Best Summer Timeshare in New Hampshire for a Family

Hi,

Looking for the best summer timeshare in New Hampshire for a family. Something that becomes available in RCI.

Thanks.

A couple questions.....

What part of New Hampshire.
How old are the kids.
What season - summer or winter.

Yes...I'd have the same questions as the previous poster. I know you said summer for the season....but which part of the state are you thinking of? It's beautiful, and there are many great RCI places there. Do you have any in mind as of yet? And what amenities are important to you?

persia said:

Hi,

Looking for the best summer timeshare in New Hampshire for a family. Something that becomes available in RCI.

Thanks.

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I have only been to a couple of timeshares in New Hampshire. We really like Pollard Brook in Lincoln because it is central to a lot of activities. The resort itself has a nice indoor/outdoor pool and hot tubs, and exercise facility. We have rented there and continue to rent on occasion. Going for XMAS week this year and was there last XMAS and had a nice time. We stayed in the Jackman Building- 2 bedroom. Unit is very nice. They do have some scheduled activities. The town is right there- has a movie theater, some shopping and restaurants, as well as Jeannie's Playhouse for live theater. Loon is right down the road. Then, you also easily visit surrounding areas of which there is plenty to do. COG Railway up Mount Washington, Cruise on Lake Winnepausauke, Lost River, Ruggles Mine, Clarks Trading Post, StoryLand, Train Museum, list goes on and on. Drive the Kancamangus Highway for breathtaking scenery; visit Echo Lake for swimming in Franconia Notch, hike to Diana's Baths (waterfalls), if you are willing to drive a bit there is always something to see or do.

This Fall we have exchanged (through DAE) into South Mountain which is right down the road from Pollard Brook. Never stayed there so can't comment to how it is, but I hear it is nice- a kind of "sister" resort to Pollard Brook, although it has new ownership (Blue/Green). South Mountain is undergoing major renovation right now, also. Might be done- don't know.Pollard Brook is Innseasons. We are looking forward to seeing the Highland Games which are scheduled at Loon the week we are there.

Have not stayed at Loon, so can't speak to how it is as a timeshare.

We have stayed at Crown Ridge in North Conway, which is basically a townhouse in the woods- this was years ago, but wasn't impressed. Although the townhome was nice, there was nothing going on at the resort. They do have an indoor pool and that's about it. And, we stayed at the Suites at Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway, which we liked. Both good for base to go to visit the areas I mentioned above, but not what you would call a "Family" resort. We liked that you could just walk, since it is right in the heart of North Conway. We stayed at Grand Summit, also- again- ok- but more of a Hotel feel to it. Pool outside. Good base for excursions.

Farther south we have stayed at Cold Spring in Ashland. We stayed in a town home on the golf course. Very nice, but had to drive to main building for pool (indoor/outdoor). There are only a few townhomes- the rest are condos, which I heard are not so nice. Again, not a family activity kind of place, but for more of a base in the Lakes region to visit other areas and attractions like Polar Caves, Squam Lake, Newfound Lake, Natural History Museum in Concord, etc. And you can head North from here as well to visit the areas mentioned.

With kids, I personally would stay in the Northern Region, like Lincoln, Waterville Valley, or Bartlett (Suites at Attitash -heard these are nice). If you can, try to at least get a gold crown resort. Good luck!

Sorry...I didn't see the summer noted in the OP.

Personally, I like the White Mountain region. With or without kids in tow.

You can stay on either side of "the kang".

Lincoln Side: My favorite side. My first choice would be InnSeason South Mountain. My second choice is InnSeason Pollard brook. Why....SM is located in town - a quick walk to restaurants, movie theater, railroad, shops, grocery, etc. Also, it is a smaller resort and both indoor and outdoor pool is just steps from your room. Only downside with SM is no laundry (at least the last time I was there)

Pollard Brook is very nice - but it up the road a tiny bit and to get to places you wish you will need to hop in the car for a quick ride. The pool locations is not as much of an issue in the summer vs the winter. Burrr...when you have to get back to your room all wet!

The Lincoln side to me offers what I want to go to NH for. Being outdoors, enjoying the natural beauty of NH. There is the Lost River, Clarks Trading Post, Franconia Notch, the Flume Gorge and Santa's Village just to name a few things.


The other side is the North Conway side. We stay also.....but to me has more of a commercial feel to it (not what I want). Outlet malls, chain stores, chain restaurants, etc.

On the North Conway side - I would suggest either Eastern Slope Inn Suites (right downtown and easy walk to stores, restaurants, etc) or Attitash Mountain Village which is a bit further from central North Conway - but it reminds me of a camp ground....but with much better accommodations! Also, a short drive to StoryLand. We have stayed also in a 2BR Mountain View at Crown Ridge - wasn't impressed. Very basic accommodations and the twin beds in the 2nd bedroom had no pads - just a cheap sheet over the mattress which had more stains than I care to remember. Ooh yeah....and the fact they had mouse traps in the cabinets was in issue for me.

In the summer, check out what the ski resorts are offering. Many of them have converted to Summer adventure parks. Great for kids and adults. My favorite is Cranmore for this type of day.

I believe I read that South Mountain has laundry facilities. When we stayed at Pollard Brook, we were lucky that the laundry facilities were located right next door to our unit.

Also, Pollard Brook does have locker rooms and what I did in winter is just bring some clothes to change into when I left the pool area. Not really a big deal. Also- adults can dry up in the sauna.

mdurette- glad to hear you like South Mountain. We are really looking forward to staying there in Sept. We exchanged down to a one bedroom and I am going to call the week before to see if I can get one with 2 bathrooms and on a top floor. Any suggestions as to the best building or units?

If you are able to trade into Eastern Slope Inn- be sure to get the "Suites" and not the smaller inn units- 2 separate numbers with RCI. The Suites are nice and big. Near the Railroad tracks- literally- the Conway Scenic Railroad- but that is part of the charm.

Deer Park in Lincoln is nice enough (it's a quartershare), all the other RCI resorts in Lincoln are problematic. Mountainside at Loon Mtn is like a hotel with the staff from hell unless they fired the whole old staff. If you don't mind Bartlett, Grand Summit at Attitash is nice, but it is rather hotel like and has little in amenities other than the pool.

My recent trip to Pollard Brook had it's problems, from check in delays, not being able to get a light bulb replaced to a report of mice problems at the Jackman building.

If there's nothing in New Hampshire, Vermont has availability in RCI for next summer.

I own at Cold Spring in Ashland, NH...I agree that the townhouse (sleeps 8) condos are much nicer than the sleeps 6 units, but both are passable. This resort has indoor and outdoor pools, an activities program (crafts and trips in the van)...this place is a favorite with my kids. Close to most anything in southern NH, VT is 50 minutes away, and Storyland is only an hour.

I agree that Deer Park is quite nice. Just across I-93 from Lincoln in Woodstock. Not far to VT, Franconia Notch is on the doorstep...great location.

We also like Waterville Valley....there are Mountain Sun Quartershares and Inns at Waterville Valley. Access to indoor/outdoor pools, hiking/etc. The hard thing with these resorts is that it's several miles off I-93 into the resorts, so we tended to make one trip in/out in a day.

We were at Villages of Loon Mountain with my parents....but that was 16 years ago. I remember that the pools were nice, but that's about it!

We've stayed at the Eastern Slope Inn in the Inn itself...a 2 BR unit that was really 3 connecting hotel rooms...we liked that fine. So convenient to everything in North Conway! And Cranmore has an Adventure Park which would be right there!

So many nice resorts! I think that perhaps you'll want to pick your desired location, and then find something to fit. Good luck! New Hampshire/Maine/Vermont are beautiful in summer!

tonyg said:

Deer Park in Lincoln is nice enough (it's a quartershare), all the other RCI resorts in Lincoln are problematic. Mountainside at Loon Mtn is like a hotel with the staff from hell unless they fired the whole old staff. If you don't mind Bartlett, Grand Summit at Attitash is nice, but it is rather hotel like and has little in amenities other than the pool.

My recent trip to Pollard Brook had it's problems, from check in delays, not being able to get a light bulb replaced to a report of mice problems at the Jackman building.

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Maybe because we were there during XMAS week and it is more quiet (although not that much- the resort seemed to be full), but we had the opposite experience in the Jackman Buidling at Pollard Brook. We felt the staff went out of their way to make our stay comfortable- so much so that we left a tip which we never do for a timeshare visit. I agree about Grand Summit. Never been to Deer Park or Loon for a stay.

missyrcrews said:

I own at Cold Spring in Ashland, NH...I agree that the townhouse (sleeps 8) condos are much nicer than the sleeps 6 units, but both are passable. This resort has indoor and outdoor pools, an activities program (crafts and trips in the van)...this place is a favorite with my kids. Close to most anything in southern NH, VT is 50 minutes away, and Storyland is only an hour.

I agree that Deer Park is quite nice. Just across I-93 from Lincoln in Woodstock. Not far to VT, Franconia Notch is on the doorstep...great location.

We also like Waterville Valley....there are Mountain Sun Quartershares and Inns at Waterville Valley. Access to indoor/outdoor pools, hiking/etc. The hard thing with these resorts is that it's several miles off I-93 into the resorts, so we tended to make one trip in/out in a day.

We were at Villages of Loon Mountain with my parents....but that was 16 years ago. I remember that the pools were nice, but that's about it!

We've stayed at the Eastern Slope Inn in the Inn itself...a 2 BR unit that was really 3 connecting hotel rooms...we liked that fine. So convenient to everything in North Conway! And Cranmore has an Adventure Park which would be right there!

So many nice resorts! I think that perhaps you'll want to pick your desired location, and then find something to fit. Good luck! New Hampshire/Maine/Vermont are beautiful in summer!

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We like Cold Spring in that our only child lives 10 minutes away. It isn't bad at all- we stayed there when he graduated college at Plymouth. But, it is lacking in other ways- depends what you are looking for in a resort. We like the pools just fine.

mpumilia said:

We like Cold Spring in that our only child lives 10 minutes away. It isn't bad at all- we stayed there when he graduated college at Plymouth. But, it is lacking in other ways- depends what you are looking for in a resort. We like the pools just fine.

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Our oldest is a senior in high school this year, and PSU is at the top of his list. He says the area feels like home since we've vacationed there so many years....since 2001!

missyrcrews said:

Our oldest is a senior in high school this year, and PSU is at the top of his list. He says the area feels like home since we've vacationed there so many years....since 2001!

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Oh, That's so funny! Our son graduated PSU in 2010 and never came back home!