Hi folks! This past Fourth of July, my family and I decided to use a Groupon promotion and go somewhere we’ve never been before. I’ve been to all states on the east coast, except one: Vermont. So we decided we would look for a fun, family-friendly resort in Vermont, preferably with a water park or indoor pool, or just something where my son can play in water… because he loves water!
The promotion I saw on Groupon
So, since I use Groupon a lot for my photo shoot deals at JCPenney, I thought I would search around for a fun-looking hotel. We were going with my parents on this trip, and we all decided that the Jay Peak Resort was where we wanted to be. We also invited my brother, Danny, and his family to come along, but they were going to Boston.
About to go on our trip!
We set off early in the morning for our five-hour drive. Along the way we made a few stops, bathroom breaks and such, then we continued on our way. We arrived to the resort around 10 am.
We could tell from the outside that this was going to be a lovely hotel. And it was! We had purchased a suite and it didn’t disappoint! We had two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, living room, the works!
The hotel
Menu from one of the hotel’s pricey restaurants
Now I’m going to be blunt. Here’s what I didn’t like about this trip:
We got bunk beds…
My parents got a king-sized bed
1) We were promised two rooms with king-sized beds. We got one room with a king-sized bed and one room with bunk beds. Yes, bunk beds. Henry slept on the top bunk, I slept on the bottom bunk with baby Henry, and Evangeline slept in a pack-n-play the hotel graciously let us use. Bunk beds! I still cannot wrap my head around this. And then when I called the front desk to complain, they basically told me that I had to suck it up. It was the only thing available. Then they told me to take it up with Groupon. I called Groupon and they told me to file a complaint after I left the hotel. More on what happened with them later.
2) This Resort was basically in the middle of nowhere. There was nowhere to go
. 
We traveled for many miles before we hit a restaurant… that was open! The restaurants were closed! More on that wonderful restaurant later. So if you want to go to Jay, Vermont, all you’ll see is the Jay Peak Resort.
3) The indoor water park was smaller than we had surmised from the picture. We thought it was going to be something grand, but it wasn’t. However, baby Henry was not disappointed and actually had a blast. In truth, we had a blast as well, as evidenced from the smiles on our faces. More importantly, my parents had a blast as well!
Going to the water park!
Little miss relaxing…
My parents with my son
My mom having a blast on the lazy susan
Heading to the East Side… Restaurant!
Okay, so let’s talk about this restaurant, the East Side. We visited two other restaurants (closed) before we found this gem. And we had an idea it must’ve been good because it was crowded! And we were right! The restaurant sat right next to a lake and it was a wonderful view. It was basically dining al fresco! The windows were open with just a mesh lining protecting us from flies.
Loved this place!
On the menu we saw prime rib for a startling $22. $22?!?! For a prime rib?? Where and never!!!! No one sells prime rib that cheap!!! We ordered three. When they finally arrived (there were only two waiters on hand for a crowd of 30-40 people) we sliced into the most juiciest prime rib I have ever tasted. It was mouth-watering. It arrived with au jus and I can’t even describe to you the deliciousness that I was tasting. Everything about this place was great.
Okay, now here’s the super crazy part. My mom wanted her prime rib cooked a bit more. Meanwhile, Henry put his prime rib over mine because we were going to take ours home. We were stuffed! The cut was so thick! So when we called the waiter over to cook my mom’s prime rib a tiny bit more, he saw my plat with one prime rib over another and I guess he assumed I didn’t eat it. He asked me if I wanted mine cooked a bit more as well. I said sure. When he came back, he brought two entirely new prime ribs. Yes!! So we essentially got 5 prime ribs for the price of 5!! They were a bit tougher to chew than the originals which really goes to show that prime rib should be cooked well and not anything more. What a wonderful place. I didn’t want to leave, but alas, everyone left and there were only a few of us left.
The next day we packed everything up and started on our way home. I had forgotten to bring enough diapers for Evangeline, so our mission for that morning, before heading home, was to look for diapers. Good luck finding them in such a small town! We must’ve traveled almost an hour before we found a supermarket. Previously, we had found a few in a gas station, but they were the wrong size. Then we found another pack in another gas station but they wanted to sell us two diapers and a small pack of wipes for about $10. Noooooo!!!! A pack of like 20 diapers costs about $8 at the supermarket. I’m not cheap, but I also don’t want to throw money away!!
Goodbye Vermont!
Once we got the diapers we were en route to our casa.
The first thing I did the next day was call Groupon and complain. We paid for two-king sized beds in a suite. If I had known they were not going to give that to us, we would’ve gotten the other promotion offered on Groupon. The rep from Groupon said she would call the hotel and ask them for some sort of a refund. I knew the hotel was going to refuse, which they did.
Someone from the hotel said they had no record of me complaining the day we got there. Groupon said there was nothing they could do. I let it be. A few days later, someone else from Groupon wrote me and asked if I had been satisfied with their service. I said no. They asked me how they could make everything better. I refused to engage. Once they told me there was nothing they could do, I was done with them.
Goodbye Groupon, you are dead to me now. And Jay Peak Resort you are dead to me as well. I visited you once, I won’t do it again. If you’re going to visit this resort, be prepared to only stay at the resort. Until you want to drive many miles for a juicy prime rib. Although in truth, it is worth it for the taste.
So folks, that is my review of this hotel, their shoddy service, and an off-the-grounds wonderful restaurant!
Jay Peak Resort Review is a post that first appeared on the website: Baby Henry Likes on July 22 2016.
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