Whitford House Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by Jeff, is located in the town of Addison, Vermont. Attractions near the bed and breakfast includes Shelburne Museum, Rokeby Museum, Chimney Point, Vermont Skydiving Adventures, and John Strong Mansion. Activities in the area include hiking, cycling, and visiting Lake Champlain. The bed and breakfast offers several accommodations, including Twin View Barn, a guest house, and the East Room. All units include private bathrooms and vary in size. The guest house also includes a kitchenette and living area. Twin View Barn is seasonal and is the only accommodation to provide a full kitchen, with a total of 1,450 square feet of living space. Daily breakfast is included with the guest house and East Room. Barn visitors may request breakfast at an additional charge. Summer and fall have been reported by the owner to be the busiest seasons of operation.
In Addison, Vermont, the Whitford House Bed and Breakfast is located on 60 acres of land and has green lawns, gardens, and meadows. Three "unique" accommodations are available with the occasional opportunity to rent the entire house for functions or weddings. According to the property's website, one of these accommodations, the Guest House, "ensures ultimate privacy" and is 850 square feet. This unit features a brick patio located off of the sitting room. Other amenities in this private building include a king-size bed, a full bathroom with a claw-foot tub, air conditioning, and heated stone floors.
Twin View Barn is a seasonal unit and has amenities that include a full kitchen, bathroom, living room, and dining room. In the loft of the barn, there is a queen size bed and two twin beds; however, the owner says there is an additional charge for parties larger than two people. On the outside of the 1,450-square-foot barn, there is a sitting area that has Adirondack chairs, a dining room table, and a fire pit. Jeff calls the barn "Nouveau Glamping."
The third building advertised on the property is the East Room, which has a king-size bed, private bathroom, antique furnishings, a covered porch with rocking chairs, and original artwork. All of the rooms offered on the premises feature views of the surrounding land. These rooms were also designed in a country theme with the purpose of providing a place where patrons can "relax and enjoy nature," says the owner.
Common areas throughout the property include the library and dining room in the Main House. The barn also features an area often utilized as the main space for visitors. This room can be used in various capacities, such as a recreational area with ping pong tables and an event area that was previously rented by musicians who used it to perform. The space includes a stereo, while other features available to patrons throughout the premises include an outdoor pool. The landscaping of the establishment highlights flower gardens and trees, supplemented by a wrap-around porch, a rear deck, and a covered sitting area by the Guest House. Occasionally wildlife is reported to roam the premises.
EV charging stations on the property are available to all visitors. Other amenities provided for all patrons include WiFi and access to fruit trees in the backyard. Breakfast is only included for those who stay in the East Room and Guest House, while visitors in Twin View Barn have access to a full kitchen. Jeff says that in the future, the property may be changing this aspect of their business and instead offer it to anybody staying at the bed and breakfast regardless of their room. Jeff describes the breakfast served at the Whitford House to be a "high-end continental breakfast with natural and organic products, using local products." Accommodations for patrons with food sensitivities or allergies are able to be made if the bed and breakfast is notified ahead of time.
Jeff remarks that there are various outdoor activities provided by the business, such as volleyball, badminton, croquet, and frisbee. Another activity includes stargazing during the night; the owner says that the property does not have any surrounding lights that obstruct the view of the stars. During the colder months of the year, backcountry skiing is possible on the acreage if guests bring their own skis. In addition to this winter activity, there are also various skiing locations throughout the area. Relatively close to the property are various hikes, lakes, and beaches. Occasionally, the bed and breakfast provides a tandem kayak for patrons to use. Other popular activities in the area include cycling in the mountains and on the roads.
Jeff, the Whitford House Bed and Breakfast owner, says that one of his biggest goals for owning the property is making his "guests happy" during their stay. Things that Jeff does to try and accomplish this goal include giving them recommendations for "anything and everything that interests them while they are here." His referrals include restaurants, hikes, and swimming holes, to name a few. Restaurants that Jeff tends to suggest to his patrons during their stay include Philo Ridge Farm and Starry Night Cafe. Local attractions include the Shelburne Museum, Rokeby Museum, Fort Ticonderoga, Chimney Point, and John Strong Mansion.
Another thing the owner does to accomplish his aforementioned goals is to provide events on his property. One such event hosted by the bed and breakfast includes bonsai workshops. The premises also acts as a venue for events such as weddings.
When patrons come to stay at the Whitford House Bed and Breakfast, they are expected to abide by certain policies enacted by the owners. Guests are expected to not smoke on the premises, and other policies include pets not being permitted on the land and that children are only allowed in certain units, namely the Guest House and Twin View Barn. There is no official quiet time on the property; however, they are expected by the owners to respect their neighbors.
When discussing things that previous patrons have said about the Whitford House Bed and Breakfast, Jeff says he has noticed that "common threads are the personal customer service and attention they receive." One previous visitor of the property who left a review remarked, "Jeff was so helpful from the moment I reached out - helping find dates that worked for our visit, recommending restaurants and sites to visit. The barn was charming and rustic; it had everything you needed and views of the mountains and farming fields. We plan to say with them many times over the next few years." Jeff says that the views from the buildings are one of the unique aspects of the property and says, "we get a fair amount of repeat guests." The Whitford House Bed and Breakfast is open year-round to visitors, except for the barn, which is seasonal. Summer and fall tend to be the busiest season of operation for the business.
The property where the Whitford House Bed and Breakfast is located was first owned by Joseph Murray in 1792. A few years later, in 1799, the land was sold to the Able Norton Family, who influenced the village at the time to be named Nortontown. The next owner, William T. Whitford, purchased the land from the Nortons and also became the namesake of the current building. The Whitford family accumulated more land during their ownership, and according to the Whitford House Bed and Breakfast's website, "they owned one of the longest-lived commercial Merino wool enterprises in the County." Over the years, after Whitford's ownership, the land witnessed different owners and eventually was abandoned between 1938 to 1978. From 1978 the homestead received various renovations to save it from collapse and was later turned into the Whitford House Bed and Breakfast by Bruce and Barbara Carson in the 1980s. It wasn't until 2017 that the current owners, Jeff Nottonson and his wife, purchased the business.
Jeff, the current owner of the bed and breakfast, says that he "enjoys acting as an unofficial tour guide for central Vermont and making guests thoroughly excited about their visit" and that owning the business allows him to do this. Overall, he says that he enjoys making visitors happy during their stay. Since owning the bed and breakfast, Jeff has made various renovations; in his own words, he says they have done a lot for the "beautification, maintenance, [and] weatherization [of the property]."
912 Grandey Road
Addison, Vermont 05491
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Jeff Nottonson
Bruce & Barbara Carson
