Best Things Nearby:
Great Barrington has many glorious day spas, sweet shops, and fine dining, and it is near many wonderful museums and attractions.
Best Things About the Resort:
The resort is centrally located, convenient to shops and restaurants, and spacious and welcoming.
Resort Experience:
The Wind in the Pines is not a typical commercial resort. It has a family feel to it. It's almost like staying at your great aunt's place in the mountains. A converted motor lodge, there are some awkward angles and cuts in the two-bedroom condos fashioned from previously adjacent motel rooms. It's not cookie-cutter perfect. You enter into one of the bedrooms and walk through a hallway to get to the main living/dining area. The tubs are deep and older. The heating system is also aging. But all is reliable. It's a little more homespun, a smidgen shy of perfect, but its shortcomings give it personality and authenticity. The units are very large, with good natural lighting and three-season porches.
The grounds are fairly extensive, with a long drive setting it off the busy road. The backyard abuts a natural wooded area, offering the chance for twilight sightings of deer or other wildlife. The pool is comfortable and welcoming, with plenty of space for grilling, lounging, and eating.
A major drawback is their communication facilities. The units are not Internet-ready, and the office, which offers a rudimentary system for checking email, is only open a few hours a day. The resort asks you not to check email from your room. The Internet access available during my stay was dial-up service, with such rigid browser requirements that I couldn't open AOL to send or receive email. Also, there was no signal on my cell phone (Sprint) or my husband's (US Cellular). So be prepared to enter a communications ice age, where you may have to use a rotary dial phone and talk to an actual operator to make a phone call. At first I was annoyed at my technological isolation, but after a while, I came to enjoy being unavailable and out of range for a bit.
- Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
- Activities: Good
- Amenities: Good
- Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
- Family Friendliness: Good
- Service: Very Good