woodies

Can someone help me with the best place to stay in the White Mountain area of NH. We will be visitng from the UK next month and we are not sure which would be the best part to stay.

wantsomesun

There are so many places, are you going to be in New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine?

I would do a search for each state and see what there is to do and see.

If I can make a suggestion, look at the N. Conway or Laconia area in New Hampshire. That is the Lakes area of New Hampshire and it's really beautiful.

Lots of outlet shopping in the area and some fun things to see, like Old Man of the Mountain (slightly changed with a bit fell of recently) and Indian Head.

You might get intouch with the Tourism Departments of each state and see what they would recommend for places to stay and things to see.

YOu will have a wonderful time, it is truly a beautiful part of the States.

djkbooks

See www.visitnh.gov and select "dining and lodging", then White Mountains.

Best of the best would be the newly reopened Mountain View Grand in Whitefield.

But, it doesn't really matter where in the White Mountains you stay. There are scenic drives in every direction. You can tour nearly the entire region by car in a day (highly recommended). The very best way to enjoy the foliage is by driving all over.

Highly recommend booking forthwith.

kgn

We love to stay at the Red Jacket Best Western in North Conway. I think it is centrally located to many of the places in the White Mountains. The hotel also has a great Breakfast buffet and is resonably priced. You will be visiting during fall foliage and it shoudl be beautiful!
Have fun!

sueoz

The White Mountains of NH are one of my favorite places! Do you like to hike? If so - you are in for a treat. I would suggest the Jackson area as a place to stay. It is a very scenic little area that has a number of places to stay. It is not far from the North Conway area with all it's shopping, but out of the major traffic jams. There are tons of hikes nearby, scenic drives and don't miss the auto road van up Mount Washington. The only problem - if you don't have reservations yet - do it quickly. That is high season because of the foliage. Do a search for Jackson, NH and you should get a good link with lodging. If that doesn't work - almost any of the towns in the area would be wonderful: Glen, Bartlett, N. Conway, etc. A little further to the west is the Franconia Notch area. Equally beautiful and many places to stay and things to do. All of these things are in driving distance no matter where you stay. Hope you enjoy. One place we stayed and liked: The White Mountain Hotel and Resort in North Conway. Off the beaten track a little but a very nice place.

muffin

Try the Mount Washington hotel. Also the hotel in Whitefield is beautiful.

Anonymous

North Conway is an interesting area -- it does have a highway lined with tacky shopping, but just a hundred yards off the highway, you're in beautiful scenic countryside. We enjoyed the B&B known as the Farm by the River:

http://www.farmbytheriver.com/

I must warn you, you are coming at the very height of the fall foliage season and might not have much choice of where to stay -- places are often booked a year in advance.

zootsi

We had some friends from the UK visit us in western NH last week, and they loved the area. The White Mountains are basically divided into the eastern-Mt. Washington Valley; and the western- Franconia Notch areas; with the Kancamangus highway as the main east-west connector. If you want a high end large resort, consider the Mt. Washington hotel, which is in a spectacular setting. North Conway has tons of nice places to stay, but it does get congested due to all the shopping and dining spots. Jackson is a charming, quiet, upscale small village. On the western side, Lincoln is the largest town, with several ski resort condo developments. Bethlehem is an intersting little town that attracts a lot of Orthodox Jewish families from the New York area. Twin Mountain is an area with lots of inexpensive highway motels, such as the Four Seasons Motel. Just realize that if you hike or drive up any of the mountains, it can be quite cool at the higher elevations. Pick up a copy of the Delorme hiking map of the White Mountains, which describes hundreds of walks and hikes in the Whites.

MileKing

Just back from the White Mountains (Labor Day Weekend). This was our first visit there and I would recommend avoiding North Conway except for the shopping. The main road is under construction. It appears they are either widening to two lanes in each direction or adding a center turn lane to reduce traffic congestion. We passed thru there Sunday morning and the traffic was bad then; can't imagine what it must be like at other times.

We stayed at the Lodge at Jackson Village. A small, but very nice hotel located in Jackson, a short drive north of North Conway. Simple, but very clean and what seemed to be a fairly new bathroom. Helpful staff. Surprisingly, Mobil Guide only gave this place one star. It is the first time that I have been to a Mobil rated property where I felt the rating was low. This property certainly qualifies for two stars by anyone's standards. Would certainly stay there again. There are a number of other places in Jackson that would also be good places to stay.

Other suggestions:
- Red Fox Bar/Grill in Jackson for Sunday buffet breakfast. Excellent, but seemed to start getting very crowded around 8:30 AM. Get there earlier to avoid wait.
- Red Parka Pub/Restaurant in Glen (?). Excellent for dinner. Fabulous steaks and deserts. Also a decent salad bar and great service. Parking can be tight.
- Avoid the Lobster Trap. Food and service are mediocre.
- There isn't anything left of the Old Man in the Mountain. Can be skipped.
- I would recommend the gorge in Franconia Notch if you are up for a bit of hiking. Very beautiful. Also the Cannon Mt. tramway.
- Mt. Washington Auto Road is great if you have good weather, which we did. Do the Auto Road before Noon! Afternoon traffic was backed up onto the main road waiting to get on the auto road.
- Kancamagus Highway was disappointing and is very overrated in my view. We drove north of Jackson and had better scenery including two moose sightings. Enjoy your trip!

djkbooks

I'm with MileKing. To me, Routes 302 and 2 are far more scenic than the Kancamagus.