| Route 66 | Cities | Beaches |
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| Seven Springs is one of those resorts where you
really want to stay on the premises if possible. It’s a beautiful
place with lots going on, and once you drive all the way into town to shower
and change clothes, you won’t want to make another round trip. The Main Lodge should be everyone’s first choice. The rooms are top quality and look right out onto the slopes. Downstairs are several restaurants, an indoor pool, hot tub, fitness center, and indoor miniature golf course. There are enough shops to entertain veteran shoppers for a few hours. True, the room prices are third in the region (behind Snowshoe and Boyne and tied with Beech). But if that’s a problem, try to come during the week or during the shoulder seasons, when they drop considerably. |
There are also slopeside condos up on the hill and partway down the hill with ski in ski out entrances. There’s a dorm with the usual bunk beds, Spartan rest rooms and male – female sections. Rates in the dorm are great, but you have to reserve back in October to stand a chance. If the lodge and condos bust your budget and you’re not bringing a youth group, you can stay in town. Town is Somerset, 15 or Mt. Pleasant 20 miles away on Route 31. Due to its location on the 60 year old Pennsylvania Turnpike, Somerset has plenty of motels and restaurants. |
Our first recommendation in town is the Holiday Inn. It’s within a block of
several restaurants, is right at the Turnpike, and offers the usual Holiday
Inn reliability. They offer rooms at less than $100 per night and handle
groups well. If you hit Somerset in February, you can enjoy the annual Ice Sculpture
Competition. Ice carvings are displayed on the sidewalks in front of every
home and store. |
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If they’re booked, you can check the usual list : Ramada Inn, Best Western, Econolodge. At left is the Somerset Day's Inn, a fine facility near the turnpike. It offers basic accomodations (but you'll be skiing all day anyway so all you want is a warm room with a good shower) at very reasonable rates. Somerset is an interesting place. It's an old mountain town with lots of blue collar class and dignity. This is coal mining, timbering, trucking, farming, hunting, fishing and manufacturing country. They’ve been in the headlines twice in recent years : with the hijacked plane crashing into the hillside, and the flooded mine rescue that held a national TV audience spellbound for several days. You can walk into stores here and buy carbide lamps, crosscut saws and other tools not seen in most other places. |
| If you're in the mood for something a little different, try 20 miles the opposite direction from Somerset. As you come out of the Seven Springs entrance, turn left onto Route 31 instead of right and go to Mt. Pleasant. There, still on 31 which becomes Main Street, you'll find the RR Station Hotel on the left in the center of town. They have 21 very nicely furnished rooms and a great restaurant, all themed to the railroads which once pulsed through Mt. Pleasant and the whole region. For $100 you can get one room and free breakfast for two. The breakfast is quite ample for a day on the slopes and if you get back to the hotel in time after skiing you can walk around downtown for a while before dinner. If you can tolerate being 20 miles from the resort, this may be the best lodging and restaurant deal in the area. If you're there during the day when they're open, you might check out Ma's Kandy Kitchen across the street and down a few doors. |  |
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