Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, is where the Hillside Farm Bed and Breakfast is located. There are currently two cottages available for reservations on the property, and occasionally the main house may open up three other rooms for guests. The main house offers a dining room and living room as common areas for visitors. Also available to visitors are various features on the property, such as the gardens and a fire pit. Hillside Farm Bed and Breakfast is open year-round and tends to be busiest during the months of August and October. Gary, the owner, mentions that a high majority of his guests come for the different activities in the area, one primarily being visiting sports venues such as The Nook. Other attractions in the area include Mountain Hope Winery, various Amish areas, Fulton Opera, Nissley’s Vineyard, Moon Dancer Winery, and museums.
The Hillside Farm Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by Gary, is located in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. About two acres of land make up the property and, at certain times, offers five units available for reservation. Currently, the bed and breakfast has two rooms available for guests since the owner is renovating the other rooms. The two available units are separate cottages detached from the main house. Each of these cottages has a king-size bed with a whirlpool tub and private bathroom and is a one-story building with a cathedral-style ceiling. Other features include a fireplace, entertainment center, wet bar, shower for two, microwave, and a refrigerator. These cottages are styled in a country manner. Gary says that between the two cottages, there is not one that is more popular than the other since it is usually up to personal preference. The Stable, one of the cottages, is “a tad more masculine,” says Gary, while The Chicken Coop is “a tad bit more feminine.” The main house is home to the other three rooms available for reservation when the owner allows. Of these rooms, the one on the third floor tends to be the most popular among patrons because it is more remote than the other two rooms.
On the property, there are various common areas available to visitors. Specifically, the main house is home to the dining room and living room. In the living room, there are a couple of recliners, a curved sectional sofa, a love seat, and two relatively overstuffed chairs. The dining room is able to seat up to ten guests; however, Gary says it is more comfortable with eight people.
Every morning at 9:00 AM, the staff of the property delivers breakfast baskets to each unit. When the rooms in the main house are in use, the inn uses the dining room to serve breakfast; otherwise, it is served through the baskets. For breakfast, the establishment serves various entrees such as cherry cobbler that is made from the cherries grown on the property. Other food items may include scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, muffins, bagels, stuffed French toast, and some sort of fruit. Gary states that he is willing to make accommodations for visitors that have dietary restrictions by doing “the best they can,” he goes on to say that it’s “tough to accommodate everything.”
Flower gardens adorn the property that patrons are able to walk through. Other outdoor features include a swing and a firepit. Overall, Gary says there is a relatively large amount of lawn space available for his visitors to use that is shaded by the multiple mature trees on his land. He also remarks that he is willing to set up a volleyball net if guests desire. There are six parking spots for cars outside the main house, in addition to each of the cottages having its own parking space. Another building on the premises includes a barn that is utilized as another storage space for the owner’s personal items. Previously the barn was used for horses that patrons were able to interact with but has since been converted to its current use. The area outside of the property is designated for farming. To the east, there is a horse farm, and to the west, there is an Amish farm.
When staying at the Hillside Farm Bed and Breakfast, there are certain policies set in place by the owner, Gary, for visitors to abide by during their time there. Such policies include no smoking on the property, and children and pets are not permitted to stay at the establishment. Children are not allowed due to the fireplaces and whirlpool tubs in the rooms and because only two guests are allowed per room, per zoning and insurance stipulations.
When patrons come to stay at the bed and breakfast, Gary says he wants them to “feel like it’s home,” and one way he tries to help aid in this is by creating a friendly atmosphere. He tries to provide amenities such as soaps and shampoos to help eliminate any worries visitors might have. Overall, he says that his business is known for the full breakfast he serves each morning. Gary also mentions that patrons often comment about this aspect of their stay the most in reviews. One particular guest who stayed at the Hillside Farm Bed and Breakfast remarked, “Breakfast was super delicious and delivered to the cabin. What a great added touch.” Other trends that the owner has noticed in guest's reviews are often about their interactions with Gary and how he is “comical.”
Interactions between Gary and his guests are relatively sparse in an effort of his to respect their stay. He says that he is “always open to talk [to guests],” however, he states that most people have other “agendas” when staying at his property since there are a fair amount of things to do in the area. Such things that patrons do when staying at the inn include visiting sports venues, namely The Nook. Other activities in the area of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, include visiting the Bird-in-Hand Farmer’s Market, Green Dragon, various museums, Moon Dancer Winery, Hershey Theater, and Fulton Opera House. The area where the inn is located also has multiple places to eat. Gary recommends that his visitors try eating at Mosby’s Pub, which is his "all-time favorite," The Catacombs, and lastly, Gus’s Keystone Family Restaurant.
Overall, Gary says that his business has found success through the years because he “provides value,” for example, by “providing a good breakfast.” The owner operates his business year-round but does not serve breakfast on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. August and October tend to be the busiest months for the Hillside Farm Bed and Breakfast due to the fall foliage occurring in the area. This is also the time that Gary has noticed when couples travel to the area. “All demographics” visit the bed and breakfast, according to the owner, but he also says that the majority tend to be “empty-nesters.” With regards to his patrons, Gary reports that they also frequently receive a relatively high amount of repeat guests.
The Hillside Farm Bed and Breakfast has been in operation since 1989 and has been owned and operated by Gary since then. The motivation to start the bed and breakfast came from wanting to bring in a new source of revenue without having long-term tenants. At the time he started the business, he says that he “decided to try it, and here I am still trying it.” Right now, Gary says that “there are always things in the works,” when speaking of things to add to the property. When Gary first purchased the property in 1988, the main house was used as different apartments. One of the first things the new owner at the time did was “eliminate the apartments and made it back into a single-family home,” he says. Other changes to the property include tearing down a chicken house and shed and putting in the cottages instead. Gary reports that the new buildings are about the same size as the previous structures and they are also situated in the same spot as the former buildings. Because of this, he says that he has not made any “changes [to] the structure or footprint of the property.” Overall, he mentions that there haven't been a lot of changes made to the property as a whole, but rather, he has “improved it.”
The main house used for the bed and breakfast is over 200 years old and was originally built in 1821. Before Gary purchased the property, the land was used as a dairy farm that, at one point, had up to 35 cows on it. Gary currently has milk bottles that were used during that time that he says are “very rare and expensive.”
607 Eby Chiques Road
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania 17552
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Gary Lintner
