We absolutely love the North Conway, New Hampshire area, especially in the summer. It has mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and of course Storyland.
We’ve stayed at a variety of places each time we’ve visited. This trip we checked out a hotel new to us, The Eagle Mountain House in Jackson.
Upon arriving I was a bit nervous. This beautiful historic hotel was set on top of a private road, surrounded by mountains in the distance and a golf course around it. There were antiques and pretty things and all I could think was, “oh no, this is not going to be kid friendly.” My concerns were heightened since Jacob’s current favorite pastime includes breaking all the things.
My concerns were immediately put at ease. Craig, one of the managers approached us in the lobby as we checked in. Speaking directly to Jacob and Anika, he welcomed them and complimented their backpacks. They were each given an Eagle Mountain House carabiner keychain to clip to them, which made him my kids new BFF. The best part was he also gave them the Eagle Mountain House Kids Passport booklet. He explained this booklet contained various complimentary activities going on each day of the week at the hotel. There was also an ongoing scavenger hunt that kids could work on during their stay and turn into the front desk for a prize. This was such an unexpected surprise that made the kids and I both very pleased.
We dropped off our stuff in the room and then Anika and Jacob immediately wanted to check out the pool. It had a great location, private and tucked away, but still close to the hotel. It was beautiful, with lots of chairs surrounding it, not that we used them because young children does not equal sitting ever. Heated to a comfortable temperature, the pool was great for the hot weather. Another family with young kids arrived shortly after us which was wonderful because it gave Anika someone to play with and always makes me feel a little less uncomfortable. I like knowing that if my kids go into melt down mode there are other people around who totally get it and will be unbothered.
After swimming for a bit we decided to check out one the of the kids passport activities, cupcake decorating. We saw Craig in the lobby and he explained that it was a pre made kit for the kids to complete whenever it was convenient for us. We had some time before dinner so the kids got to work immediately. Not surprisingly, they loved this activity….almost as much as eating the cupcake later.
We had dinner at the restaurant Eagle Mountain has on site, another one of the things I loved about this place. We didn’t have to leave unless we wanted to. Any day I don’t have to put kids in and out of a car seat an extra time in one day is a good day. The dining room was kid friendly and our waitress, Nicole was great with Anika and Jacob.
The next day we were up early to check out Storyland! We have done an annual trip since Anika turned one and its one of my favorite days of the summer. Highlights this year included Jake reaching a height of 36 inches and being able to go on most rides, with the exception of a couple of the biggest ones. Doing rides as a family, when in previous visits Jake and I had to watch from the sidelines, was wonderful.
Jacob finally had the opportunity to go on his first roller coaster. He let everyone know how he was “big” and “tall” and was going on the Polar Coaster. After the ride he said he loved it.
We watched the ” Camp Fairy Tales” show this year, which included the children being able to dance in a swarm of bubbles, so really what’s not to love?
After our fill of rides we headed back to the hotel where Jacob crashed and napped hard while Anika enjoyed some hotel cable television. After everyone had sufficiently rested we went for another swim.
Before diner we checked out the hotel’s game room and let the kids (and Jamie and I) each pick one game to play.
The next morning before checkout we spent some time attempting to complete the scavenger hunt. We searched for things like an acorn, leaf, pinecone, rock, golf ball, pen, etc. Although a couple of objects short, we turned it into the front desk anyway. Anika and Jacob each received a sweet little stuffed moose. They got so much joy out of simply searching for the objects on the list that a sticker would have made their day, but this of course was a total hit.
Since we have started down the path to learning how to simplify our lives and prioritize what really matters, I’ve heard the phrase “experiences over things” time and time again. I’m happy to say at this point we are truly living it. We had a wonderful mini vacation and can’t wait to get back to the North Conway area, Eagle Mountain House, and of course Storyland.
