When I stayed at the Woodstock Inn and Resort in Vermont this past April, I remember thinking what a great place this would be to visit in the summer—a pool, tennis courts, golf course, hiking, biking, fly fishing...
or, of course, autumn would be terrific, with most of those same activities surrounded by iconic Vermont fall foliage…
or winter, with skiing, x-country, snowboarding, fat biking, snowshoeing...
but spring was great, too—cool enough to keep the fireplaces going—the spa with all its relaxing amenities, including a hot tub and sauna—the game room with all the classic board games and the basement rec room, complete with pinball machines.
Okay, the Inn is a great place to stay any time of the year!
When I first walked in, the Inn felt like home. This was my first time back since moving to Kansas eight years ago, and the traditional décor style felt very familiar to me. Plus, I was overwhelmed by the huge fireplace in the lobby. I could almost stand up inside it!
My room was perfect. I loved the cozy king-sized bed, comfortable chair for reading, and desk for keeping up with some writing obligations.
Oh, and the huge marble bathroom!
But it was the fireplace I enjoyed most—lying in bed watching the flames dance and listening to the logs crackle and pop. It did make the room smell smoky, which I didn’t find bothersome, but some of you might.
I was very excited by Red Barns at Kelly Way Gardens. This is a gardener’s and/or food lover’s dream location. This spring, the Inn introduced the new culinary and garden studios, where you can take part in tasty food events and up your skills with cooking and gardening classes. Or you can just wander through the gardens, which are a part of the farm-to-table program for the Inn. The staff grows more than 200 varieties of vegetables, 50 varieties of herbs and edible flowers, 75 varieties of berries and orchard plantings, a mushroom glen and 200 varieties of cut flowers.
Speaking of food, the Inn uses all of that lovely produce from the gardens in their two restaurants, both of which serve scrumptious dishes. Guests and locals enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Red Rooster or a cozy dinner at the Richardson’s Tavern.
Breakfast in the Red Rooster was a great way to start the day. I had a glass of the citrus power juice mixture, followed by some tasty blueberry griddle cakes. On my last evening there, I stopped in for a late-evening dessert. It was a triple honey treat of cremeux, mousse, and coulis all made with Kelly Way Gardens honey! Mmmmm!
The food was wonderful in both restaurants, but for atmosphere, I loved the cozy tavern with its blazing fireplace and casual seating. I enjoyed a lovely potato-leek soup to start, and then the ale-battered Atlantic cod served with Old Bay seasoned fries.
Woodstock is a walking village, and the Inn is right in the center on the Village Green. You can spend the day checking out some fun shops and restaurants along main streets through town.
By the way, you can spend an entire day just enjoying the Inn’s spa! I got a wonderful massage while I was there. You can read my write-up about the spa on Woodstock Magazine’s blog.
Since my visit, I’ve had dreams of returning to the Inn for a much longer visit this time. There are so many things to do and see I missed out on! Don’t you miss out!
Disclaimer: The Woodstock Inn and Resort hosted me for one night of my stay. The rest was paid for by Buick/GMC. I paid for my spa treatment and some of my meals. The opinions in this blog post are entirely my own, and the Inn is not paying me to make this post.
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