I am an expert skier and over the past 45 years have skied both East and West. With that said, I have been going to Bristol for the past five years. Vermont and the West it is not. But they are not pretending to be either. So my terrain rating is relative to Western NY and all of PA. But for people living in Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto and Pittsburgh these are the longest runs you are going to find nearest to you. They are at least twice the length or more than the runs at any other nearby resort to these cities. The runs are comparable to short western runs. To get any longer runs, you'll have to drive a minimum of 3 to 4 more hours than what it takes to get to Bristol from these towns.

The grooming and snow making is the best that I have seen in western NY or PA. The terrain park is as good as any I have seen in the East. Bristol isn't a huge trail system, but it will keep an expert skier from getting bored for two full days of skiing. Three days is pushing it. The lines at the Comet express on the weekends range from 5-10 min max (I have timed them). The Galaxy express has virtually no lines. The Morning Star quad is an older lift so after being spoiled on the high speed quads it does seem pretty slow. But, this is where all the kids ski so the slow speed is understandable. All trails are lit till 10 pm so you can get a lot of skiing in.

There is not much around the mountain proper. For ski in-out Northstar village is very nice, cute, clean, well appointed and is comparably priced to other resorts in the western NY offering a true ski in/out place. I have discovered that many places say they are ski in-out and advertise a cheaper price but aren't really ski in-out. At Northstar I consider all the units to be ski in-out. Half the units you can ski right to your door while the other half are no more than 150 foot walk across the parking lot. Unfortunately, there aren't many units (10 to 15) for rent so they go fast. The Lock Stock and Barrel restaurant is a decent enough affordable family restaurant-bar right next store. Bristol just remodeled the lodges (2011) so I can't comment on them. But since the lodges were dated, I am sure they are a great improvement.

The other option is to stay in Canandaigua. It is about a 15-20 drive from Bristol. The Inn on the Lake in Canandaigua is an ok 3 star hotel with adequate amenities and not too pricey (about $115/night). There are at least 4 or 5 good restaurant options in town. However, if you are looking for a happening après ski environment, you are going to be disappointed. Canandaigua is a summer town, not a ski town. None-the-less, there are enough places to go to so that you won't feel trapped in your hotel room/condo. If you are on a tight budget and can't get out West or to Vermont, but you want to scratch that big mountain itch for a weekend, Bristol is very definitely worth a try.

PS. I don't have children but the staff has always been professional and helpful when I have been there. And yes I once saw the Ski Patrol be strict with a group of out of control kids. The kids deserved it. So I say here here three cheers for the ski patrol. Most of the young kids today have absolutely zero skiing etiquette, especially the teenagers.