Equinox Resort & Spa
Age-old pursuits meet a modern twist.

By Brigid Sweeney

Don't be fooled by the white-pillared façade: At the ripe age of 239, the Equinox is neither staid nor stodgy. Even if it were, you'd be too out-of-breath to notice. Like most Vermont resorts, there's great skiing (on Bromley Mountain's 1,300-foot vertical drop), snoeshowing, biking, and canoeing. Unlike most Vermont resorts, the Equinox has a Country Pursuits program that teaches guests to off-road in souped-up Land Rovers, face off against realistic animal targets during archery, and mingle with a beady-eyed falcon.

Despite the outdoor offerings, it's the Equinox's interior that's generating buzz.

By June, all 183 rooms at the resort will have shed their pine furniture in favor of modern décor by New York designer Geoffrey Bradfield.

The Colonnade restaurant serves up generous breakfasts, while the Marsh Tavern has entrées like fork-tender lamb osso buco. After dinner, cozy up to Vermont-quarried stone fireplaces and gather around a board game. When the living's this easy, you may find yourself leaving the likes of falconry to the birds.

Equinox Resort & Spa
3567 Main St. (Rte. 7A), Manchester Village, VT, 800-362-4747, equinoxresort.com.
AMENITIES: 13,000-square-foot spa and fitness facility, 18-hole Rees Jones golf course, heated indoor pool, three tennis courts ACTIVITIES: Falconry, off-road driving, skeet-shooting, fly-fishing, archery, tennis, golf, hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sleigh rides, yoga, Pilates
WHAT'S NEW: Complete interior renovation to be completed by June
NUMBER OF ROOMS: 183
COST PER NIGHT: $300–$800

Woodstock Inn & Resort
All that's missing are actors in this movie-ready setting.

By Matthew Reed Baker

Among Vermont towns, Woodstock might go the furthest in perfecting the Green Mountain State's cultivated image of rustic luxury. The town has the most idyllic village green, bordered on one side by the Woodstock Inn & Resort, which, thankfully, manages to skirt clichés of quaintness by providing modern accommodations, copious outdoor activities, and genuinely warm service.

Following backroads past apple orchards and old wooden barns, we drove into Woodstock, thinking we'd somehow stumbled onto a movie set. Old maples form canopies over streets lined with stately brick homes; a covered bridge leads to a series of storefronts proffering such New England curios as yarn, wooden toys, and homemade soap. At the center of it all is the resort—a five-minute walk from everything, and a five-minute drive from nearby Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. Developed by Laurence Rockefeller, the resort has a Robert Trent Jones Sr. golf course, hiking trails up and around Mount Peg, and the Suicide Six ski area, where guests get free lift tickets on winter weekdays.

For all the inn's luxe charms, our favorite amenities turned out to be the bikes rented to guests for $5 a day. On one mild afternoon, we pedaled to a pumpkin festival at a local church, along more covered bridges, and over to Billings Farm & Museum to pet baby cows and bear witness to the transformation of cream into butter. Later that afternoon, we repaired to the resort's 42,000-square-foot fitness center for massages and a swim. Dinner in town and drinks at the inn's cozy Richardson's Tavern polished off the night. And when we finally retired, our newly refurbished room with its four-poster bed was calming, comforting, and—yes—delightfully quaint.

Woodstock Inn & Resort
14 The Green, Woodstock, VT, 800-448-7900, woodstockinn.com.
AMENITIES: Fitness center with four-lane pool, full gym, tennis courts, yoga classes, and spa services; Suicide Six ski area; 18-hole golf course; two restaurants
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, biking, skiing, golf,
leaf-peeping, shopping, Billings Farm
WHAT'S NEW: Renovated and redesigned restaurant and rooms, including handmade Shackleton furniture in many suites; 12,000-square-foot, full-service luxury spa to open in fall 2009
NUMBER OF ROOMS: 142
COST PER NIGHT: $235–$1,200