Tag Archives: bed and breakfast

Stowe, VT: Brass Lantern Inn Bed & Breakfast

23 Jan

Heading up to ski in Stowe this winter?  Thinking about spending some time in VT even if you’re not a snow buddy?  These next few weeks I’ll post a wrap-up of all the great places we visiting in and around Stowe, Vermont.

We were invited up to Stowe by some friends who go up almost every year around Christmas time.  Even though  none of us are skiers, we all looked forward to a relaxing weekend in a beautiful part of this country.

Our friends have been guests at The Brass Lantern Inn Bed and Breakfast a number of times before, and we were excited to join them.  We went up on a very icy weekend.

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We spent a good amount of time on the couches by the fire place, playing games (especially Cards Against Humanity), reading, and drinking.

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Oh and playing piano. (or… at least… trying to)

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The rooms were incredibly comfortable and very New Englandy.

Each morning, breakfast was posted on a white board.

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And there is coffee, tea, and hot chocolate available.

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And some local maple syrup and butter. (More on a Cabot in a later post)

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The french toast was really great, and I loved the baked apples.

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I loved the fruit parfait with really delicious yogurt and granola that tasted very homemade.

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The frittata and home fries (sweet potato and yukon gold) was one of my favorite breakfasts that weekend.

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These were awesome blueberry pancakes, and that fresh maple syrup on them were fantastic.

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We really enjoyed our stay and I would highly recommend this inn (and their delicious breakfasts) to anyone.

The innkeepers, Mary Anne and George, couldn’t be more welcoming and helpful.

A wonderful long weekend away!

 

Maine Cubed: Camden- Grand Harbor Inn

28 Jun

I did a lot of searching for hotels in Camden and really wanted to stay at the Grand Harbor Inn since we saw it being built on our kayak tour 2 years ago and it looks beautiful. But rooms were just out of our price range for a weekend getaway.  So I booked a night at the Lord Camden Inn, a very recognizable inn on Main Street with blue awnings, that happens to be the sister property of the Grand Harbor Inn. We checked in and headed up to our room… only to find that it was still occupied.  Luckily, the person wasn’t IN the room at the time, but I walked in and thought it just wasn’t cleaned, only to turn around and find car keys and credit cards on the shelf (scary).  

We went downstairs to the front desk, told them what we found, and without missing a beat the woman at the desk made a phone call and confirmed that “Room #11 was open.”  She apologized and very professionally told us that we were being upgraded to their sister property, the Grand Harbor Inn.  How on earth my luck came in at this moment, I have no idea, but it was some fantastic luck.

We went down the street and checked in. The woman at the desk gave us a personal tour of the room and pointed out some lovely features.

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We also had a large flat screen TV and a fireplace (which we turned on, even though it was warm).

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The bathroom was something else. Beautifully designed with a great jacuzzi tub…

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… and this… this pièce de résistance… the shower.  

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8 streams and all of them movable. I put this on very hot and basically had a back massage from the shower.  This was freakin’ heaven.

The hotel is on the harbor and just a short walk away is my favorite view.

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It’s a narrow harbor with beautiful boats in it. It always looks like a postcard.

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And as we sat there and took in the view, a loon (my favorite bird) made an appearance right in front of us.  

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Heading back to the hotel that night, after eating at The Pearl, we found our bed beautifully turned down.

The bed was probably the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. I thought the bed at Pomegranate was comfy, and I thought Westin Heavenly Beds are comfy, but they didn’t hold a candle to this cloud.

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This hotel doesn’t have a breakfast facility, so you fill out a card the night before and they bring room service up to you. It’s included in the room price.  We had a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit with yogurt and croissants.  Fresh coffee and juice.

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And we had “the worst view” in the hotel, with only a partial harbor view from the balcony, but it was still absolutely gorgeous.

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We had a phenomenal stay and that strange accident that brought us here was just kismet.It was easily the best hotel I have ever stayed at, and I’ve been fortunate enough to stay at some lovely places while traveling on business.

Our stay made a fan out of me and next time I’m in Camden, I know it will be worth the extra money to stay here again.   And hey… we might just be in the area to get married next year. I’m sure it would make for a lovely honeymoon suite!

Maine Cubed: Portland- Pomegranate Inn

26 Jun

 When we were in Portland, we decided to stay at a quaint, quirky Bed & Breakfast called the Pomegranate Inn.  The Inn itself was like being in a very eclectic museum.  Our room was the “small” room but it was plenty large enough, with a beautiful design, super comfy bed, and lovely bath. Perhaps it’s because we’re New Yorkers who are used to small size, but I was surprised that this room would ever be considered small. We loved it! Here are some pictures of the inn itself.

In the morning, we went downstairs for breakfast in the lovely dining room.  Our hosts greeted us and we grabbed some coffee and checked out the menu for the morning while our food was prepared.

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The port wine poached pear was awesome. And the blue cheese could not have gone better with it.

But then the cheese blintz souffle came out… HOLY COW.  This was as delicious as it was beautiful, if not more so.  The bacon was crisp (the way I like it) and it had absolutely delicious peaches.  The souffle itself was a cross between a fluffy pancake in texture and a blintz in flavor.  Sensational.

This dish was so inspired that I actually wound up buying the innkeepers cookbook, The Art of Breakfast. If you love beautiful works of art for breakfast, this cookbook is great.


We absolutely loved our stay and wished we could have stayed longer.  I highly recommend this B&B to anyone staying in Portland, ME.