The Harbor Rose is a bed and breakfast that can be found near the edges of the Inner Harbor in Cold Spring Harbor/Huntington, New York. The Harbor Rose currently has three rooms available, with a fourth one on the way in the three-story building. The town has been described as both a historical and "a foodie" town, with the owner mentioning that there are a large number of restaurants that can be found in the vicinity, as well as museums and historical locations. The Harbor Rose is proud of its placement, as it is right near the edge of the water and offers a unique view of the surrounding mountains and bay. They are able to host small events, like birthdays, though they don't have the capacity to do anything more extensive. However, they happily allow guests to rent the building to use for filming and photoshoots.
The Harbor Rose is a three-story building that has three rooms available to guests looking for a place to stay, with one more that is currently unavailable but will soon be added to the list of rooms. The three rooms are called The Vanderbilt, Victorian, and Harbor Hill, and each room is uniquely decorated with Victorian themes and styles.
The Vanderbilt room has a queen-sized bed and a private bathroom with a walk-in shower. The room also comes with a fireplace, hairdryer, bathrobes, a flat-screen television, and a desk with a chair. The Victorian room offers a king-sized bed, a private bathroom, a fireplace, bathrobes, a flat-screen television, and a hairdryer. One other unique fact pertaining to the unit is that it is on the second floor and has a view of the harbor from the outdoor patio. The Harbor Hill is the largest room of the three and can be found on the third floor of the building. This room has a queen-sized bed, as well as a twin day bed, which can allow for an extra guest, and has a private bathroom as well. It, too, has a flat-screen television, hairdryer, and bathrobes. While the floors in the other rooms are made up of hardwood, The Harbor Hill room is carpeted. No matter which room guests stay in, they will have access to organic fruit available for them to snack on during the day.
The Harbor Rose doesn't do breakfast in a traditional "bed and breakfast" fashion. Instead of having dishes of prepared food made to order and brought to a guest's table, The Harbor Rose provides fresh fruit, energy bars, juice, Nespresso coffee, and various teas to customers in a "Grab and Go" bag, as well as organic oatmeal and home-baked goods that are vegan and gluten-free. That way, guests can choose to eat their meal early in the morning or later if they sleep in. This method of providing breakfast also allows patrons to eat at the establishment or take it with them to go if they have other places they would rather be.
The owner of the property explains that she isn't opposed to hosting events at The Harbor Rose. In fact, she says she really enjoys being able to do such things. However, she also explains that, as of right now, there are not very many parking spots available for large groups, nor does the property have an event manager to help manage those kinds of things. The property does have the capability to provide its space for photoshoots and filming purposes, an example being wedding pictures or bridal pictures. On the website, it lists that they have done filming and taken photos for significant companies such as America's Got Talent, History Channel, and The Discovery Channel.
The Harbor Rose is located on a quieter side of town where there are fewer buildings right next to it. Down the road and around the corner is the St. John's Church. The church still rings its bells on each hour of the day, and they can be heard from The Harbor Rose, though if the windows in the rooms are closed, that typically blocks out the noise, should guests prefer not to listen to them. The owner says that the city of Cold Spring Harbor is known for its fine dining, and she explains that there are close to 80 restaurants of varying types of cuisines and styles that are all within a few miles of The Harbor Rose. Several eateries and locations that are mentioned on the website include Jonathan's Ristorante, which serves Italian dishes, Thai-USA, which specializes in Thai-related foods, and The Gourmet Whale, which is a seafood joint along Main Street.
The goal of The Harbor Rose is to create an atmosphere that is welcoming to its guests. The owner, whose name is Deirdre, says that she wants guests to feel like they are at home. She also says she wants them to leave feeling better than when they first arrived. In order to help maintain an air of relaxation and enjoyment, the property has a few regulations in place to make sure guests are able to enjoy their time at The Harbor Rose; additionally, these rules help the staff to maintain the standard of the building adequately.
The Harbor Rose has several policies, and they ask that guests keep them in mind and abide by them during their stay. They do allow dogs in the building, but they must be under 50 pounds and be well-behaved. Visitors can bring them into their rooms, but the property says that they are not to be on the bed in order to help maintain the quality of the sheets and bedding. Due to the antiques and renovated décor, they also ask that guests don't bring babies or toddlers, though small children who are able to behave themselves are allowed to come. There is also a policy against smoking in the building. Those caught lighting a cigarette, or something similar, will face a fine of up to 250 dollars to pay for deep cleaning.
Around the building, The Harbor Rose has a number of gardens where they grow their own fruits and vegetables. The property has many trees and plants, and they produce many different fruits and vegetables, like strawberries, zucchinis, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a number of various herbs. They also have a few watermelon patches and fig trees.
Within the city limits of Cold Spring Harbor and in neighboring cities, there are a number of historical sites and museums. A couple of locations she mentions is the house of a former president, Teddy Roosevelt, and The Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. The website also has more recommended historical places that guests can visit, such as Old Westbury Gardens, Bailey Arboretum, and the Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium. She also describes the town as being a "foodie town" and personally believes that it is worth visiting at least a few of the restaurants in the area.
There have been a number of reviews left regarding previous visitors' stays at The Harbor Rose. One such comment reads, "We loved our stay at Harbor Rose. The owner and her daughter are lovely, friendly, and welcoming. They gave us a lot of good local tips on sites, activities, and food. We love the holistic focus of B&B. We feel at home here."
The Harbor Rose was first established in 2008. The property has been offering a place to stay for the public since then, though it didn't receive its name, The Harbor Rose, until 2013. While the property has been around for just over a decade, the building itself has been around for much longer than that. The three-story building was originally built in the 1840s, roughly about 175 years ago. In the 1930s, it was owned by St. John's Church and was used as a place of worship for those who aligned with that faith.
Deirdre—who currently manages the Harbor Rose—had owned the property for a while and had used it as her personal home before it became what it is today. She explains that she worked in the hotel industry and traveled very often in the past. When she was pregnant with her daughter, she knew she wouldn't be able to travel as much but still wanted a way to stay in the industry. That's when she had the idea to turn the building into a bed and breakfast and renovate several of the rooms so that guests could sleep there for the night and enjoy the Inner Harbor and mountains during the day.
Over the years, there have been many periods of renovations to help preserve the antiques on display around the house and add features to the rooms, home, and grounds. She has put in a garage door, fixed several lights in the house, and built a bathroom for one of the rooms. Deirdre explains that she also has an abundant amount of ideas for future plans. There are plans to put in another room for guests to stay in, repaint some of the walls in the house, remodel the walkways and roofs, and put a canopy on the front porch so that guests can sit outside in the rain and not get wet.
253 Harbor Rd
Cold Spring Harbor, New York
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Deirdre
