Awesome, mickeyboat! Go Heels!
Review of our visit:
First, let me say that even though our nerves were frayed from the drive we still very much appreciated the natural beauty surrounding us. The snow on the trees was magical. We're so glad we experienced it. DH is still talking about all the ski resorts we saw.
So, I shouldn't have gone off script & chosen a hotel without getting feedback first.
To be fair, Courtyard by Marriott in Lebanon/Hanover was a good hotel. Most importantly, it was very clean. We saw people cleaning all times of day. We were doing laundry at 11:30 pm & saw multiple people cleaning that late. The only real negative was the location & by extension the food situation. We decided to stay there expecting to get food onsite, watch March Madness in the room & avoid going back out in the snow. After we checked it, they told us the bistro was closed that evening.
We ended up at Snax, because it was in a connected parking lot & they had a TV to watch the game. On a positive note, it was karaoke night. That was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, that was about the only real positive. The food was clearly an afterthought, but was okay. It would have been fine, if there wasn't a full bar & full tables with one bar tender in a restaurant that clearly focuses more on the alcohol. We practically had to beg to get food or drinks. Clearly sitting at the bar to watch the game wasn't the best choice, if you wanted even decent service. We definitely wouldn't recommend this place.
We spent Sunday sightseeing, then grabbed dinner in the hotel late in the evening. It was about what you'd expect from flatbread & Cobb salad in a fast food/fast casual hybrid, hotel restaurant. No complaints.
Our day of sightseeing & what we learned:
We went to all of the places suggested here to see where we would want to stay, if/when we return. (With DH's job, it's more likely a when than an if.) We were mostly focused on places where I would have somewhere to browse shops, visit museums, view architecture, etc., within walking distance, while DH is working.
The area around Hotel Coolidge is a possibility for a couple nights. The hotel is definitely showing it's age, but it appears to have a lot of character. As long as it's clean, we'd be fine with staying there.
We enjoyed our short visit in Quechee. I could easily waste away a day in the village. The biggest problem we had with staying there was the food situation, but we discovered they had a few more dining options that we realized. I was able to find a Christmas ornament there, which is always a plus in our travels. (We have a travel themed Christmas tree & try to buy ornaments that represent the locations we visit. Unfortunately, I didn't find one in our limited time in NH.
) We would consider staying at Align Inn for a couple nights on a return visit.
Fireside Inn West Lebanon was in a better location than Courtyard. We spent some time in Kohl's shopping for our upcoming cruise. If we return, I'll check reviews again.
Hanover Inn was beautiful. The area is very nice. We'd love to stay there, if it ever fits within DH's hotel allowance. Dartmouth has a gorgeous campus. There's plenty to do, within walking distance, for a short stay.
We really liked the look of Norwich Inn, but there didn't appear to be much for tourists to do within walking distance. Maybe, we missed something.
We also drove to Woodstock. I'm embarrassed to admit that we went there thinking it was the location of the original Woodstock.
Not our best moment, but we were glad we made the blunder. We loved this town. It was perfect for us. There was plenty to do in the town for a couple days, plus there were things of interest to do within a short drive. We'd like to visit the Calvin Coolidge Historic Site & the
actual site of the original Woodstock.
This will be our first choice, if/when we return, but we would be happy revisiting any of the others mentioned above, if hotel rates are a consideration.
Sorry it took me awhile to get back to this thread. We're currently spending our second night in Portland Maine & have been busy seeing everything we can fit in, before leaving tomorrow morning.
To end this abbreviated review on a funny note... We booked The Westin in Portland, with extremely limited research, because Westin hotels are always dependable. After arriving & driving around, we realized the Courtyard by Marriott
was in a better location. So for those keeping score, we booked a Courtyard in Lebanon that wasn't in the best location, then didn't book the one in Portland that was in an excellent location.
Even more embarrassing is that I didn't realize the original Woodstock was in Bethel, NY not VT, until I read your post. 
