Personal VT Lodging Experiences?

[ctyanky]

Hi everyone! I've been scrolling through and reviewing Admin's long list of top lodging sites. I'd like to start a new thread (one to keep us motivated for Fall 08 ) so that we can share in a positive light, some of the wonderful inns, B&B's, farms or resorts where we have stayed in Vermont. It could be any season!

It would be helpful if we prefaced the recommendation with northern, central or southern VT, and then the town or village along with some thoughts on why you really enjoyed your stay. It could be the rooms, meals, location, ambience, price, gratiousness of the owners in making your stay memorable or all of the above.

I'm getting somewhat overloaded with so many to choose from! If you have stayed in the Northeast Kingdom, Stowe or Middlebury area, I'd love to hear about your experiences! (The B&B I stayed at in 2003 is no longer in operation in Peacham).

Hope this thread proves valuable over the next few winter months!

[ctyanky]

Hi bm: thanks for the reply. Guests are definately looking for B&B's and Country Inns. That's what I'm interested in for both fall trips. Someone from the forum previously mentioned the Comfort Inn and truly enjoyed it from their descriptions. The Admin list is quite helpful however, as the list seems to be getting longer!

From past experiences, I've enjoyed being close to a town with some degree of night life for close restaurant dining. That's why we chose Middlebury and Stowe as strong possibilities for Fall08!

Thanks again, enjoy winter.

[ctyanky]

Central VT: Rochester: Liberty Hill Farm: Everyone, I had such a nice weekend at this farm in Rochester in October, I wanted to post it. The location was ideal, beautiful scenery surrounded the farm. The highlights were the food, the owners, wonderful guests and being able to experience a small part of farm life. Definately 4 star meals for dinner; lots of dishes lining the table from one end to the other. We said grace together and joined hands. It was such a nice feeling, I can't really describe it. The thing about farm stays is that you have to like eating breakfast and dinner at the same table with all the guests and also, sharing bathrooms, sometimes even a small wait. The rooms and bathrooms are exceptionally clean but simple. This is a stellar place for families with children but couples and singles would certainly love it as well. The owners are wonderful and more than accommodating. There is a nice common room where we all congregated in the evening and after meals (there was not much else to do except maybe visit the herd in the barn and see the newborns and kittens, which I did and really enjoyed). So it's not a fancy B&B or Inn but certainly a fun place to stay and learn about dairy farming and all the hard work that involves the whole family. The food was to die for and "farm fresh". The desserts were amazing and the breakfasts were so large with so many varieties of food I was set until dinner! I'd recommend Liberty Hill Farm highly and would definately go back again in the near future. Dairy farms needs to be preserved in our country. It was a real eye opener to see all that is involved in running this type of business.

[SMS]

I haven't been on the forum much since my trip last year but I was going back through posts and really wanted to give a few recommendations for your requested areas of Middlebury, and Stowe.

We had a wonderful time at the charming Fairy Tale Farm in Middlebury and the fabulous Belding House B&B in Moretown (near Stowe).

The Fairy Tale Farm B&B is run by Tom and Nacy Maxwell. They were such nice folks and wonderfully accomodating. We were only able to stay with them one night due to our busy traveling schedule but we wished we could have stayed longer. We arrived pretty late in the evening and Tom gave us restaurant suggestions in nearby Vergennes. We had dinner and then arrived at the Farm when it was dark. We couldn't see much of the surroundings so we had no idea what would await us when we woke up. (more on that later) Tom got us settled in our room. There was a lovely selection of books and a cozy chair to curl up and read in, the bathroom was very nice and came complete with fuzzy robes and bath salts/bubbles. We had our our entrance/exit door that we left open (with the screen door closed) to let the cool fall air blow in while we slept. We woke up the next morning and stepped out our screen door and were greeted by one of the most beautiful farm scene mornings I've ever experienced. There was a low fog that had settled in and chickens sucrried around the yard. There was a beautiful red barn right outside and a lovely view of the mountains in the distance. It was easy to see why they call this "Fairy Tale" farm. Nancy prepared a wonderful breakfast for us, complete with sausage from a local farm and even included grits for us as she knew we were Southerners. It was delicious. After breakfast we went for a lovely walk through the neighboring wooded area and returned to help Nancy take the two donkeys (Elvis and Jerry Lee) for a walk down to the meadow. This was a fun experience. We were sad to have to leave shortly after to hit the road on to our next destination. Tom and Nancy were wonderful and we will definitely try to visit the Fairy Tale Farm B&B again! Visit their website at www.fairytalefarmvt.com

The Belding House B&B in Moretown was our next stop. The Belding House is run by Larry Richichi and Clif Thompson. They are just delightful! They both are so welcoming and hospitable. The Belding House is a home with some very interesting history. It has beautiful hardwood floors so this is a "no shoes" house. It is a cute sight to arrive and see all of the guests' shoes lined up on the porch. The Belding House is beautifully decorated and especially for the fall season had wonderful touches of fall color and decoration. There were wonderful pumpkin spice candles burning in the dining room and living room that smelled so wonderful. Each afternoon there is a variety of snacks out for the guests...during our stay they had yummy cookies and delicious mini pumpkin cheesecakes. In addition to these treats, each evening they have a variety of beers, wine, etc. for a nightcap. Their living room is very comfortable for relaxing or mingling with the other guests. Larry and Clif always have wonderful music playing in the living room such as Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, etc. It is a wonderful atmosphere. We stayed in the Butternut Farm room upstairs. It was great. Each room has a fireplace and wondfully comfortable, plush featherbeds and high thread-count sheets. We had a very restful sleep. The Maplewood Corner room downstairs looked delightful as well, we might have to reserve that one on our next trip. Breakfast is to die for! The have a beautiful long farm table in the dining room where you have breakfast along with the other guests. We really enjoyed this time getting to talk with the other guests and discuss our different plans for the day and then report back the following morning. We met some wonderful people. Clif is a wonderful cook and made some delicious items such as pumpkin waffles, and a delicious southwest egg bake (a nod to their former home, Arizona). The plate is always perfectly beautiful complete with colorfal fall leaves to garnish the plate. In addition to the hot breakfast, there was always an assortment of yogurt, fruit, and cereal. Larry and Clif are both really helpful with recommendations for activities in the area. They have a wide array of maps, brocures, etc. and are very happy to make dinner reservations for you and suggest fun activities for the day in nearby Waterbury, Stowe, and the Mad River Valley. This stay is WELL worth the price! The smells, sights, and sounds of the Belding House B&B were just delightful! We had a wonderful experience and can't wait to visit with Larry and Clif again soon! Please visit their website at www.beldinghouse.com

Hope these recommendations help!

[ctyanky]

Sarah Marie: Thank you for your delicious descriptions of the Fairy Tale Farm and Belding House! I ended up booking my inns towards winter's end at the Inn at Mountain View Farm and the Wildflower Inn in the Northeast Kingdom, the Donomar Inn in Stowe and also the Wilder Farm in Waitsfield for this fall's 10 day trip. Next year for sure, I will try to stay at the Fairy Tale Farm in Middlebury. It sounds divine and my kind of place! I've always longed to stay in this type of setting in the mountains. The breakfasts also sound wonderful, just like Liberty Hill Farm. We may just take a ride up there to take a peak one day while we are in Vermont! I'm intrigued! I had scoped out Belding House but they were booked already for the first weekend in October when I was trolling lodging websites. That is also an option for next year. It sounds first class and the website was beautiful - very refined lodging indeed!

Will you be coming to Vermont this year? If so, we would love to see you at the reunion the first weekend of October!

Thanks again for your reply and hope to see you online soon in future forum posts! CTYANKY

P.S. Hopefully more responses will come in over the next couple of months because it is helpful getting first hand accounts of stays from those on this wonderful forum!

[ctyanky]

Everyone! So excited to get my July/August issue of Yankee Magazine and see Libery Hill Farm highlighted by author Christina Tree in a lovely article entitled Rooms of Wonder where she answers the question: "If you could stay overnight at only five places in New England, where would they be?" Liberty Hill made her top five! Her beautiful description of the farm and it's owners and endearing photos beckon you to stay here! I feel privileged to have stayed at this wonderful farm! Hope some of you can stay here during foliage season!

[Susan2004]

Although I have enjoyed reading others' descriptions, I'm afraid I probably can't be of much help. For the last several years of our Vermont vacations we have opted for renting cabins or houses rather than inns and hotels.

The last time we stayed at an Inn in Vermont that I enjoyed it was the Green Trails Inn in Brookfield. We very much enjoyed the inn, our room, the hosts, and our breakfast. However, that was in the late 90's and I think I heard the owners have changed, so who knows how accurate my description would be now.

As for the rentals, we have been fortunate and truly enjoyed each of the three we have stayed in...

a cottage on Hinesburg on Lake Iroquois: http://www.vermontproperty.com/detail/V ... entals/36/

a chalet in Ludlow: http://www.allholidayrental.com/listing ... =100-34054

and the lovely timber frame home in Waterbury we have rented the last two years...forgive me for not sharing the website on that one!

[wentworth]

yes, we just made reservations for a suite at the Comfort Inn in Killington for Oct. 5 thru the 9th--we've stayed there before--As you said, Killington is a nice central base for the State--Last year we stayed at the Comfort Inn up in St. Johnsbury, and enjoyed it quite a bit--We also decided to stay last year at the famous Bretton Woods Resort Hotel in New Hampshire, for just one night because it is very expensive--Classy place, built 100 years ago for the well-to-do--huge porch, giant staircase, nice dining room(gotta be dressed up) and classy room service--but the rooms themselves sure creak a lot tho lol---nice to hear that you've been renting a house--We may do that also one day, we used to do it in Murphy, North Carolina(near the Blue Ridge Mountains) all the time many years ago--nice link btw--thanks