Tälta Lodge Is Stowe’s New Hipster Haven

The resort town of Stowe, Vermont has long offered an idyllic Currier & Ives kind of experience, a small and charming village with its share of red cottages, white Greek Revival houses and vintage Saabs and Subarus. Then add some cute shops, restaurants, bars and brewpubs, tossing in the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum and enough “quaint” to satisfy the most fanatical Grandma Moses devotee. What you end up with is the most picturesque ski town in the Northeast.

That town is the anchor for a pretty dynamic mountain experience around Stowe Resort, just outside of town, which itself revolves around 4,395 foot Mt. Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont. Bought by Vail Resorts a few years ago, Stowe is the supercharged glamour mountain of the East.

While the town is known for its traditional lodges, it now has a new place with a hipster vibe that’s ready for a younger crowd. Tälta Lodge has just opened, positioned as a contemporary take on the classic 1960’s mountain lodges. The lodge already had the requisite DNA, since the architects and designers were working with a vintage Stowe motel, The Mountaineer.

“Tälta” is the Swedish word for “camp” and the owners have indeed aimed to make this a basecamp for adventures in the mountains of Vermont. It features 49 rooms and three suites and is a far cry from the ski lodging of old in many ways. There are plush beds, revamped interiors and mountain-style furnishings. Interiors lean towards Scandinavian minimalist.

The rooms are pet-friendly and designed for skiers, backcountry skiers, uphill skiers and mountain lovers of all stripes, whether they’re here to snowshoe or cross country ski or hit Stowe’s boutiques. There’s also an indoor pool and sauna, ski lockers and boot drying rooms, as well as a fire pit for apres ski gatherings.

Available in a variety of configurations from standard kings to bunk rooms, most rooms also include handy modular gear walls for ski and mountain biking storage. There is access to the Stowe recreation trail and private decks to take in the views.

Located near the historic downtown village of Stowe, a town that draws families and thrill seekers in equal measure, Tälta Lodge is the third property to join the ranks of the Bluebird Hotels portfolio, which itself is a subsidiary of Lark Hotels. The other two are Bluebird Park Beach Lodge on Cape Cod and Bluebird Spa City Motor Lodge in Saratoga Springs, New York. Next year will see the openings of the Bluebird Hunter in the Catskills, Bluebird Dennis Port in Cape Cod, and Bluebird Sunapee in New Hampshire. All of these properties are themed along the lines of classic American road trip hotels. Bluebird says that “by breathing new life into existing motor lodge properties, Bluebird accommodations are accessibly-priced, opening up a world of adventure to all travelers.”

Indeed, with room rates in the mid $200’s midweek in January, it’s an affordable option in a town where that word is rarely, if ever, used. Situated on the banks of the West Branch of the Little River, Tälta Lodge is located on the Mountain Road, about halfway between the ski resort and the town.

More info at Bluebird Tälta Lodge.