This was the tenth Thanksgiving we have spent at the Red Jacket, and unfortunately is probably the last. When our family first started visiting the Red Jacket around Thanksgiving, the place was a bustling, charming hotel with a family feel. We loved the manager's reception before Thanksgiving and of course the beautiful holiday decorations that went up the day after. It was an enchanting place to be.
This year the hotel was an absolute ghost town. We understand that the MAJOR renovation for the indoor water park is ongoing and drives away families, etc. However, the hotel was still open and should have been operated as such. It was cold and pretty desolate. Service was pretty shabby. There were exactly 6 people at the manager's reception with one server with one tray of pretty nasty appetizers. They were obviously deep fried in old oil. It was depressing. Oh, and no manager. If you have a "manager's" reception, at least have the decency to show up.
I will say
our meals (sans one in the bar) were very nice. The food in the a.m. and the Thanksgiving meal were lovely and so was the service.
Although the hotel has been renovated, the rooms are still a bit dated. Small things like daily newspaper delivery, are not offered any longer. The accommodations are what they are, but nothing special for the price you pay.
Long story short - if you advertise and sell "packages"; make sure you follow through with them, otherwise it is just another night in a cold and quiet hotel. Everything changes, just hate to see it change in this way.
We have nice memories of the Red Jacket, and I hope this water park brings them the business they anticipate. Our children are older now and the water park does not excite them much.
Clearly the hotel is going for the young families, which is fine and I am sure much researched. I wonder if they will loose any conference/social business.
Good luck to the Red Jacket - we will search for the magic at another destination next year!

We booked through expedia, about $150 a night for mountain view. For North Conway defenitely a "resort" style property set on a large piece of land, unlike most other hotels of the area. Check in and service was very friendly, we got a VCR/DVD player installed after we asked. Rooms and hotel are somewhat dated, but expected for a rural NH location. Fairly standard hotel room. Defenitely clean. The view was nice.

During the summer, coming with kids, I could see the hotel as ideal. Game room, pools, restos, and a lot of land would work. They are building this huge indoor water park and while the construction is inconvenient, I would go back here with my kids in the future. I'm sure without the construction (and when its finished) stays would be great, expecting the rooms to be what they are.

We had a nice time - the breakfast buffet Saturday morning was only $13 and great, don't miss it. If you're going to North Conway to shop you could probably stay cheaper elsewhere, but we were happy.

my wife and i went n.conway for some shopping. we made no reservations, hoping to find something when we got there.i picked up a travel guide at one of the stores.on my second phone call i found b.w. red jacket. the person i spoke to was pleasant and helpful she did inform me of the construction going
on but that was not a problem. the room was neat and clean but nothing fancy considering the price other than having to park the car at the opposite end of the building everything was great.

p.s. the sign on the new construction said completion dec. 2007
no way . maybe 2008

The Red Jacket Mountain View is a finely decorated, comfortable, family-friendly resort. The resort is in the process of building an indoor water park. The outdoor pool is great, and there is a large indoor pool as well. Our third floor mountain view room was recently renovated and was a large, lovely room. The tennis courts could use a sweeping. Breakfast is not included, which would be nice considering the nightly rate. The outdoor deck overlooking the mountains is a great place for reading or a drink. The 2-man band (humorous and accommodating) was entertaining.