The Essex Culinary Resort Essex Junction, Essex Junction, Vermont

Resort closest to Burlington, Vermont

This resort is located just 20 minutes from the Burlington Airport and a short drive to major ski resorts like Stowe, Sugarbush and Smuggler’s Notch. Accommodation choices are plentiful. The Resort is made up of 4 buildings; the Mansion, the Manor, the Main Inn and the Spa. The Mansion has 30 traditional style rooms, all with two beds (queens or doubles). An underground tunnel connects this building to the Main Inn. We stayed in the Main Inn, in a Fireplace mini suite. The room was quite spacious. It had two queen beds with a sitting area that had two chairs, a pullout sofa and a gas fireplace. Although the room was very large, the bathroom felt very small for our family of four. Over in the Manor Building, I did find the bathrooms to be much larger. These suites are ideally set up for families. Book a one or two bedroom suite with a full kitchen, living room, dinning area and fireplace. For a fee the resort will stock your fridge prior to arrival or you can find a supermarket right across the street in the Essex Shoppes. As an added bonus on the first floor of this building there is a coin operated laundry facility, a nice alternative to paying resort dry cleaning fees. And if your pet must travel with you, Rover is welcome for an extra $25/night. There is a cooking academy on property, that it offers hands-on classes for kids and families too as well as summer camps. Plus they have recently opened a 2,000 square foot J.K. Adams kitchen that can accommodate up to 18 people. During our stay we took the Soufflés and Baked Custards class with our 8 year old who has a sweet tooth similar to Nigella Lawson. In just two hours we were mastering sumptuous desserts such as Crème Brulee and Chocolate Expresso Pot de Crème. On the front lawn we played a quick round of gigantic lawn checkers. In between meals, our kids checked out the small game room with table hockey and arcade video games. The library is stocked with board games families can take back to their rooms.

Tips for Families

The Essex Shoppes are located directly across the street. There is a large grocery store, a smaller specialty grocery store and a full sized movie theater. There is also a small playground (Myers Park) across the street good for kids 8 and under.