A Weekend for Couples in Stowe

About five miles up Mountain Road from the tidy Vermont village of Stowe, Topnotch Resort isn’t quite at the top of Smugglers Notch. There are still another couple of miles to go before the road narrows to weave through a tumble of giant boulders that mark the crest of the pass over the highest of the Green Mountains.

But there’s no “almost” in the other half of the double-entendre that makes up the resort’s name. It was top-notch from the greeting at reception (and the hot-from-the-oven cookies and coffee always available in the lobby) to the “have a safe trip” as the bellman closed the trunk of our car on our luggage two days later.

West Branch Gallery and Sculpture Park in Stowe, Vermont © Stillman Rogers

We’d come to Stowe for a getaway weekend in that sweet spot in the fall, just before everyone in the Northeast descends on Vermont to enjoy the fall colors. The upper slopes of Mt Mansfield, which we could see from the windows that filled one wall of our large room, had only a few scattered dots of yellow leaves as a promise of the reds and oranges that would follow. The weather was still warm — so warm we spent an hour in the pool to refresh after an afternoon of gallery hopping in the village.

We could see both heated outdoor pools (there are two, one reserved for adults) from our room, and above them the distinctive profile of Mt Mansfield. The view was even better the next morning with the mountain bathed in sunlight, and later that evening as the sky above it turned orange with the setting sun.

We savored the sunset view over dinner on the terrace, which, like our room, overlooks the mountains. It was still warm enough that, like several other couples, we chose to dine outdoors although the dining room’s floor-to-ceiling glass wall opens it to the same view. But our attention was soon drawn from the orange sky to the plates before us.

Dinner began with warm, crusty rosemary bread as we sipped, respectively, a mango martini and a glass of local hard cider. The latter was an appropriate choice for a dinner designed by a chef at the forefront of the state’s farm-to-table movement, known as Vermont Fresh Network. Executive Chef Adam Noe uses ingredients from local farms, dairies and producers, as well as breweries and winemakers. The rest of Topnotch follows the same ethic: The spa works with local brewers and soap-makers to make the lotions and hops-infused treatments.

The spa wasn’t on our agenda this trip, but dining was. I rarely order duck because it is so often disappointing, but was glad I made an exception here. The meat was evenly rare (not raw) and meltingly tender, the skin crisp and flavorful. It was served over a mound of charred Brussels sprouts, which Sous Chef Ryan LaJoie later told us he flash-fries in hot oil to bring out the deep flavors. They stood up well to the richly flavored duck. The seafood risotto was filled with shellfish — a whole lobster tail and claw, large sea scallops, briny tender shrimp and mussels, subtly flavored with fresh fennel.

Vermont, Stowe, Smugglers Notch, Route 108 © Stillman Rogers

There is plenty more for couples to do in Stowe. We drove to the top of Smugglers Notch, walked among the giant boulders and found the smuggler’s cave. We took the chairlift to the top of Mount Mansfield and walked along the ridge line on the Long Trail. And we drove into town for an afternoon of browsing the several art galleries and craft shops. The range of talent was impressive; many feature works of local artists, and we saw more in the exhibition at the Helen Day Arts Center.

Stowe is only a few miles off Interstate 89, which can be reached from southern New England via I-91 from Hartford and New Haven, or I-93 from Boston. Although best known as one of Vermont’s premier ski resort towns, Stowe has plenty of outdoor and cultural activities to make it a year-round getaway destination.