We stayed on October 31, 2026; Room 214.
I was awoken in the night with itchy, stingy bites. In the morning, I had about 10 bites on my hands, neck and ear. We left early in the morning and I wasn't too concerned at that hour. I thought the Trapp Family Lodge was a reputable and lovely place, the likelihood of bed bugs seemed slim. I wishfully assumed it was some other insect. However, as the day wore on, the bites became more and more distinctively bed bug bites.
We had bed bugs 10 years ago, I am very familiar with bite shape, profile, and patterning (round, wide, symmetrical, raised, sometimes a central spec of fluid oozes, and most notably-bites in sequence; 2, 3, 4, etc; my current bites meet all of these criteria including the sequencing). I called the lodge in the afternoon, as soon as the bites clearly displayed bed bug bite characteristics, and reported the situation to the front desk. Information was recorded and exchanged, I was told a manager was not available, and a call from a manager was not promised but possible (I had not specifically requested a call back from a manager at the time). The next day the bites were quite definitely bed bug bites and I called again first thing in the morning. I asked to speak with a manager and ended up speaking with a front desk supervisor. After explaining everything, I was explicitly told a manager would call me back. I did not hear back. I called for a third time this morning and asked to speak to a manager. After a long hold, I was told the managers were all in a meeting. I left my name, number and detailed message for a third time (ie bed bugs, and that I have experience with bed bugs and know for sure these are bed bug bites), received what felt like genuine concern from a front desk worker who hadn’t heard of the recent bed bugs from my 2 previous calls, and was told a manager would definitely call me back. It is nearly midnight and I haven't heard anything yet. I sense I am being intentionally ignored and the situation downplayed, although I suspect someone will respond to this review.
To be honest, this is my first review ever online anywhere. I have not left a single review for Amazon, our favorite dentist, doctor, babysitter, or local store, not even when specifically requested. I intentionally minimize my online presence and trackability. However, having dealt with bed bugs in the past, I recognize the horrendous headache they are to deal with and feel it worthwhile to attempt to alleviate those difficulties for anyone; if in the least to keep a reputable lodging facility honest and responsible in their handling of this super important situation in order to prevent further spread among travelers.
I am thankful to have had a quick enough of a response (ie bites became obvious within 24 hours); as well as enough experience, to have recognized the potential problem before unloading all of our suitcases into our home. Nonetheless, I have necessarily spent numerous hours washing/drying/freezing/boiling/quarantining clothing, luggage, toiletries, hairbrushes and all varieties of difficult-to-deal-with items like wool and leather; to hopefully have succeeded at avoiding infestation for ourselves.
I see a previous review of bed bugs at the Trapp Family Lodge in 2014, in response to which the Lodge manager indicated they had conducted an examination of the room in question and not found any evidence of bed bug infestation. To this I would reply: as I said, we had bed bugs 10 years ago. And, we never had any 'evidence of infestation,' ie, we never found any stains on bedding/mattresses, nor on the walls or around outlets etc. However, we were getting bites, our visitors were getting bites, and even saw live bugs in the night. And, when we treated with a heat treatment, we definitely found dead bugs. It is highly possible to have bed bugs and NOT have any 'evidence' by way of visible stains. If this is the method by which Trapp Family Lodge is monitoring and selecting treatment for any potential bed bug situations, this is hugely inadequate. The report I was referring to was from 2014. If this is the protocol response for Trapp Family Lodge for bed bugs for more than a decade, I wouldn't be surprised if there are loads of bed bugs there.
This is all hugely unfortunate as we are big fans of the Von Trapp family story; as Grandma hails from Austria and we have family there- whom we have recently visited, as well as having visited various Von Trapp historic sites in Salzburg, Austria and loving the Sound of Music. I really wanted to like to this place, and I actually still do. It is beautiful, peaceful, very quiet, with fun amenities for the family. Although we have circumstances in Stowe that will require ongoing lodging, we will not be able to stay here again. If management had taken the situation seriously, it might be different. What an unfortunate disservice to the historic Von Trapp family singers’ legacy.
