Super-fun experience at the culinary experience at the Essex Resort in Essex, VT. Our instructor, Denise, led us through the recipes and techniques to create a wonderful Vermont dinner that included roasted root vegetables, braised chicken (in dark beer and demi-glacé) with shallots and a variety of mushrooms, and a lovely kale salad. We were given the opportunity to decorate autumn themed sugar cookies as well as dip tiny apples into a luscious caramel coating. A small group of 9 students made the experience very intimate. Our meal was served with wine and fresh bread accompanied by an herbed compound butter. Denise was a perfect instructor and I would recommend the experience to anyone who loves to cook.
jjjD4147IH
We found this resort to be understaffed. Not the cleanest of rooms. Not the most thorough of housekeeping during our stay. Beyond its prime. Although the spa experience was fine. We were denied a quick early morning breakfast at their tavern because we lacked a reservation. It was virtually empty for the next hour or so...
535ehsanm
Very nice resort with great Spa. Their customer service was unique. They accommodate to move us into another room in middle of night and did their best to make our stay a pleasant one. Highly recommend this place
sgardensrig
Average 3 star hotel, mold chunks came out of the vent in the shower while showering. Carpets are stained. Beds were very soft and comfortable but the room itself was average. For $420/night it was way overpriced and not at all luxury. No daily housekeeping to replace in room coffee/tea. The Tavern food was average to terrible especially for a culinary resort. Sunday brunch was actually one of the worst we’ve ever had, even an egg sandwich was not made correctly. An overly expensive weekend for an underwhelming experience. Don’t recommend and won’t be going back.
cgirard78
The cooking class was so much fun. We got there and were greeted by the chef who was amazing. She gave us an appetizer. Then showed us what we would be making. We had options and got to taste it all before we started cooking. She gave us free rein of how we wanted to make ours. The food was amazing, and the class size was small so we could get any questions answered. I highly recommend this if you want to do something different. I plan to go again.
Audster2012
Extremely disappointed in this “luxury “ resort. The fridge in our room was not working properly which resulted in our throwing out all the food we had purchased. The toilet sounded like it was going to come off the wall, making a loud banging noise, the bed has certainly seen better days, lumpy and creaky. Restaurants are very overpriced for the quality.
Cathy H
20 minutes from Burlington, VT, this resort was a lovely, quiet place to get away from it all. We were in the area to cycle along the wonderful Trail Line to South Hero and enjoyed staying at this peaceful accommodation. We enjoyed the pretty landscaped grounds and the screened in room listening to live entertainment over a casual dinner one evening. While we found the formal dining room expensive, we greatly enjoyed a wonderful dining experience at the Winooski Falls restaurant, Waterworks which was close by. While the pool looked relaxing, we ran out of time to enjoy it. Morning coffee and afternoon refreshments were enjoyed in the lobby.
Y156ZOolivias
Our experience ant the Esssex was terrible. I mentioned we were celebrating my daughter’s birthday and they offered a “special” room. The room was dark and overlooked the dumpsters. We asked for another room and were accommodated. The room was not clean. Ring marks from someone else’s drink, very dusty. We settled into the room. The toilet broke our first night just before bed, and we had to stay up waiting for maintenance. It broke again the next day. We had maintenance come again. It broke a third time and we just decided to use the public restrooms in the building. It was only a two night stay and we were exhausted and frustrated. My daughter had a terrible experience at the spa. We spoke to another spa guest and they said the same - massage felt like a quick, light, ineffective rub down. When we shared our experience with spa check in, they offered to adjust our gratuity down from an automatic 22% to 20%. Thanks. The chef table at Junction is fun and worth a visit. We went twice and it was the highlight of our trip. I highly recommend. There are plenty of lovely places to stay in Burlington. This is no longer one of them.
robertsM5924UV
I really wanted to love this place. We went to Essex Junction to visit a friend and decided to splurge. On the plus side, it's attractive, cozy, clean and the grounds are really nice. It's definitely a 4 star price, but hardly a luxury experience. The room was unexceptional and a bit small. No microwave. The bathroom was dated, tiny and had no counter space. The faucet dripped. The shower had no grab bar or hand shower spray. The tub had rust spots and a poorly executed repair of the enamel. There are not enough convenient parking spaces. No one offered to help with our luggage. For $400 a night, one might expect some kind of breakfast offering - there is a coffee urn in the lobby and they will sell you a muffin or croissant. I've had superior amenities at a Hilton Garden Inn for 1/3 the price. I see a lot of glowing reviews, so this is apparently a good fit for many people, and perhaps you are among them. Maybe the spa and the culinary features and pool and fitness center are wonderful - but we went for none of these (you are still charged a $29/day "resort fee"). In my opinion, if you're just looking for a nice place to stay, you might want to consider other options. Sorry, Essex, it wasn't a bad experience - just not the great one we had hoped for.
Google user
Excellent food and service. Great local VT cheese board, perfectly cooked and prepared pork tenderloin, homemade pasta, fresh vegetables etc. Great cocktails and wine / beer selections. Highly recommend sitting at the chefs table to watch the food being prepared and chat with the Chefs when they have a moment to spare.
I went for a facial. It was a relaxing experience but there was very little extractions. They used lots of creams and scrubs, but my face/pores were not deep cleaned. I paid $200 for the 80 minutes, so was hoping it would be worth it!
F4632BRrobertb
Lovely hotel - big clean rooms . Room service excellent without needing to request it. Delicious cakes and coffee available from little coffee shop in reception. Good swimming pool which was very quiet when I used it . Have visited in the Summer when it was possible to make more use of grounds and garden but the grounds are still beautiful at this time of year , if a little snowy!
Momrish
Beautiful location, warm and welcoming atmosphere. The Tavern restaurant was great for casual meals. Not only are we Canadians welcome at the resort but there was a 20% discount on the room AND the Spa treatments. ??Spent 4 days with a girlfriend enjoying the Spa facilities. Fabulous services, definitely will return.
Daniel Rickerman
The staff left the restaurant floor and grill empty to go behind a rear door. We had not been served our main course. The restaurant was clearing out. When the staff returned they advised us that we had not been provided our main course because our appetizer dishes had not been cleared?!?! Were we supposed to clear our dishes? They then advised us that our main course was ready as they threw our steak on the grille? We were over an hour and a half into our dinner. Service was very poor and inattentive. Failed to listen and be attentive past our drinks/salad….. too many good options in VT to settle for poor service.
Lili S
We recently had a great three-night stay at the Essex. We were out and about a lot and in hindsight, I kind of wish we had spent more time at the hotel. The rooms (we had a king and a two queen) were pretty big and very clean. The beds were super comfortable and the towels were very nice. We drove to Sugarbush to ski one day, and it was an easy drive, even in the dark on the way back to the hotel. We went to Burlington and Stowe too - also easy drives. We had three great meals at the Essex - two at the Tavern and one at the Junction. The service, food and drinks were all terrific. The dining at the Junction was on par with or even better than top rated dinners we've had in Manhattan - amazing food and wine. Overall the whole experience was super relaxing and I would love to return.
Super-fun experience at the culinary experience at the Essex Resort in Essex, VT. Our instructor, Denise, led us through the recipes and techniques to create a wonderful Vermont dinner that included roasted root vegetables, braised chicken (in dark beer and demi-glacé) with shallots and a variety of mushrooms, and a lovely kale salad. We were given the opportunity to decorate autumn themed sugar cookies as well as dip tiny apples into a luscious caramel coating. A small group of 9 students made the experience very intimate. Our meal was served with wine and fresh bread accompanied by an herbed compound butter. Denise was a perfect instructor and I would recommend the experience to anyone who loves to cook.
We found this resort to be understaffed. Not the cleanest of rooms. Not the most thorough of housekeeping during our stay. Beyond its prime. Although the spa experience was fine. We were denied a quick early morning breakfast at their tavern because we lacked a reservation. It was virtually empty for the next hour or so...
Very nice resort with great Spa. Their customer service was unique. They accommodate to move us into another room in middle of night and did their best to make our stay a pleasant one. Highly recommend this place
Average 3 star hotel, mold chunks came out of the vent in the shower while showering. Carpets are stained. Beds were very soft and comfortable but the room itself was average. For $420/night it was way overpriced and not at all luxury. No daily housekeeping to replace in room coffee/tea. The Tavern food was average to terrible especially for a culinary resort. Sunday brunch was actually one of the worst we’ve ever had, even an egg sandwich was not made correctly. An overly expensive weekend for an underwhelming experience. Don’t recommend and won’t be going back.
The cooking class was so much fun. We got there and were greeted by the chef who was amazing. She gave us an appetizer. Then showed us what we would be making. We had options and got to taste it all before we started cooking. She gave us free rein of how we wanted to make ours. The food was amazing, and the class size was small so we could get any questions answered. I highly recommend this if you want to do something different. I plan to go again.
Extremely disappointed in this “luxury “ resort. The fridge in our room was not working properly which resulted in our throwing out all the food we had purchased. The toilet sounded like it was going to come off the wall, making a loud banging noise, the bed has certainly seen better days, lumpy and creaky. Restaurants are very overpriced for the quality.
20 minutes from Burlington, VT, this resort was a lovely, quiet place to get away from it all. We were in the area to cycle along the wonderful Trail Line to South Hero and enjoyed staying at this peaceful accommodation. We enjoyed the pretty landscaped grounds and the screened in room listening to live entertainment over a casual dinner one evening. While we found the formal dining room expensive, we greatly enjoyed a wonderful dining experience at the Winooski Falls restaurant, Waterworks which was close by. While the pool looked relaxing, we ran out of time to enjoy it. Morning coffee and afternoon refreshments were enjoyed in the lobby.
Our experience ant the Esssex was terrible. I mentioned we were celebrating my daughter’s birthday and they offered a “special” room. The room was dark and overlooked the dumpsters. We asked for another room and were accommodated. The room was not clean. Ring marks from someone else’s drink, very dusty. We settled into the room. The toilet broke our first night just before bed, and we had to stay up waiting for maintenance. It broke again the next day. We had maintenance come again. It broke a third time and we just decided to use the public restrooms in the building. It was only a two night stay and we were exhausted and frustrated. My daughter had a terrible experience at the spa. We spoke to another spa guest and they said the same - massage felt like a quick, light, ineffective rub down. When we shared our experience with spa check in, they offered to adjust our gratuity down from an automatic 22% to 20%. Thanks. The chef table at Junction is fun and worth a visit. We went twice and it was the highlight of our trip. I highly recommend. There are plenty of lovely places to stay in Burlington. This is no longer one of them.
I really wanted to love this place. We went to Essex Junction to visit a friend and decided to splurge. On the plus side, it's attractive, cozy, clean and the grounds are really nice. It's definitely a 4 star price, but hardly a luxury experience. The room was unexceptional and a bit small. No microwave. The bathroom was dated, tiny and had no counter space. The faucet dripped. The shower had no grab bar or hand shower spray. The tub had rust spots and a poorly executed repair of the enamel. There are not enough convenient parking spaces. No one offered to help with our luggage. For $400 a night, one might expect some kind of breakfast offering - there is a coffee urn in the lobby and they will sell you a muffin or croissant. I've had superior amenities at a Hilton Garden Inn for 1/3 the price. I see a lot of glowing reviews, so this is apparently a good fit for many people, and perhaps you are among them. Maybe the spa and the culinary features and pool and fitness center are wonderful - but we went for none of these (you are still charged a $29/day "resort fee"). In my opinion, if you're just looking for a nice place to stay, you might want to consider other options. Sorry, Essex, it wasn't a bad experience - just not the great one we had hoped for.
Excellent food and service. Great local VT cheese board, perfectly cooked and prepared pork tenderloin, homemade pasta, fresh vegetables etc. Great cocktails and wine / beer selections. Highly recommend sitting at the chefs table to watch the food being prepared and chat with the Chefs when they have a moment to spare.
Restaurantji Recommends
I went for a facial. It was a relaxing experience but there was very little extractions. They used lots of creams and scrubs, but my face/pores were not deep cleaned. I paid $200 for the 80 minutes, so was hoping it would be worth it!
Lovely hotel - big clean rooms . Room service excellent without needing to request it. Delicious cakes and coffee available from little coffee shop in reception. Good swimming pool which was very quiet when I used it . Have visited in the Summer when it was possible to make more use of grounds and garden but the grounds are still beautiful at this time of year , if a little snowy!
Beautiful location, warm and welcoming atmosphere. The Tavern restaurant was great for casual meals. Not only are we Canadians welcome at the resort but there was a 20% discount on the room AND the Spa treatments. ??Spent 4 days with a girlfriend enjoying the Spa facilities. Fabulous services, definitely will return.
The staff left the restaurant floor and grill empty to go behind a rear door. We had not been served our main course. The restaurant was clearing out. When the staff returned they advised us that we had not been provided our main course because our appetizer dishes had not been cleared?!?! Were we supposed to clear our dishes? They then advised us that our main course was ready as they threw our steak on the grille? We were over an hour and a half into our dinner. Service was very poor and inattentive. Failed to listen and be attentive past our drinks/salad….. too many good options in VT to settle for poor service.
We recently had a great three-night stay at the Essex. We were out and about a lot and in hindsight, I kind of wish we had spent more time at the hotel. The rooms (we had a king and a two queen) were pretty big and very clean. The beds were super comfortable and the towels were very nice. We drove to Sugarbush to ski one day, and it was an easy drive, even in the dark on the way back to the hotel. We went to Burlington and Stowe too - also easy drives. We had three great meals at the Essex - two at the Tavern and one at the Junction. The service, food and drinks were all terrific. The dining at the Junction was on par with or even better than top rated dinners we've had in Manhattan - amazing food and wine. Overall the whole experience was super relaxing and I would love to return.
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