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Craftsbury,
VT This uncommon inn in
postcard-perfect Craftsbury Common has taken on a new lease in life. Jim
and Judi Lamberti left the large The high-powered
Lambertis, who had been voted First they put their
stamp on the inn’s traditionally guests-only dining room, which
overlooks a spectacular specimen rose garden. Jim took over the
chef-owned Trellis Restaurant in 2005 and broadened its appeal both to
inn guests and the community. The restaurant offers an à-la-carte menu
and is open to the public four nights a week, Thursday-Sunday. An
informal “innkeeper’s table” is available for inn guests for
dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Meanwhile, the
Lambertis enhanced an inn that always had been a class act. The sixteen
guest rooms are spread out in three restored Federal houses. All have
sitting areas made for relaxing instead of show and are stylishly
furnished with vivid, color-coordinated prints and fine wallpapers, good
artworks and antiques. We're partial to the
South House across from the main inn. Here, besides the office and a
lounge with TV/VCR, is our favorite Room 12, main floor rear. It
contains a kingsize bed, a sofa, a reclining chair custom-designed for a
frequent guest, an enormous bathroom that doubles as a dressing area and
plenty of room to spread out. Others like the upstairs Room 10 with its
wood stove, a queensize canopy bed, a sofa and two side chairs. Judi, an
interior designer, redecorated that room as well as Room 3 upstairs in
the main inn, now renamed Garden View for its great view of the gardens
and mountains to the rear. Another guest favorite is glamorous Room 5 in
the main inn. These are among the
eight deluxe rooms, which cost $20 more than the others but are worth
it. Every room is a treasury of caring touches, however. Some favor
those in the Chandler House, the inn’s latest acquisition. It's a
couple of blocks removed from the main inn and the only one actually
facing the serene, expansive common from which both the village and the
inn take their names. Besides the dining
room and a library, the main inn has a parlor on the main floor. Its
five guest rooms are up a steep, tightly curved staircase. Room rates include
breakfast, which starts with the usual continental fare supplemented by
a choice between two hot entrées that change daily. Juice, a platter of
fresh fruit and cranberry-lemon muffins came first at our visit. The
herbed-cheddar quiche with Canadian bacon was one succulent choice.
Shirred eggs and Vermont-made sausage was another. Enjoy the rose and
perennial gardens. Swim in the natural-looking, free-form gunite pool
sequestered behind the South House. Read a book in your room or relax
over afternoon tea or hot chocolate in the lounge. Almost every creature
comfort you could want is at the uncommon
Sixteen
rooms with private baths. Doubles, $155 to $275 in summer, $185 to $295
in foliage, $135 to $255 in winter. Closed in April and November.
(802)
586-9619 or (800) 521-2233. Fax (802) 586-2249. E-mail: info@innonthecommon.com. For
more information: www.innonthecommon.com. Material adapted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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