|
|
|
|||||||
|
Inn of the Week Cornucopia
of Dorset One of the more inviting and elegant B&Bs anywhere is offered by John and Trish Reddoch, ex-Californians who moved east when they found themselves empty-nesters and wanted to run a B&B. They took over from the original owners in late 1999 and kept everything basically the same. “We’ll do a minor improvement or two,” said John, “but there’s not a lot of room for that.” A onetime manager for the late Magic Pan Crêperie chain, he pledged that Cornucopia’s traditional culinary forte would continue. “We’re using the same menus and recipes,” he said. Cornucopia lives up to its name, offering an abundance of warmth, comfort and personality. It has only four guest rooms and a cottage suite, but what accommodations they are! All air-conditioned and with large, modern baths, they contain king or queensize poster or canopy beds, all afluff with down comforters or colorful quilts and pillows and merino wool mattress pads. All but one have fireplaces. Upholstered chairs flank three-way reading lamps. Terrycloth robes, bowls of fruit, freshly baked cookies, telephones, CD players and Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries are the norm. Check out the walls in the rear Dorset Hill Room; they are painted in two kinds of white stripes that look like wallpaper. We found the Mother Myrick Room particularly comfortable with a kingsize bed against a wall of shelves containing books and photos. The rear cottage with cathedral-ceilinged living room, fireplace, eat-in kitchen, loft bedroom and a sun deck is a private retreat. Complementary champagne is served at check-in (wines and champagnes are available for purchase as well). Help-yourself coffee, tea and hot chocolate are at hand 24 hours a day, although a wake-up tray of coffee or tea arrives outside your door in the morning. Upon your return from dinner, you'll find your bedroom lights dimmed, an oil lamp or scented candle flickering, and candy – perhaps a Lindt truffle or a slice of yummy buttercrunch from our favorite Mother Myrick's Confectionery – on the pillow of a bed turned down ever so artistically. Delightful as the guest quarters are, they are nearly overshadowed by the common rooms. The entire first floor of the house is turned over to guests. The cozy front library has bare oak floors, a leather chair with hassock and a backgammon table. It offers a fireplace, as does the living room with its inviting loveseats. The large dining room is centered by a family-style table on a huge oriental rug. It opens into a contemporary sunroom with comfy seating, where we would gladly while away the hours. More than 50 movies are available for the VCR here. Outside are Adirondack chairs and rockers on Dorset's obligatory marble patio, this one canopied and looking across colorful gardens. The Reddochs pamper their guests with everything from scrapbooks displaying mounted restaurant menus to lavish breakfasts, the menu for which is detailed on a personalized card left in your room the night before. The meal starts with fresh orange juice and a fruit course, at one visit a colorful dish of honeydew melon topped with raspberries, strawberries, kiwi and banana slices, and French vanilla yogurt. A winter day brought warm spiced applesauce topped with granola, toasted almonds and crème fraîche. Berry and pecan muffins follow. The piece de resistance was a baked croissant à l’orange with crème fraîche at one visit, a baked ham and egg cup with Vermont cheddar served with a petite croissant at another. The baked raspberry pancakes were so good that we asked for the recipe. You won't leave the table hungry or the Cornucopia unimpressed. (802) 867-5751 or (800) 566-5751. Fax (802) 867-5753. www.cornucopiaofdorset.com Four rooms and one cottage with private baths. Doubles, $135 to $175 weekends and foliage, $125 to $150 midweek. Cottage suite, $255 weekends, $210 midweek.Material excerpted from next edition of Getaways for Gourmets in the Northeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2000.
E-mail feedback to: Home
page |
Full destination index | |
|
|||||||||||||||||
