaing about and yelling at customers. Maybe a change in career is what she may need because the hospitality business doesn’t seen like the right fit.

Super disappointing. Nothing has been updated in years. The suite was absolutely skeevy. The two bedroom suite was an open loft. The fridge was the same tiny size as the tv from 1990! No exaggeration! It was old and dirty. My fiancé and father went to the store to get candles and air fresheners because the room smelt so gross. The jacuzzi did not work. The pool, which supposedly closes at 9, was shut down by 6. Trust me, they spare EVERY possible expense. The continental breakfast was a joke. This place is not worth the price. Drive the extra few minutes to Loon. I feel horrible that my parents spent money on this place as a nice family getaway. Ick! Do not be fooled!

Really disappointed!
I’ve been coming here with my family for the past twenty five years and am sad to say we will not be returning.
There were just so many things that are left to be desired with this place now. To name a few:
The rooms:
— The beds are probably the same ones we slept on 25 years ago! It’s not just uncomfortable, it’s gross!
— Televisions– why bother? They are so small and so old. Go rustic and just remove them… Spend the money on new beds!
The staff:
— Just all around not accommodating, disorganized, and kind of rude for people in the hospitality business.
The grounds:
— Why would you paint all the entrance ways on a Saturday, during the last weekend of summer, when there is no vacancy, (there are two weddings and a half marathon event the next day)? Ever consider that maybe there’s a little too much traffic for that to be ideal?
— Pool: There were no lights! Well, they were there but I guess they were just broken?
No matter how you spin it, we will not be returning. This was a really really poor experience!

Overall we were very happy with our stay.
Pros:
Great location, affordable, lots of sitting rooms with fireplaces (all working during our stay), open layout. It felt like a real lodge, which is what we were looking for. On the first night, we hung out next the the fire with our kids (ages 5 & 6). They brought out their toys and played while we read. Cozy! The staff was friendly and helpful.
Cons:
The pool, while very nice looking, was too cold to enjoy and the hot tubs were too hot. The other reviews of the continental breakfast are right on, so come prepared with your own food like we did.
Other:
Some people complained about noise. It’s true, with the open layout and mostly made out of wood you can hear people walking around and talking. It didn’t bother us one bit. In fact, one night there were about a dozen people hanging out by a fireplace sitting room right outside our door. It was pretty noisy and I was concerned that it would keep our kids up. But once we got into our room and turned on the fan (noisy = white noise to us!) we didn’t hear a thing. They’re pretty good about enforcing quiet hours and around 9:30 everyone had pretty much gone to bed.
We got a mini loft room and our kids couldn’t get over the fact that there were STAIRS in our hotel room. If you’re staying in a loft with little kids it wouldn’t hurt to throw a nightlight into your bag. I was a little concerned that they would try the stairs in the dark which are pretty steep. They slept like rocks, though, so it wasn’t a problem.
We’re looking forward to going back next year.

Affordable and right next to Town Square. Good for our large group of college students as the rooms had many sleeping arrangements and large common areas were appreciated. Staff was helpful and very friendly. Rooms and breakfast are in need of some upgrades though!

Friendly helpful staff, Clean rooms and overall very nice… very quiet… and peaceful… sure it could use a little updating but its a very nice place… and well run! I had a great visit… and enjoyed the close proximity to everything. So what it lacks in style is made up by its proximity. i would most certainly visit again!

Everything seems clean and the room is comfortable. However, I’m getting up early for a hike and desperately want to sleep. Quiet hours are 9pm to 7am, So why the hell is the band outside my window still going strong at 10pm? Annoyed!

The good: our room was clean, check-​in was swift, rates were very reasonable and the drive to ski the trails was short.
The bad: We happened to stay the same weekend as some sort of middle school trip in early March and it was so, so noisy. Children were running up and down stairs and slamming doors and it sounded like elephants were stampeding through our room. For hours. It was incredibly frustrating when we just wanted to rest and relax after a long day on the slopes.
Fortunately the noise did not continue overnight so we were able to get some sleep. The rowdy kids aren’t specifically the inn’s fault, but as a young couple it really isn’t the atmosphere we hoped for, and the walls really are paper thin. I would not discourage someone from staying if they just wanted an inexpensive and convenient place to stay for skiing, but I personally wouldn’t stay again.