Ahhh, 5 years of marital bliss. It’s hard to believe that already 5 years ago (when I was only 22…I could barely drink!) I married my best friend in the whole wide world. We have grown up together, and we have had more fun than should be allowed of any two people in such a short period of time. So, this is reason to celebrate, right? And what is the best way to celebrate in my world?? A weekend away, of course!
On past anniversaries, we have visited the Mohonk Mountain House (another post…no worries..), which happens to be one of my favorite places on the planet- but this year I wanted to do something different. In trying to choose a place that would make both myself and my husband very happy, I decided on Vermont. I pictured roaring fires, falling snow, romantic dinners and crazy sick conditions on the mountain (this was the part that would make my husband especially happy)…. And that is exactly what we got during our visit to Dorset & Manchester VT. Of course, me being the frual chica that I am- did plenty of research before booking this trip. After searching for the perfect bed & breakfast, I found The Dorset Inn (www.thedorsetinn.com). Their rate on the site was a bit higher than I wanted to pay, so I called and asked for a cheaper one. Yes, just like that. I called and said I really love your property, and would really love to stay here on such and such a date- do you have any rate discounts or specials…and they said yes! I secured The Dorset Inn at $150 a night with breakfast included. Not too shabby.
We made the trek through the snow up to Dorset (VT got 50 inches of snow in a week!!), and upon arriving at The Dorset Inn, I knew we’d made a great decision. The building is from 1796, but was totally refurbished by the current owners. It is a 30 room Inn, but has the feel of a 3 bedroom B&B. It smelled of a burning fire, and fresh brewed coffee when we walked in (about 1.5 hours before checkin)…and a cd of classical arrangements of Beatles tunes was playing. I was in love. The friendly front desk staff showed us around the ground level which included the sitting room with roaring fire, couches, and chess set, the breakfast room, tavern and dining room. We were then shown to our room (room 7, Ernest Way). SO cute! It was not a huge room, but nice & cozy. The décor was beautiful; classic & quaint. The cheese platter that I ordered before our arrivalwas waiting for us.It was only $9 for 3 cheeses! I chose a local Vermont blue, goat and sheep cheese which they served with locally made crackers and bread, craisins, candied pecans, and a piece of honey comb that held some of the most succulent honey I have ever tasted!A fabulous deal, and treat upon our arrival! We then proceeded to unpack, each our delish cheese, pop a bottle of proscecco and toast the weekend (ALWAYS need to toast....), turn on our big flat screen tv…and watch Curling. How romantic, right?! Damn that silly sport, it is totally addictive to watch. After relaxing a bit, we went down to the sitting room for tea and cookies (also included in the room rate). The Dorset Inn serves Tazo tea (love their mint tea) and homemade sweets every afternoon from 3-5 pm. We enjoyed some delicious oatmeal raisin cookies and cranberry biscotti- yum!
Food: The food in the southern Vermont area is, shall we say, a bit boring. For me, at least. It’s all very “American” (I typically only go out for food I don’t cook at home.. i.e. Thai, Indian etc..), but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t tasty all the same! We went to Candeleros (www.candeleros.net) for dinner our first evening, and got the BBQ for 2 platter. It was a great deal at $33 for 2 people! Our plates were piled high with smoked BBQ ribs, half a roasted BBQ’d chicken, pulled pork on Texas Toast, cornbread and chile coleslaw. The sangria was yummy too. We walked out of there paying $50 for a huge dinner for 2, so we were pretty happy (and very full!). On our second night, we chose to have our anniversary dinner at the Dorset Inn. The Dorset Inn has a wonderful wine list that has received accolades from Wine Enthusiast magazine, and a fabulous menu to match. I got the shrimp & linguine dinner and the celery & truffle soup to start with (to die for!!). Matt opted for their angus burger topped with Vermont (of course..)cheddar on a brioche bun. It really was a lovely meal. Not exactly as frugal as we are used to at this place…but hey, it was our anniversary! As for breakfast, as I said before, The Dorest Inn includes breakfast in the rate...and not some shabby continental-ish danish and coffee...full breakfast menu. We both chose Eggs Benedict the first morning, and Vermont Eggs (poached and served with hollandaise) and Potato Bacon Pancakes (can you tell? we totally watch our weight). By far my favorite meals of the weekend!
Activities: Vermont is so beautiful when it snows, and the conditions for snowboarding (or skiing) are typically much better than the NJ conditions. But when southern VT gets 50” of snow in one week…the conditions are totally amazing. We chose to go to Stratton for a day of snowboarding. DISCLAIMER: not a frugal choice at all. Lift tickets here are super pricey. If you buy your tickets on line, or go in the afternoon- the price is a bit better (save about $5 or so), but nothing to get excited about. Besides that sole fact, I loved Stratton. I loved the mountain, I loved the little European style village, and I loved that enclosed Gondola lift.
The second mountain we went to was Bromley. Comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges. While we thought Bromley was nothing to brag about (it’s smaller, has older lifts, no fancy lodge), they do have some great midweek rates, especially for families. On Friday’s a family of four can ski for just $108. So consider this mountain if in the VT area for the great pricing…but I wouldn’t make the four hour trek from NY just to come here.
One of our favorite activities on this getaway was the horse drawn sleigh ride that we took at Taylor Farm in Londonderry, VT (www.taylorfarmvermont.com). We arrived at Taylor farm and tasted some of their delicious and award winning Gouda (gotta love complimentary tastings!), and then hopped on the sleigh that could carry a total of 10 people (there were 8 ppl in total on our ride). A few of the farms friendly dogs jumped on the sleigh with us (which I just loved), we bundled ourselves up in the blankets they provided and off we went! The 15 minute ride to the campfire in the woods was picture perfect as the snow fell down around us. Upon arriving at the campfire we toasted marshmellows on the fire and drank delicious cider. We refilled our cider cups for the beautiful 15 min. ride back. This super fun ride only cost $15 per person! It was a fun, different and romantic experience. Taylor Farm also does private sleigh rides (fun for if you want to pop the all important question…) for about $100.
Other than snowboarding, cheesetasting, and sleigh riding, there really wasn’t much else to do in the Dorset area (while watching our budget) besides relax. And that exact reason is why I love Vermont so much! Book a weekend getaway with your hunny and reconnect...or just hit the mountain.
On past anniversaries, we have visited the Mohonk Mountain House (another post…no worries..), which happens to be one of my favorite places on the planet- but this year I wanted to do something different. In trying to choose a place that would make both myself and my husband very happy, I decided on Vermont. I pictured roaring fires, falling snow, romantic dinners and crazy sick conditions on the mountain (this was the part that would make my husband especially happy)…. And that is exactly what we got during our visit to Dorset & Manchester VT. Of course, me being the frual chica that I am- did plenty of research before booking this trip. After searching for the perfect bed & breakfast, I found The Dorset Inn (www.thedorsetinn.com). Their rate on the site was a bit higher than I wanted to pay, so I called and asked for a cheaper one. Yes, just like that. I called and said I really love your property, and would really love to stay here on such and such a date- do you have any rate discounts or specials…and they said yes! I secured The Dorset Inn at $150 a night with breakfast included. Not too shabby.
We made the trek through the snow up to Dorset (VT got 50 inches of snow in a week!!), and upon arriving at The Dorset Inn, I knew we’d made a great decision. The building is from 1796, but was totally refurbished by the current owners. It is a 30 room Inn, but has the feel of a 3 bedroom B&B. It smelled of a burning fire, and fresh brewed coffee when we walked in (about 1.5 hours before checkin)…and a cd of classical arrangements of Beatles tunes was playing. I was in love. The friendly front desk staff showed us around the ground level which included the sitting room with roaring fire, couches, and chess set, the breakfast room, tavern and dining room. We were then shown to our room (room 7, Ernest Way). SO cute! It was not a huge room, but nice & cozy. The décor was beautiful; classic & quaint. The cheese platter that I ordered before our arrivalwas waiting for us.It was only $9 for 3 cheeses! I chose a local Vermont blue, goat and sheep cheese which they served with locally made crackers and bread, craisins, candied pecans, and a piece of honey comb that held some of the most succulent honey I have ever tasted!A fabulous deal, and treat upon our arrival! We then proceeded to unpack, each our delish cheese, pop a bottle of proscecco and toast the weekend (ALWAYS need to toast....), turn on our big flat screen tv…and watch Curling. How romantic, right?! Damn that silly sport, it is totally addictive to watch. After relaxing a bit, we went down to the sitting room for tea and cookies (also included in the room rate). The Dorset Inn serves Tazo tea (love their mint tea) and homemade sweets every afternoon from 3-5 pm. We enjoyed some delicious oatmeal raisin cookies and cranberry biscotti- yum!
Food: The food in the southern Vermont area is, shall we say, a bit boring. For me, at least. It’s all very “American” (I typically only go out for food I don’t cook at home.. i.e. Thai, Indian etc..), but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t tasty all the same! We went to Candeleros (www.candeleros.net) for dinner our first evening, and got the BBQ for 2 platter. It was a great deal at $33 for 2 people! Our plates were piled high with smoked BBQ ribs, half a roasted BBQ’d chicken, pulled pork on Texas Toast, cornbread and chile coleslaw. The sangria was yummy too. We walked out of there paying $50 for a huge dinner for 2, so we were pretty happy (and very full!). On our second night, we chose to have our anniversary dinner at the Dorset Inn. The Dorset Inn has a wonderful wine list that has received accolades from Wine Enthusiast magazine, and a fabulous menu to match. I got the shrimp & linguine dinner and the celery & truffle soup to start with (to die for!!). Matt opted for their angus burger topped with Vermont (of course..)cheddar on a brioche bun. It really was a lovely meal. Not exactly as frugal as we are used to at this place…but hey, it was our anniversary! As for breakfast, as I said before, The Dorest Inn includes breakfast in the rate...and not some shabby continental-ish danish and coffee...full breakfast menu. We both chose Eggs Benedict the first morning, and Vermont Eggs (poached and served with hollandaise) and Potato Bacon Pancakes (can you tell? we totally watch our weight). By far my favorite meals of the weekend!
Activities: Vermont is so beautiful when it snows, and the conditions for snowboarding (or skiing) are typically much better than the NJ conditions. But when southern VT gets 50” of snow in one week…the conditions are totally amazing. We chose to go to Stratton for a day of snowboarding. DISCLAIMER: not a frugal choice at all. Lift tickets here are super pricey. If you buy your tickets on line, or go in the afternoon- the price is a bit better (save about $5 or so), but nothing to get excited about. Besides that sole fact, I loved Stratton. I loved the mountain, I loved the little European style village, and I loved that enclosed Gondola lift.
The second mountain we went to was Bromley. Comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges. While we thought Bromley was nothing to brag about (it’s smaller, has older lifts, no fancy lodge), they do have some great midweek rates, especially for families. On Friday’s a family of four can ski for just $108. So consider this mountain if in the VT area for the great pricing…but I wouldn’t make the four hour trek from NY just to come here.
One of our favorite activities on this getaway was the horse drawn sleigh ride that we took at Taylor Farm in Londonderry, VT (www.taylorfarmvermont.com). We arrived at Taylor farm and tasted some of their delicious and award winning Gouda (gotta love complimentary tastings!), and then hopped on the sleigh that could carry a total of 10 people (there were 8 ppl in total on our ride). A few of the farms friendly dogs jumped on the sleigh with us (which I just loved), we bundled ourselves up in the blankets they provided and off we went! The 15 minute ride to the campfire in the woods was picture perfect as the snow fell down around us. Upon arriving at the campfire we toasted marshmellows on the fire and drank delicious cider. We refilled our cider cups for the beautiful 15 min. ride back. This super fun ride only cost $15 per person! It was a fun, different and romantic experience. Taylor Farm also does private sleigh rides (fun for if you want to pop the all important question…) for about $100.
Other than snowboarding, cheesetasting, and sleigh riding, there really wasn’t much else to do in the Dorset area (while watching our budget) besides relax. And that exact reason is why I love Vermont so much! Book a weekend getaway with your hunny and reconnect...or just hit the mountain.
Oh, and now to totally disprove the sole fact that we are frugal people (but, really we are…so keep reading please.. thanks:-) ), my amazing husband got me beautiful diamond hoops as an anniversary present. What does this have to do with our frugal trip to VT, you ask?? Nada. I am just bragging that I am one lucky woman.
Sounds like a wonderful time! I had no idea Vermont had so much to offer. Good Post!
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