When you mention to a friend you’re heading to the Omni Mount Washington Hotel for a few days of golf, food and other fun, just about everyone sighs with envy.

After all, the grand hotel (one of the few originals left standing today), is legendary. Its bright red roof is recognizable to nearly all, and its setting — tucked into the base of majestic Mount Washington and the entire Presidential Range — iconic.

On the golf fairways you find the views, the forestry and the hotel itself standing out like a giant cake topper, a new vista on each hole, adding up on their own to make it a special round.

But oh, my: The Omni Mount Washington Resort (https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/bretton-woods-mount-washington) isn’t one to settle. That means, on top of all that, you’ve got 27-holes of Donald Ross imagined and designed (and Brian Silvia updated) pure golf awesomeness.

The resort’s two courses, the 18-hole Mount Washington and the nine-hole Mount Pleasant (https://www.brettonwoods.com/activities/golf/overview), are two different golf experiences tucked into that same setting. Between the two there’s fun to be had for literally every level golfer.

For me, the perfect plan is to start out with a round on Mount Pleasant. Like all of the golf here, the course – despite being a mountainside course – is super walkable. That’s because most of the 27 holes sit down in the floor of the Valley; flatter, more open and yet surrounded all 360 degrees by stately peaks. You can see why that spot was chosen back in 1915 when golf there debuted.

The Mount Pleasant, a 3,215-yard par 35, follows along the Ammonoosuc River, giving pretty vistas, laying a music track of babbling water and often tossing out surprises (like the bear cub that ran right past us our first day!).

It’s forgiving for the most part (and I love that it has junior tees), but also warms you up for something bigger.

The first hole is a true mountain classic with a super elevated tee box and a view out to the resort’s own ski area, Bretton Woods. It’s core memory stuff.

And then there’s the Mount Washington course, a perennial No. 1 on more than a few top course lists.

It’s a classic Ross course with turtleback greens that demand not just smart placement but tempered and patient putts, bunkers and green-side collection areas, and then (to be nice) quick transitions from greens to the next hole.

While the course – which had lost some of its luster at the time – was retooled by Silvia in 2008, that was done in a way that honored and amplified Ross’ intentions back in 1915.

The thing about this course is it presents itself to you like a kind, helpful pal. The first hole is a straightaway par 4 that will boost your ego while warming you up. As you wrap the hole with the hotel to your side, you think “this is forgiving.”

And then you get into the round and realize looks can be deceiving. You’ll find long tee shots with tight fairways; demanding precision, guts or a back-up plan.

I found it to be a pattern of risk and then reward. Like the No. 1 third hole, demanding precision on the drive, avoidance of bunkers and challenging putts. It’s hard. But the next hole is a par 4 with birdie opportunity written all over it.

Same at the sixth, a long par 5 sprinkled with ominous bunkers, followed by a straight, low-score-possible par 4 on seven. The course pushes you, and then lets you breathe, and then pushes you again. I like that.

The course finishes tough with an 18th that features 434 yards, a dog leg left, a stream to lay up to and/or hit over, a bridge to mess with your head, some wildflowers and fescue and an elevated green to top it all off. Add the crowd watching from the busy clubhouse patio and you’ve got yourself a finish: good, bad or try-again-tomorrow fun.

I recommend playing the long course twice, something I’d not planned on doing. But when the pro shop let us know they had an opening, I mentioned to my spouse that playing it again would place us right smack in the bad Boston traffic on our way home.

“Yeah,” he said, glancing out at the views and that challenging course, “But it sure will be worth it.” We both played exponentially better the second time around.

The Omni Mount Washington offers stay and play packages in a variety of lodging (treat yourself to the grand hotel itself). The pro shop is great and the team super nice: When my husband pointed to a giant driver (purely a decoration) and said “I’d like to demo that!” they gamely took it out to the driving range for a few laughs. And when I’d run inside at the turn to grab an iced tea with little time, the starter ran in after me and said he’d have one delivered to me.