Franconia/Sugar Hill/
Bethlehem
Rabbit Hill Inn

48 Lower Waterford Road
Lower Waterford , VT 05848

If you have an iota of romance in your soul, you'll love this white-columned "inn for romantics" in a tiny Vermont hillside hamlet just across the Connecticut River from New Hampshire . Where else would you find, upon retiring to your room after a candlelight dinner, the bed turned down, soft music playing, the lights turned off, an oil lamp flickering in a hurricane chimney, and a small stuffed and decorated heart on the bed to use as a "do not disturb" sign and yours to take home?

That's just a sample of the care and concern that innkeepers Leslie and Brian Mulcahy show for their guests. Since 1994, they have been personally de-stressing guests with their brand of “traditional innkeeping” to a world of people whose lives they find have been too consumed with cell phones, pagers, pdas and laptop computers.

Upon arrival, Brian is apt to greet you with a "welcome to our home." In your room is a personal note of welcome from Leslie. Depending on the season you'll find hot or iced tea, perhaps flavored with red clover, and delicious pastries in the afternoon in the cozy parlor. Next to it is a pub, the Snooty Fox, with comfortable sofas and upholstered chairs in one section and a newer section with game tables, an authentic 18th-century barn decor and handcrafted Vermont furniture. Across the road are a small gazebo near a pond for swimming and fishing, a bridge, a tree swing and nature trails.

The nineteen guest accommodations, all with private baths and most with air-conditioning, are in the 1825 main inn, a carriage wing and the 1795 tavern building next door.

Rabbit Hill has been decorated with loving care. Each room has a theme and fifteen have working gas fireplaces with andirons in the shape of rabbits.

Among the more prized accommodations is the Tavern's Secret, transformed from two existing rooms and a bath at the rear of the 1795 building. The secret? Pull forward what appears to be a floor-to-ceiling bookcase opposite the fireplace and you find a gleaming bathroom with brass fixtures and a double jacuzzi. Romantics can enjoy the fireplace from either the kingsize canopy bed or the jacuzzi.

No sooner was this completed than Rabbit Hill set about creating the Nest, converting an office and private quarters upstairs into a fireplaced bedroom with custom-made queen canopy bed, a European dressing room with a whirlpool tub for two and a private sun deck. The subsequent Loft, hidden behind a secret door, and the Turnabout quickly followed.

The Mulcahys turned four more rooms into luxury quarters. Their grandest suite is the Jonathan Cummings, a fireplaced bedroom with queen canopy bed and a spacious dressing/sitting room with another fireplace facing a 44-jet hydro-massage tub for two. A private screened porch yields a scenic mountain view . The renovated Samuel Hodby suite (named after the original owner in the late 18th century) has a canopy king bed covered with lacy pillows, a sofa sitting area and a luxury bath with 48-jet hydro-massage tub for two, all focusing on the glow of the Georgian fireplace. The Victorian Molly’s Promise offers a hand-carved, mansion-style king bed and a sofa sitting area with a corner fireplace, plus a large bath with whirlpool tub for two and a separate double shower. Similar accoutrements adorn the renovated Carriage Corner, done in American country style, where Leslie says guests "enjoy the ultimate bubble bath by the fire."

Recently, two small rooms on the first floor of the ballroom wing were converted into the newest luxury room, making a total of nine. With a rustic Vermont cabin theme, the Cedar Glen features a handmade cedar-log kingsize bed and a whirlpool tub for two, both facing a fireplaced sitting area. Later, three smaller rooms down the hallway were converted into two larger rooms with fireplaces. Hampshire, in rich mahogany with king sleigh bed and tapestry wingback chairs, is reminiscent of a British study, complete with rounded bookshelves beside the fireplace.  The neo-classical Reflections is the antithesis of Hampshire with its celadon and silver light reflective wallpaper that captures the glow of its fire.

Two front porches, one on the second floor awash with wicker, are where guests like to sit and watch the distant mountains. Downstairs in the parlor, the innkeepers keep adding to a collection of books written by guests. Everywhere are rabbit items, most of them gifts sent by people who have stayed here.

Breakfast is an event at Rabbit Hill. It is served by candlelight in the dining room after 8:15 but you can find coffee in the pub earlier. To the sounds of an eclectic music selection in the background we helped ourselves to a buffet spread of fruit juices, homemade flavored yogurt, fresh melons and berries, homemade granola and assorted pastries. Two changing main dishes are prepared to order: at our visit, a poached egg on a croissant with cheese sauce, home fries and bacon as well as pancakes with bananas and strawberries. The granola is so good that guests buy packages to take home.

The inn's dining room (see Dining Spots) is the finest in the area.  

Ten rooms and nine luxury rooms and suites with private baths. Doubles, $199 to $259. Luxury rooms and suites, $335 to $359. Add $40 for foliage and Christmas Week. Two-night minimum weekends. Children over 14. Wi-Fi available in common rooms and first-floor guest rooms.

(802) 748-5168 or (800) 762-8669. Fax (802) 748-8342. E-mail: Info@rabbithillinn.com.

Material adapted and updated from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004.

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