The real-life von Trapp family from 'The Sound of Music' built a hotel in Vermont after fleeing the Nazis. Here's what it's like to visit.

Yahoo

09-04-2025

The real-life von Trapp family made famous by "The Sound of Music" founded a hotel in Vermont.
It's still operational (and growing) 75 years later.
During a visit in December, I enjoyed delicious food and learned more about the family's fascinating history.
"The Sound of Music" ends with the von Trapp family, led by Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) and governess turned stepmother Maria (Julie Andrews), successfully escaping the Nazis.
But in real life, the family's story didn't end after leaving Austria.
The von Trapps wound up settling in Vermont when they reached the US. After careers as traveling singers, they pivoted to join the hospitality industry when they opened up their family home to guests.
Seventy-five years later, the Von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort is still a thriving property in the ski town of Stowe, Vermont.
I visited the lodge in December. Here's what it was like.
The von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort is located in Stowe, Vermont.
Nestled between Burlington and Montpelier, the northern Vermont ski town has seen rising popularity in recent years, with occupancy rates for accommodations including hotels, motels, and resorts reaching record highs, per Stowe Area Association data reported by The Stowe Reporter.
Located at the foot of Mount Mansfield, the state's highest peak, Stowe is a prime location for skiing, hiking, and other recreation.
The four-star hotel first opened to guests in 1950.
While "The Sound of Music" took plenty of creative liberties with the von Trapp family's story (no, they didn't cross the Alps on foot), it was accurate that they left their homeland of Austria to escape the Nazi regime. The 1965 film (and the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical on which it was based) didn't follow the von Trapps to America.
In real life, the family earned a living by performing as the Trapp Family Singers, which included all 10 of the von Trapp children (the seven kids in the movie, plus the additional three Maria and Captain von Trapp went on to have together after they married). They toured the US and Canada performing and eventually set up a home base in Stowe, where they ran a music camp while they weren't performing. They called it Cor Unum, or "one heart" in Latin.
According to Sam von Trapp, the son of Maria and the Captain's youngest child Johannes and executive vice president of the lodge, Maria was drawn to settle in Stowe because it reminded her of Austria.
In 1950, three years after her husband's death, Maria and her children opened their 27-room home to guests.
It also wasn't the first time Maria had opened up the family home to make some cash: Sam told visitors during the lodge's Family History Talk — which I attended — that back in Austria, Maria had laid off servants, moved the family up to the servants' quarters, and rented out rooms in their villa to guests after they lost their fortune in the 1930s.
The lodge has undergone several transformations over the decades.
The hotel marked its 75th anniversary in February 2025 with a name change. It rebranded from the Trapp Family Lodge to the von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort as part of a move to reclaim the family legacy ("von" had been dropped when the family came to America and began touring).
The property is markedly different now from the first incarnation that welcomed guests in 1950. In 1980, a devastating fire that killed one guest burned down the hotel; three years later, an expanded 73-room Austrian-style lodge replaced it.
It's continued to grow, and now the 2,600-acre property houses a 96-room lodge in addition to more upscale villas and chalets.
The Superior King Room was a great fit for our party of three.
I visited the lodge for two nights in December 2024 with my husband and our 2-year-old daughter. The spacious room fit us (and the ridiculous amount of stuff traveling with a toddler requires) easily, and we had access to a shared balcony — perfect for taking in the snowy views.
We were in a renovated room — the lodge has been undergoing renovations continuously over the last several years. A representative for the lodge told BI the work is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.
Rates start at $280 for this room type, but Business Insider received a media rate for our two-night stay.
There was even a special treat waiting for us when we arrived.
The hotel's signature "Cow Cake" — a nod to the herd of Scottish Highland cows on the hotel's property — was so cute I could hardly bring myself to cut into it. (The toddler had no such qualms.)
A private tour of the lodge showed how important family legacy is to the current owners — and how much they cater to fans of the von Trapps.
Photos of the original von Trapps plastered the walls of the lodge, as did original Hans Wilhelm paintings of the family. There were also rugs hanging on the walls, a reference to the Captain's refusal to raise Hitler's flag and putting out the family's Oriental rugs instead.
There was even a signed photo of Mary Martin, who played Maria in the Broadway musical, with a note addressed to the von Trapp matriarch. It was displayed outside a set of rooms that Maria herself once used as her apartment. The two had become good friends when Mary studied Maria to play her in the musical.
Even the subtler details paid tribute to the von Trapps' roots — new carpets installed in April 2024 mimicked Austrian woodcraft details.
The gift shop was filled with cute von Trapp-inspired items, like a singing goat.
Apparently, Johannes, the sole surviving von Trapp child, was not a huge fan of the goat. But his son Sam told me that his father has come around on it, especially since ceding control of the lodge to his kids (Sam and his sister, Kristina von Trapp Frame) and retiring to New Mexico.
Visitors could also buy Maria von Trapp's book. "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers," published in 1949, formed the basis of the 1959 musical and the later 1965 movie.
On our first night, we dined at the main restaurant located inside the lodge.
We arrived at 5:30 p.m. to a fairly empty dining room, but it quickly filled up with guests by 6 p.m. This included a huge group from a bus tour that had a buffet-style dinner set up for them separately. Our server told us they get lots of bus tours coming through.
The ambiance was perfect for our December trip, with a local pianist playing Christmas tunes as we dined.
Our dinner was incredible.
As parents of toddlers know, convenience is key when it comes to dining out while traveling. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was the dining room super convenient (it was in the same building as our room) and cozy, but the food was also outstanding.
To start our meal, we had a complimentary bread basket with rolls and warm, melt-in-your-mouth banana bread. My husband ordered a salad appetizer and the spinach fettuccine, while I got the corn chowder soup and filet mignon.
Our server told us the most traditional dish on the menu was the schnitzel, and the most popular was the beef duet. But I had no regrets about my order; the filet was cooked to perfection.
My daughter had two and a half bites of her chicken fingers and all of her french fries, which honestly was a win in my book.
For dessert, we split the linzer torte, which was flaky, delicious, and not too heavy.
The next morning, we had breakfast and lunch in the main dining room and lounge.
Breakfast was buffet-style, with standards like Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit. But the real star of the meal was the warm maple syrup. It tasted like pure Vermont heaven.
We also chatted a bit with the host while we dined, who raved about the atmosphere in Stowe: "I feel like I'm living in a Hallmark Christmas town."
For lunch, we split that day's soup special, an Austrian potato soup, which surpassed the previous evening's corn chowder, and my daughter enjoyed mac and cheese and a mixed fruit bowl. We (the adults) also finally indulged in the von Trapp family's other big venture: beer from the von Trapp Brewery located down the road.
My husband had the Dunkel, a Munich-style dark lager that was very smooth, while I had the crisp and light Kölsch ale.
After our lunch beers impressed us, we visited the bierhall itself for our second evening's dinner.
Down the road from the lodge is the bierhall, a restaurant attached to the on-site brewery that Johannes started in 2010. This time, I drank the Zwickelbier, a pale lager made in partnership with the Austria-based Hofstetten Brewery. My dark beer-loving husband enjoyed the Trösten, a rich and smoky lager.
I ate the bratwurst sampler, while my husband got the Johannesburger, the bierhall's signature burger made from the lodge's Highland cows.
Incidentally, we'd met some of those cows (or their brethren) earlier the same day.
Yep, that's right: The lodge raises its own cows.
The lodge has a number of additional offerings for entertainment, including a "Meet the Cows" excursion. My husband, toddler, and I decided to partake in that one, because who doesn't want to see adorable fluffy cows?
The cows were indeed adorable and fluffy, and we were able to get surprisingly close to them with our tour guide. The tour was informative, giving the history of the cows being brought to Vermont by the family and how they've become part of the resort's ongoing operations (and menu).
In retrospect, this excursion is probably best reserved for adults or those with older kids: My toddler was not super interested in remaining quiet while our tour guide told us everything we could possibly want to know about these cows.
Von Trapp Lodge offers year-round activities, but I can't imagine how spring or summer visits would top our Christmastime trip.
The lodge went all out on its Christmas decor. There were multiple elaborately decorated Christmas trees scattered throughout the property, each with a different theme, and a pamphlet at the front desk challenged visitors to find each of them during their stay.
There were also seasonal classes and activities on the docket during our visit, including wreath-making and ornament-making classes. We opted for the latter, and while our little snowman is slightly wonky (it was made with toddler hands, after all), we'll treasure it forever.
Overall, I'd recommend the Von Trapp Family Lodge, whether you're a fan of "The Sound of Music" or not.
The von Trapp family's fame from "The Sound of Music" is certainly a major draw for the lodge. When I attended the Family History Talk (led by Sam von Trapp) they regularly host, there was a huge group who weren't even guests — they were just stopping by for the talk while on a larger bus tour.
But even if you're not a huge fan of musicals, the Von Trapp Family Lodge offers an excellent escape for families. With its delicious food offerings, cozy accommodations, and fun array of activities — plus its proximity to Stowe's skiing — it was a great choice for a winter retreat with a European vibe without having to leave the East Coast.
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