The Tyler Place Family Resort

We’ve just returned from our 3rd year at The Tyler Place Family Resort in Vermont.  It is a fantastic family owned and operated family resort set on a beautiful piece of land on the banks of Lake Champlain right off the Canadian border.  This is all about outdoors, outdoors, outdoors and the tranquility of the Vermont countryside.  It’s a complete escape from the city life we know. But here’s what you really need to know about this place:  Kids literally disappear into their own magical world for hours at a time and adults are left to enjoy all that Vermont with other adults.  If you’re from the big city like we are (Chicago & Los Angeles) you get the Vermont part.  Those of you from places similar and outdoorsy…well, maybe it loses a teeny tiny bit of the magic.  But still.  People.  Ver-Mont.  Ok let’s get to it.

Here’s the thing.  The success of your vacation here is solely dependent on whether your kid decides they can LOVE IT or LEAVE IT.  If they’re fully immersed in the program – awesome.  You’ve got a happy kid that you literally almost never see and you can relax and join the other adults in the adult activities and nightly fun.  If however, your child isn’t such an outdoorsy, I love the water and being in a group away from mom kinda kid…well… you can still enjoy yourself, your adult time just won’t be so plentiful.

The concept here is that the children through the age of 15 are in organized group programs with children their age for much of the day.  Infants and young toddlers are with Parent Helpers and can enjoy the play facilities and activities while parents are able to be on vacation for several hours at a time each day. Older children are in group programs appropriate for their ages.  Kids are in programs from about 8:30am to 1:30pm.  Then there is “family time”.  Or if you have older kids, it’s really their free time in the afternoons from 1:30 to 5ish depending on the program.  Children return to their groups until 8:30 or 9:30pm each evening depending on age.  Curfew on the property for oldest teen group is 11:30pm. Their website has all the great information you need to see which program your child will fit into and what will work best for your family.

So here’s how it went this year for the 12, 14 & 15 yr olds in our extended family.   They left the house on their bikes headed to program at 8:30am.  We managed to get a quick glimpse of them eating lunch with their group sometimes around 1pm.  They checked in with us at 1:30 briefly to yell “Hey, I’m going to hang out at The Inn with my friends for break.”  Or “Hey, can we go to the lake or the pool for break?” and then they were all off on their bikes in a flash before we knew what happened.  If we had younger kids I’m sure we would have felt the need to completely supervise all of their free time.  But at 14 & 15…they were safe to manage that time with their friends on their own as long as they stayed in a group.  Tyler Place staff (and I) preach the buddy system.  Around 5pm kids would appear out of nowhere at our accommodations to clean up for the evening group session.  So if you really wanted to see the kids you had to make sure you were in the house between 4:30 and 5:30 without fail.  At 5:30pm the parade of bikes would begin to whiz by the house as kids from all over the property made their way back to their group program.  From there…we never saw our teens until 11:30pm curfew – and I mean 11:30pm on the dot.  They stay out every single second they can.  Because they can.  Never at home would they be able to do this right?  At curfew everyone falls into bed and it starts all over the next day.

SO if you’re paying attention you heard, safe, waterfront property with bikes as the mode of transportation where kids can just enjoy their new friends and the outdoors.  And you counted about 1 – 2 hrs total that we see our teens the entire day.  In fact, it’s so true that my favorite quote from my 14 yr old niece is: “The words FAMILY resort couldn’t be further from the truth…considering the fact that my family never sees me.”  #Truth.  She is of course seeing from the point of view of a teenager.  As if never seeing your kid is a BAD thing.  Ok, no, no.  No one is trying to get rid of their kids, but the very point of this family resort is that the kids will be so engaged and occupied (and fed) that adults are freed up to relax and hang out with the other adults.  If you are looking for a vacation where you’re all hanging out and doing activities together all day…this is not that.  In fact, the children aren’t even allowed to eat meals with you…really.  For breakfast you can eat together in one part of the dining room – but young children may not go through the buffet line.  They would like to preserve that adults only feeling of the dining rooms.  Children eat their meals with their group.  I have to admit, not at least having dinner with my kids was an odd concept for me the first year we went.  But now…I’m fine with it.  One of my kids always came out of group to eat breakfast with us – his choice – so he could at least have that time to visit with all of the aunts, uncles and grandparents.  But after breakfast….it was see ya if I see ya!

What is there to do:

For kids – Outdoors time include a mix of waterfront activities (fishing, water trampoline, etc.) pool and beach time along with some outdoor games, climbing wall, archery, trampoline time, bike rides and an overnight camping trip.  Indoor activities might be games, crafts, movie night and a social get together.  Most of their time is spent outdoors.  For adults – there are organized activities led by staff that you can sign up for each day, plus all of the outdoor and waterfront activities mentioned above are open to adults all day.   Some of the organized activities include things like scenic and challenging bike rides and hikes, pottery, crafts, yoga, water aerobics, tennis tournaments and lessons, archery lessons, sailing lessons, fishing trips and more.  There is a gym for workouts – which I said no one would use – and my nephew went each day and proved me wrong.  There are fun things like staff versus guest softball, basketball and soccer games.  One of the biggest events is what’s called the Duckman Triathlon.  Guests can sign up to compete in this 3 event contest – swimming, cycling and running.  My nephews competed last year and enjoyed every minute of the challenge.  They “trained” for months before hand.  It’s something to look forward to.   Adult only Nite Life includes a casino night, dance party night, games night, trivia night and more.   Since young children are out of group at 8:30, babysitters are available for hire for adults who want to put the kids to bed and then take part in evening activities.  If you’d like to go off the property you’re only short drive from the Canadian border – bring your passport.

The biggest take away from Tyler Place is that adults still need their own time.  So they provide a place that’s able to keep your children happy enough to run off and ignore you all day.   Maybe they don’t say it quite like that…but that’s the point.

Accommodations:

Modest.  It’s not The Four Seasons.  Comfortable houses with 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms and small living spaces, bathrooms and kitchen areas are adequate for a week’s stay. There is daily housekeeping to keep your baths and beds tidy and you have enough of a kitchen to bring and stock some groceries or snacks and prepare a little food of your own if you choose.  HOWEVER…let’s be clear…the dining room food is STELLAR here and if often the topic of conversation for much of each day!  You can also choose to stay in The Inn instead which is more of a traditional hotel room feel with a small kitchenette area.  There are no tv’s in the houses.  There is one in the bar at The Inn so you can keep up to date on sporting events if you must.  There is wifi – altho we suspect they don’t worry about making it great wifi on purpose (wink, wink) as their goal is to get people connected with the outdoors and each other – not connected to the interweb.  But that’s just my conspiracy theory…

Transportation:

Getting around is mainly by bicycle on the property.  Everyone is encouraged to check out a bike upon arrival from the barn where there is a large selection of well maintained rides for all ages.  Tiny tots still on training wheels, teens, adults, parents needing baby seats or tandem bikes…they have the bike for you.   The entire property is completely walkable if you choose not to ride.  We always seem to do a mix of both to get in enough exercise.   There are people who drive their cars around the property, but to be honest it’s super tough to do safely as all of the kids take over the streets on their bikes each day.

Overall Thoughts:  A lovely family get away from the hustle and bustle of work and city life for us.  Our city kids don’t waste a minute when we arrive.  They take off to get their bikes, make new friends, meet up with returning friends and stay out every minute they can.  Children you didn’t think were “outdoorsy” unplug from electronics and seem to transform into kids from our childhood – a time when kids just played outside all day with the neighborhood kids and you saw them when it got dark.  Many – but not all – of the daytime activities for both children and adults do revolve around being outdoors, in or on the water, on a bike or being sporty in some way.  Some of our family members are not particularly interested in being outdoorsy or sporty.  And they still love it.  Everyone just enjoys the peaceful nature of being on that beautiful lake in a tiny town in Vermont without having to entertain kids, cook meals or clean for a week.  It gives me time to think, plan, recharge.   Plus, it’s fantastic to be able to tell your boss and co-workers you’re not easily reachable…due to the remote location and fleeting cell and wifi reception.  No, I can’t get in on that video chat meeting…awww, darn.  More vacation for me.