Laid-back luxury in Vermont: the Woodstock Inn & Resort provides guests with first-class pampering in a beautiful country setting

CHILDHOOD habits die hard. When I was a kid, lo those many years ago, we went on one family vacation a year, for which our parents scrimped and saved for 12 long months just so we all could enjoy a week away together. Back then, you didn't charge everything and pay for your escapades later. If there wasn't enough money, there was no trip. As such, it was imperative to make the most of our opportunity. So, it always was go-go-go; see and do as much as possible in the time allotted. Don't get me wrong. Those were great times filled with wonderful memories. Yet, there's something to be said for a more laid-back approach to family vacations, although, until our trip to New England late last summer, that "something" had escaped us. Our trio, like the much-younger version of their father, are determined to squeeze every last drop of fun out of any activity. At every theme park, we invariably are among the last to leave, finally beginning our exodus for the exit gate some 15 minutes after the place is closed and all the rides and attractions shut down. At waterparks, the college-age lifeguards have zoomed out of the parking lot long before we've even reached our car.

That all changed in Vermont for a few of reasons. First was the stifling heat and humidity that greeted our stay in late August-early September. Talking with the locals, we learned the previous few months had been cool and wet in the central part of the state where we were staying. They'd waited for this heat wave all summer. However, middle age and untold extra pounds since my prime tanning years have made me adverse to such sultry conditions. This undoubtedly would not be a pedal-to-the-metal getaway.

Second, the venues we visited--Billings Farm & Museum, Vermont Institute of Natural Science, and the Montshire Museum of Science--were close by and pretty much half-day attractions. Probably the main reason for our just-relax approach, though, was our new place of residence, the Woodstock Inn & Resort. Nestled among the beautiful Green Mountains, Woodstock (population, 3,300) has been called--justifiably so, it would seem--the "prettiest small town in America." This place is classic New England; its streets lined with colonial homes from the 18th- and 19th-century, while antique shops, art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and specialty food markets fill the quaint downtown area. The Inn itself sits on a site chartered and settled just after the French & Indian War in the mid 18th century. Opened in 1793 by Captain Israel Richardson, Richardson's Tavern (as it was known then) changed hands (and names) a number of times over the next 100 years. In 1891, an entirely new structure was built and called Woodstock Inn. In 1969, Laurance S. Rockefeller (grandson of John D. Rockefeller) who had married Mary Billings (granddaughter of Frederick Billings--of Billings Farm fame) purchased the property and, with the 1891 structure beyond restoration, built the present Inn, which opened in November of that year.

The Inn has 142 rooms in the main building, all with air conditioning and color TVs. Rooms are adorned with colorful handmade quilts, Vermont artwork, country-style decor, and luxurious bath accessories. There is a large putting green and outdoor pool behind the Resort. Meals are served in the Dining Room and Eagle Cafe, and light fare is available at the bar, named Richardson's Tavern after the original owner. The Main Lobby is comfortably furnished, and has as its focus a 10-foot fieldstone fireplace. It was common to see guests leisurely sitting in the lobby at all hours chatting amicably or reading books and newspapers. The adjoining library also was comfortably furnished, with a chess board in seemingly constant use.

The Woodstock Country Club, meanwhile, just a five-minute walk down South Street, boasts the oldest golf course in Vermont, dating from 1895. The 41,000-square-foot Health & Fitness Center, located at the southern end of the golf course about one mile south of the village, includes indoor and outdoor tennis courts, indoor squash and racquetball, a 30' x 60' indoor lap pool, whirlpool, VR2 Cybex Equipment, aerobics, steam room, sauna, and a range of spa services.

We arrived in a downpour at the Inn well after dark on Friday, the same rain that was to bring in the hot and sticky weather that settled over the area for the next several days. Weary and famished from our six-hour drive from Long Island, N.Y., we were happy to check in to adjoining rooms and learn that the in-house Eagle Cafe had seating until 9 p.m. We just made it in time for a late dinner. Back up in our second-floor rooms (which overlook the famous eagle statue mounted above the entrance), we were delighted to find a welcoming tray comprised of Vermont cheese and maple syrup, pancake mix, and a gift bag made of chocolate and filled with scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were to become a staple throughout our stay, as each afternoon between four and five o'clock, tea time in the lounge provided coffee, tea, and trays overflowing with chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and various other cookies, all to the sounds of a piano manned by a talented keyboardist. (Moreover, when returning to our rooms in the evenings, there always were Vermont chocolates on the pillows to greet us.)