Mt.WashingtonHotel

New Hampshire's Omni Mt. Washington Resort Marries Foliage and 5-Star

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

Snuggled in among the 800,000 acres of the White Mountain National Forest, settled at the base of the 6,288-foot Mt. Washington, is the Omni Mt. Washington Resort. Although it sounds singular -- and in many ways it is -- the resort is actually a group of four properties: the epic Spanish Renaissance edifice and National Historic Landmark that houses the Mt. Washington Hotel, the 19th century Bretton Arms Inn, The Lodge, and The Townhomes.

Among them there are nearly 300 rooms in addition to the 80 townhomes. Even better: there's a ghost. Now, ghosts in New England aren't exactly uncommon -- departed souls apparently have a thing for clam chowder -- but this ghost is royalty, and has her own lounge. Princess Carolyn Stickney Faucigny-Lucinge was the widow of the Mt. Washington's owner, and word is she's not ready to let go of her castle.

If you hurry, you can sneak in for the resorts Fall Colors package, which offers fall views, daily breakfast, and a carriage ride but ends October 28. If you can't make it by then there is still plenty to do: fourteen places to eat means you'll never be hungry, and working off the kilojoules can be done with alpine and Nordic skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, ice climbing and snow tubing, sleigh rides, winter hiking trails, a Canopy Tour on 10 ziplines... or the 25,000 square foot spa, because nothing says workout like "all-day massage."

Nightcaps won't be a problem either, since the resort has enough drinking spots to justify its opening its own distillery if it chose. And apres-ski, if you do your best Balzac impression and arrive with 50 pairs of gloves -- we hear princesses really like them -- perhaps the Her Highness Faucigny-Lucinge will join you. If you don't want to wait for her, ask for room 314 -- it's her favorite... haunt.

Gallery: Omni Mt. Washington Resort