Since the 1980s, I’ve been to Jackson many times to ski in the winter and hike in the summer. The Wentworth has anchored the town since it was built in 1869, but I hadn’t given it much thought after staying there one winter night in a small room that harkened back to 1950 even though it was the early 2000s. It was not a restful experience. A fire alarm shortly after midnight sent everyone into the subzero cold in pajamas. At the time, The Wentworth seemed like many other inns the White Mountains from a bygone era—adequate, friendly, but not bucket-list lodging.

Then I heard that The Wentworth had changed hands. The new owners had invested several million dollars into the property and hired Henry Sirois as the new general manager to oversee its renovation. Henry’s resume included stints with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in Québec, Zanzibar, and South Africa, and more recently as the general manager of Terramor Outdoor Resort, a luxury glamp-ground in Bar Harbor. Things were changing at The Wentworth, and I yearned for a getaway. I decided to give it another try.

New First Impression

The Wentworth is considered one of the historic grand resort hotels in the White Mountains, similar to the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods and The Balsams in Colebrook. However, instead of one enormous, castle-like structure, it was designed as a campus of luxury cottages around a main hall. As I pulled into the parking lot, the place definitely looked perkier than two decades ago. For starters, instead of tired hedges framing the main hall’s lengthy porches, gorgeous flowers flowed from a myriad of hanging baskets and boxes, adding color and vibrancy. The rocking chairs on the porch, a throwback to the heyday of the grand hotels, tempted me to sit for a while and sip a cocktail, but there was a lot to see, starting with the oversized vintage photos on the exterior of the building.

The photos related the history of The Wentworth, highlighting the post–Civil War era through the 1950s, when people from the cities summered there. At the turn of the 20th century, Wentworth Hall was known for its casino, billiard parlors, and ballroom where guests danced to live music every Wednesday and Saturday evening. After perusing the many placards, I circled back to the main entrance to check in.

The lobby was decorated in a classic mountain mix of wood and leather with late 19th century and early 20th century paintings of the White Mountains, skiers, hikers, and golfers adorning the walls. There were many elegant touches, such as the marble-trimmed fireplace and polished hardwood floors. I could have easily dropped into one of the comfortable couches with a good book, but I was anxious to get into my room and clean up before my 7pm dinner reservation in the dining room.

“The pantry is on the right in the hallway near your room,” said the check-in clerk as he handed me my room key. “There are no coffeemakers in the rooms, but you can make coffee and other hot drinks at the pantry.”

Pantry? I ascended the grand staircase from the lobby to find my room. Sure enough, halfway down the hallway was the pantry, though it was hardly a closet with a coffeemaker. The pantry was more like a one-sided galley without a range. It was well-stocked with beverages, snacks, pastries, and warm homemade cookies, all available at a guest’s whim. I couldn’t resist a cookie, then let myself into my room.

My room was nothing like I remembered. It was a luxurious, modern suite with a sitting area by a fireplace and a spacious main bedroom. A pack basket—the predecessor of the backpack—and a fishing net hung on the wall. Two Audubon guidebooks, one for trees and the other for birds, and Shrouded Memories, a compilation of true stories from the White Mountains, were artfully staged on the desk, with a hiking guidebook on the bed. It was obvious that the updated Wentworth was meant to be an elegant basecamp where guests were encouraged to have outdoor adventures then come back to rejuvenate.

I wandered into the sizeable bathroom and immediately noticed more elements from the old days, including marble floors and gold fixtures. Then I spotted another door beyond the sinks. A closet perhaps? In fact, it led to a private covered deck with a hot tub on it. I sunk into its whirling heat, happy to bask in such an unexpected treat. This was not the same place I had visited once before.

Food and Other Discoveries

Dinner also proved a delight, starting with a colossal shrimp cocktail, then a poke-style salmon dish, and ending with a heavenly flourless chocolate cake, a scoop of homemade ice cream, and fresh berries. “Some items on the menu might be foods from the post–Civil War period,” explained Henry Sirois as he greeted guests the next morning at breakfast. “The Wentworth embraces its own legacy, as well as the outdoor recreation legacy of coming to Jackson. . . . The refresh started in 2020. Some people say, ‘I can’t believe they’ve cut down those hedges.’ They were rotting, you know.”

According to Henry, 60 percent of The Wentworth’s customers are new since 2020, when the current owners took over and began updating the property. 

“Our ‘intent to recommend,’ which is a key statistic, is 93 percent,” he said, sitting down at my table for a cup of coffee. “When you’re Fairmont or Ritz Carlton, you might hit 85 percent, and everyone rejoices. Guests love this place! The golf course turns into one of the largest cross-country skiing destinations in the country, the Jackson Ski Touring Center. The tennis court is one of the few remaining clay courts in the country. We’ve got pickleball. The pool is popular, too, more than I thought it would be, but families with kids love it.”

Before the pool, guests walked a quarter-mile up the Wildcat River to swim in its natural pools. That’s still an option. After breakfast, I made the short trek to the river. A few people sat here and there on the smooth ledges, reading, napping, or soaking their feet. During spring runoff, the water undoubtedly raged there, but by midsummer, it was a lazy series of cascades with a mountain view.

From the river, I wandered back toward the hotel where I ran into Henry Sirois again. Not one to hide in his office, Henry makes a point to talk to guests, which some people consider another throwback to the old days, but Henry believes it’s the modern way to run a resort.

“When I worked at the front desk at the Omni Biltmore in Providence, the GM would walk by, but we didn’t talk to him. He was like a god,” recalls Henry, who believes guests are more discerning now than ever before. “We’re here to take care of customers. If your WIFI isn’t working, or you don’t have a hot shower, or the heat or air conditioning isn’t working, people are less forgiving because those are things they expect. Guests don’t want to be nickel and dimed either. And with social media, Google, and TripAdvisor, everyone writes their reviews and says what’s on their mind. It’s all public. We didn’t have that 20 years ago.”

General Manager Henry Sirois. Photo courtesy of The Wentworth.

Henry is one of those warm, outgoing fellows who would be your friend if you lived in Jackson. He has only been at the helm of The Wentworth for two years, but it’s his home. He truly cares about his employees and guests.

“Our culinary teams are from different parts of the world who come here as
J1 students on a program of training and working,” he explains. “It’s a cultural exchange from places like the Philippines, Colombia, Ecuador, and Jamaica. It’s a melting pot. They’re coming here, thousands of miles away from their families, and look to us to be their family here. We provide housing, but it’s much more than that.”

A guest booklet from the 1920s described The Wentworth as “situated
in an amphitheater, rimmed by the noblest mountain peaks of the region.” Certainly, the setting is a draw, but the real charm is the way this historic hotel has stayed true to its past while embracing the future. Next time I need a weekend away, you can guess where I’ll be.

The Wentworth

1 Carter Notch Road

Jackson, NH

(603) 383-9700