Vermont Bed and Breakfast
Read more articles on Travel and Travel Planning.April 13, 2007
Posted by MarySmithCO
April 13, 2007
Posted by MarySmithCO
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Vermont B&Bs became famous during the 1980s when Bob Newhart starred in Newhart, a show about an bed and breakfast inn keeper in the Green Mountain State. Many vacationers, looking to recapture the romance and searching for the hospitality Bob, along with his neighbors Larry, Darryl and the other brother Darryl showed toward their guests. Not all Vermont bed and breakfasts offer quirky neighbors but they still serve generous helpings of romance and hospitality.
If you’ve never stayed at a bed and breakfast inn, you may be under the impression they are too expensive, don’t offer privacy or you’ll have to make friends with the innkeepers and other guests. This isn’t so.
For starters, the privacy a professional bed and breakfast owner and the other guests provide should be comparable to a hotel and far better than staying at relative’s home. Once you’ve completed your initial tour of the inn and are shown to your room, you may only see the innkeepers and other guests at breakfast. Innkeepers are acutely aware of their guests’ need for privacy and do everything they can to respect it.
You won’t have to make a lot of small talk at the breakfast table, many bed and breakfast innkeepers and guests alike realize you might be a bit introverted. You may end up sitting next to strangers but most won’t try to force conversation onto you. No more than an overly-friendly waitress at an impersonal restaurant.
Some vacationers and business travelers that have avoided a Vermont B&B stay often do so because they think there will be a bunch of strange rules and curfews to follow. Most B&Bs don’t have a curfew but do ask for quiet entry and exit, out of respect for other guests, during the nighttime hours. You won’t be asked to leave your shoes at the door or stay out of the house for hours during the day. In fact, many experienced B&B guests claim the rules in their own home are more stringent than at an inn.
As for being more expensive, some Vermont bed and breakfast accommodations can come with a bigger price tag than a hotel but that isn’t necessarily the case. Weekends are most popular, so they are usually more expensive and fill up faster than weekdays. Of course, you are in a unique position to negotiate a better deal since the innkeeper is usually the reservations representative. Make sure you factor in the value of a homemade, full breakfast instead of stale muffins and cold coffee.
Unique Vermont Bed & Breakfasts
The experience of staying at a B&B in Vermont, or anywhere for that matter, is a much more unique than a cookie-cutter hotel chain stay. Even among bed and breakfasts there are a few exceptional inns offering more, or less, than others.
If you are looking for a theme for your vacation, consider a New England covered bridges tour. The Arlington Inn is a Vermont bed and breakfast that offers a special covered bridges package, including two nights, a candlelit dinner, full breakfast each morning, a map and brief history of Vermont covered bridges and a picnic lunch for two to enjoy during your day of touring. The Stone Hill Inn bed and breakfast is located in Lamoille County which boasts of more covered bridges than any other Vermont county. In Warren Vermont, the West Hill House Bed and Breakfast is conveniently located to a 30-mile loop that offers six covered bridges including the oldest covered bridge in Vermont and the smallest covered bridge in the world.
Do you enjoy castles but can’t afford a trip to “Mother England” or the Scottish Countryside? You’ll be happy to know there are few in the States as well. The Castle is an aptly named Vermont bed and breakfast in Ludlow, offering ten guest rooms in a mansion that is more than a century old. You’ll marvel at the European craftsmanship and ornate, original 1905 wallpaper throughout the house but especially in the grand staircase.
The Readmore offers a little more than a bed and the first meal – the Readmore is actually a “Bed, Breakfast & Books” inn. Book worms will enjoy this inn since the keepers collect and sell books of all sorts, though they specialize in books on gardening, cooking, biographies, history, poetry and the railroad. Guest rooms are decorated according to one of these themes and offers rare or unique books for sale. Readmore is located in Bellows Falls, Vermont.
Looking for a little murder on your holiday? Consider staying at the Austin Hill Inn. This Mount Snow, Vermont bed and breakfast offers murder mystery themed weekend getaways about once per month. Each guest is assigned a character in a murder mystery game that takes place on Saturday evening. Everyone plays detective to figure out who-done-it throughout the four course candlelit dinner. On weekends when no murder is planned, there is access to nearby skiing, golf and spa services.
When money is no object, there are a couple swanky places to consider. The Inn at Sawmill Farm may charge a few hundred to close to a thousand dollars per night, but they include a gourmet breakfast and dinner each night. The converted barn is home to ten guest rooms, two with Jacuzzis and four with balconies. Innkeepers at this B&B specialize in creating custom menus and vacation packages for their guests.
The Pitcher Inn, located in Warren, is set apart from many other B&Bs because of its attention to detail in the room décor. There’s a School Room with detailed murals covering the walls and schoolhouse antiques throughout. The Calvin Coolidge Room is elegant but simple in the Victorian style. The Lodge Room features an oversized four-poster bed and Masonic artifacts. There are also two two-bedroom suites available, the Stable and the Hayloft. Be prepared to pay for their attention to detail, though, rooms here run between $375 and $700 a night.
Don’t forget to call well in advance to reserve your room, especially if you are planning a weekend stay. Vermont bed & breakfast accommodations fill up fast.
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