Fantastic Wedding
by A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I were married at ye Olde England Inn in March 2005. Our accommodation was very good and we found Chris, Lyn and the staff to be very welcoming and helpful.
The Inn is within walking distance of Stowe town centre where there are plenty of shops. There are very good ski slopes 15 minutes drive away.
Lyn was especially helpful in the planning and coordination of our wedding. She made us feel as if we were part of her family and made what could have been a very stressful occasion into a fantastic day which will always provide us with fond memories of our wedding, Ye Olde England Inn and Stowe.
We had a wonderful stay at the Inn and would recommend it to anybody visiting Stowe.
Dave and Lisa
Newquay
England
A Winter Wonderland
by A TripAdvisor Member
What a fabulous place to spend a week. After a long flight from the UK we arrived just in time for afternoon tea which is served every day with home-made cakes and biscuits and is a treat that should not be missed. There is a wonderful choice for breakfast that is cooked to order and will set you up for the whole day. The food in Mr Pickwick’s restaurant is especially sumptuous and without a doubt would tempt any taste buds and is the best in Stowe.
We had a lovely warm and cosy junior suite with a large jacuzzi bath where we so enjoyed soaking our aching limbs after a good day skiing.
The hosts Chris and Lyn made us feel extremely welcome as did all the staff and we will definitely return very soon.
Peter and Juliet Akitt
Authentic and lovely boutique hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
This Inne is exactly like an English Country Inne. The floors are on multiple levels as if it were built over decades, narrow paneled hallways, a great room, pub and dining room. The rooms are decorated superbly and comfortably. (also multi-level), and the food is authentic English Countryside. They have a huge beer-on-tap selection and a great wine list. Service at all hours of the day and evening is impeccable. (They shut down late night) The owners, Chris and Lynn Francis, were on site every day we were there. We had super care and treatment from LeeAnne Godin, a Vermonter and Jackie (Also local) along with English transplant Tim. Tea and bisquits are served daily from 3-6 pm. (Sunday the 'bisquits' were a chocolate fruit torte with Bavarian cream that was out of this world.) Overall we highly reccommend this as a warm, romantic place to stay in Stowe. This was the quietest Inn we have ever visited.
Total Relaxation
by TripAdvisor Member lizdimaria
Four days of relaxation is like a weeks vacation. Being a guest at Ye Olde England Inn made us feel like we had escaped to England. Chris and Lyn are the best - they made us feel like we were old friends back for a visit. We had never experienced such service before. We were there for a Wedding and I can't tell you how relaxing it was for the bride and groom as well as the family. Their experience shows in everything they do, from the food that is served to the beer of your choice and the staff always had a smile and nice words to say to everyone. If you are a reader and forgot your book don't worry the Wine list will engage you for hours with all the choices of spirts and beers! It's a great read.
If you would like to escape to England for the weekend and have some bangers and mash and a few pints, you will love every hour you spend at the Inn!
The food is outstanding and always served HOT! The breakfast is fit for a King and Queen and that is how they make you feel!
Enjoy your stay and relax and I know you will be there again soon just like we plan to!
A taste of England?
by A TripAdvisor Member
I've never been to England, so I couldn't say, but the Olde England Inne is quaint and charming. The staff was very polite and helpful. The food was unique and delicious. It was everything we had hoped for, and we plan to make a return visit next year. There were no children there when we stayed, which provided a peaceful, adult environment.
Shabby chic but warm and welcoming
by TripAdvisor Member ClaireBW
We just spent 3 nights here as part of our New England Tour and it totally met our needs.
We were travelling with our 14 month daughter and found the inn and staff to be very child friendly - which is always a relief!
Our room (a jacuzzi suite in the main inn) was absolutely huge with a seperate seating area and huge TV. We also had a kingsize bed which was very comfortable. The jacuzzi was great and big enough for 2, so we were a little disappointed by the notice saying that it should only be used by one person as it leaked otherwise - we weren't going to risk that!
The rooms are tastefully decorated but a little shabby with some of the decore having been patched up a little too obviously. This didn't impair our enjoyment in any way but does take the gloss off it so to speak.
One of the reasons that we chose this inn was the great reviews of the restaurant and yes it was very good. But we felt that the prices were way too high for what you were getting so chose to eat elsewhere after our first night. Be clear the food was excellent but just a bit pricey.
The bar was great and the bartender very pleasant and there were games and magazines to while away the time with which was a nice touch.
It was very hot whilst we were there (air conditioning was essential) so we thought we'd try the outdoor pool (heated according to their website) - not so unfortunately, maybe because we were after Labour day and it was far too cold to use which was a real shae - especially for our ittle one.
Breakfast was included in our room rate and was very good with a great a la carte selection to choose from, however service was dreadfully slow (not the waitresses but the food) and this was a little aggravating when you are keen to get out and start your day - so that was a big down point.
Vermonts Best All Round Inn at Stowe
by A TripAdvisor Member
IF you are looking for the finest in accomodiations, great food and a location that is walking distance to village shopping, movie theater and other unique stores, Ye Old England Inn is your one stop destination. Their bar offers the best selection of beers from around the world and the bartenders blend well with all types of travelers. This year will mark our eighth trip. If your budget allows stay at the Bluff House....it is the ultimate.
For the skiers if you can ski on Mondays and Tuesdays you will own the mountain and enjoy the best skiing Vermont has to offer.
Stephen Deets, Waterford NY
Excellent would go again.
by A TripAdvisor Member
Chris and Lyn made us feel very welcome and we enjoyed our stay, wedding and honeymoon. We would recommend Ye olde England inne to anyone wanting a relaxing and romantic time.
Disappointed, actually.
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at Ye Olde England Inne for 5 nights from the 10th of October 2005. I booked this hotel based on outstanding reviews here. (And if you go to Venice, believe the ratings for that top rated inn.) This is a long post, since my review isn't very favourable, and I want to be as balanced as I can.
I should mention first, that the very strange autumn and the extremely bad weather we had that week was absolutely not the fault of the hotel. Global warming, the problem that doesn’t exist, was probably to blame.
I made the reservations quite a bit in advance, and then just after hurricane Katrina hit the US, I was surprised to get a political spam from the Inne, encouraging me to 'stick it to the oil companies' and boycott petrol for a certain date. I have a different political POV, and the spam was insensitive. I immediately emailed back, expressing my unhappiness that they used my email address in such a way, but got no reply. No doubt the spammer was still on duty and deleted my incoming post. A couple of weeks later, I printed the spam off and wrote a letter to the owner Chris. He emailed me with an apology and said steps had been taken to see it didn’t happen again. More recently, he expressed to me that he wondered if it had even come from the inn. I don’t know. It had their address on it, but I know spammers are clever.
We drove up from Boston, and arrived tired and hungry in late afternoon. The woman at check-in woman was helpful and friendly. She explained the rules, the layout of the grounds and all the other important things we'd need to know to get settled in. I enquired about a parcel from amazon, expected at about the time we got there, but it hadn’t arrived yet.
Our room was 321, the Edinburgh Suite in the Bluff house, and it was superb. A living room with wet bar, high ceilings, light and new décor, lovely view (had it been colourful and clear) fridge in the entry, large bathroom with shower and Jacuzzi tub, large bedroom with a four poster bed (UK king size, US queen size). There is no direct access from the bluff house rooms to the main house, where the restaurant is located, and in the rain or the dark, that was inconvenient. But the room was great.
We went across the street to rent dvds from a shop that caters to visitors. (Be sure to carry your driving license; they assume you carry it with you everywhere and it's used all over the place for ID). But we couldn’t get the dvd player or tv to work in our room. One call to reception, however, and the same friendly woman from check-in came up and re-wired everything so it would work.
At breakfast, I was surprised to learn that 'gratuities' for the wait staff in the restaurant would be automatically added into our bill (or pre-paid, as they are included in the price of the room). Generally, I think of a gratuity as being something freely offered in recognition of good service, rather than another 'tax' added onto the bill. We learned that the staff only receive a fixed fee per guest, and that extra tipping from guests had been problematic to them in the past. There was only one other guest in the restaurant, but breakfast was slow and sort of cold when it arrived. We decided not to eat there again. (There's a great place across the street called McCarthy's.)
I enquired 2 or 3 times during our stay about the expected amazon package, and was told it hadn’t arrived.
Once the inn began to fill up (the weekend) people parked their cars as close as they could get to the building, blocking access to the ramp in the back of the bluff house. As a result, we always had to take the steps, which had rain and leaves and pine needles falling on them all week. The morning we left, my husband slipped on the wet top step and fell the distance. Fortunately he landed on the suitcase, so there was no real harm. I reported it to the owner as we checked out. I thought it might be a good idea to not allow parking in a way that blocks the ramp, and have everyone park up under the trees. Surely they can walk the extra ten steps or so.
A housekeeping 'gratuity' was added onto our bill; that was a surprise as well. We had driven far and were tired, and if it was explained to me that we would have about $120 added to our bill for the housekeeping gratuity, I guess it passed me by. That could well be the case. In the normal course, I would have objected. I'm quite accustomed to leaving a tip for housekeeping when it's been well done. I thought it was sneaky to add it into the bill so that I have to make a scene to have it removed. I think that's pretty poor. Chris has offered to return the money, but that'd be pretty mean of me. It was more the way it was handled.
The amazon parcel never showed up. Days after we'd returned to the UK, the owner emailed me to say it had been found, that it had arrived at their post office box in the second day of our stay, but no one retrieved the contents of the postal box. He agreed to forward the package to me (I offered to pay for it), which was a relief, as it was one hard-to-find book, so I was keen to get it. Next I heard was from amazon, informing me that the parcel had been refused at the point of delivery and returned to them. A misunderstanding, certainly, but I never got my book.
All in all, we were unlucky with the weather. We had some nice days out, and some wonderful meals in the area. Miguel's with excellent Mexican food, Gracie's on the Mountain Road has to-die-for secret recipe onion rings, Pie in the Sky with their pizza and chicken wings. Lucky King was mediocre, OK, but it's an all you can eat buffet for cheap. The Shed was one of the best meals we had. Don’t bother with the Depot Soda Shop (what a surly wait staff; I wanted to explain to them how their bad day could colour my whole experience of Vermont. But I didn't.)
Since the autumn was so unusual this year, we may try it again to give my husband a chance to see the much-touted 'fall' colours that weren't actually on display this year. We particularly liked the recreation path in Stowe. That's a great idea. But we would probably stay somewhere else.
I take away one star for the convoluted way they handle tipping, and another star for failure to attend to details that made a difference to us. The final star is lost for the lack of security on their email system.
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