Windham Hill Inn: The Perfect Weekend Getaway in Vermont

I woke up this morning wishing I was still at the Windham Hill Inn. We spent the past weekend at this charming Vermont Inn, and felt as if we were a thousand miles from home. Nestled in the serene green mountains of southern Vermont, this magical luxury retreat is perfect for a quick weekend getaway and is my top go-to-place for ultimate heavenly relaxation.

The ultimate in cozy-rustic luxury

The Windham Hill Inn is a Relais & Chateaux property

Situated on 160 hectares of unspoilt nature, you will feel relaxation washing over you the minute you drive through the beautifully landscaped property. From the extraordinary grounds to the luxurious and meticulously tended flower garden, everything instantly draws you in and encourages you to relax and enjoy. In fact, we found that The Windham Hill Inn offers a level of personal service and individual attention that is very rarely found. The manager and the staff ensure that all the guests are warmly welcomed and enjoy their stay. In short, they spoil you with discrete attention.

Our (favorite) room is called the ‘Meadowlook’

Their elegantly decorated, spacious rooms and suites provide a haven of peace. This is truly a place to unplug; the rooms do not have TV and you will feel compelled to switch off your cell phone. You’ll be surprised that even when the inn is full, the quiet and peace of the setting still reigns.

Their rooms all have completely different decor, but since we love the rustic look we chose the Meadowlook room, which felt as if we were in the biggest and most luxurious tree house imaginable. The bed is made of wood, the wallpaper reminded me of a Ralph Lauren-style smoking den, and it’s super spacious, with two lounging areas and a bathtub in the main room. With lots of big windows, we woke up to breathtaking views, a crackling fire, and overwhelming excitement about the cuisine that awaited us.

Windham Hill Restaurant

This boutique Relais & Chateaux hotel is known for their amazing gourmet cuisine, and it really did surpass expectations. Our days began with a full breakfast in the 5-star dining room that overlooks some of the most beautiful fall foliage of the green Vermont mountains you’ll ever see. We are pretty picky eaters (gluten free and vegan), but each night they put together a tasting menu that rivaled any high end Manhattan eatery. In fact, it topped our list of best restaurants anywhere.

The wine pairing is top notch and their list is extensive that can accommodate anyone’s taste. The inn also has their own vegetable garden, much of which shows up on dinner menu and features. Gluten free donuts, smoked potatoes with lemon aioli, parsnip puree soup, and on & on & on… I thought they might have to fork lift us out of our seats by the end of each meal! After we’d manage to make it back to our room, our soaking tub that looks out over the property awaited us. Pure bliss!

Our amazing room was called the ‘Meadowlook’

Each evening, you are provided with a sheet that lists tomorrow’s weather, dining ideas and details (afternoon picnic, anyone?), and ideas for things to do in the area. We took some of their advice and spent the afternoons doing lots of fun local stuff. We went to a nearby farm called the Adams Family Farm that let’s you feed all sorts of loving & adorable animals. It was freezing out, but we didn’t care. We were having way too much fun. Horses, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, even a few cute dogs & cats. We were there for hours!

There are plentiful of excursions in this gorgeous countryside, but half the fun was just driving around. The scenery in Vermont is so beautiful, it’s fun simply explore the back-roads and stumbling upon lots of local treasures. You can check out the State Park, which is a few minutes drive away that has beautiful walking trails alongside rivers and waterfalls. Or, if you want to explore further, you will find a myriad of routes taking you to some of the prettiest town in  Vermont with forests and farms between.

Books at the Hildene home

Another stop worth making is Hildene, the historic home of Abraham Lincoln’s son. Over 400 acres of  beautifully manicured land that takes you back to the early 1900’s. They preserved everything, from the books (I noticed one called “The Man Who Understood Women” LOL) to  the butler’s uniform and sleeping quarters. These people lived large! It’s a bit of a tourist attraction now, but that worked to our advantage as they had a huge gift shop with tons of cute woodsy/pinecone/etc. type of gift items… we picked a couple things out for friends. They also (and this seemed really random), had a beehive enclosed in glass (with a tunnel so the bees could escape out the back.) It was pretty fascinating to watch.

Another uniquely cozy room at the Windham Hill Inn

But if you want to spend all your time at The Windham Hill Inn, that’s completely understandable too. There’s a lot to do at Windham Hill Inn. Their small, intimate, quiet spa is a genuine retreat to indulge and restore in and this will certainly make your visit to Windham Inn even more relaxing and memorable.

Following breakfast, you can relax in the one of the many plush sitting rooms, or take one of severals walks in the property that feature miles of hiking trails that might just lead you to a picturesque waterfall.

Once you get back, you can pamper yourself with the luxurious deep tissue massages at the spa, then have lunch in your room or at the spa. I loved their grilled veggie sandwich on gluten free toast, and their peanut butter cookies were to die for.

The spa at Windham Hill Inn

And for the sports buff, you’re in luck because the Inn features tennis court, an immaculate outdoor pool, and also golf courses just minutes drive away.

There is something so nice about getting out of the city and heading into nature. I think it’s easy to lose your connection to what’s “real” if you spend too much time in Manhattan, or any city for that matter. Central Park is wonderful, and one of my favorite places on earth, but there’s nothing quite like packing up the car and driving off for some northern exposure. The air is cleaner, the people are nicer, and all the troubles of the world seem to drift away.