Written by Elizabeth Funk

The Egremont Inn, owned and run by Karen and Steve Waller and a gracious staff, is a grand dame of a colonial structure with twenty comfortably appointed guest rooms—all with private bath or shower, a full restaurant and tavern, and a sweeping wrap-around porch added to its originally Federal façade.

The inn dates back to 1780, when Francis Haere built a tavern on the property to accommodate traffic from the nearby Albany-Hartford Turnpike (now the inn is just 200 yards from quiet Route 23). As business increased and tastes changed the tavern grew to its current incarnation. The years brought many additions and improvements including the aforementioned wrap-around porch—a great place to relax or eat in the warmer months—two clay tennis courts and a swimming pool.

Step through the main entrance and your pace will instantly slow as you enter the “Pine Room”—a cavernous sitting room with wide-plank pine floors, wood paneling, original exposed hemlock posts and lintels, and a gaping fireplace. Your fellow guests will have already grabbed a glass of wine, snuggled into the comfortable couches and rested their feet on the braided rugs. Two additional sitting rooms offer more fireplaces, books, board games, a TV & VCR (great for pacifying children, who are allowed at the inn) and plenty of couches.

Since Karen and Steve took over the inn in 1994, they have improved just about every room by upgrading the plumbing, re-hanging wallpaper and providing incredibly comfortable bedding, which guests often ask if they can keep. King coil posture bond mattresses, firm pillows and permaloft comforters ensure a good night’s sleep. Rooms vary in size and amenities, from spacious king suites with jacuzzi baths and antique furniture to smaller more modestly furnished rooms with queen-size or double twin beds. Even the smaller rooms feature individual temperature controls, antique wide-plank pine floors and baskets of clean, fluffy white towels. Although the inn is decidedly “not Victorian,” as Karen likes to say, and casual in atmosphere, you will still find special touches like hand-crocheted lace table runners and special pieces of furniture like the mahogany secretary with a serpentine front and ball and claw feet, which I found in the front hall.

The dinning room and tavern offer full dinner service Wednesday through Sunday and breakfast (included in room rate) to inn guests seven days a week. Every morning guests come down to a cold breakfast buffet served in the light-filled dining room. Granola, shredded wheat, English muffins, fresh fruit, yogurt, juice and milk are just a few of the things you might find. On Saturday and Sunday mornings hot entrees like scrambled eggs with cheddar and scallions or French toast made with crusty Italian bread are served.

Come down in the evening and see how the candles set the solid cherry bar aglow and illuminate Windsor chairs and crisp white tablecloths. Sip a Grey Goose martini to whet your appetite or try a glass of wine from the award-winning wine list. Chefs Vanessa Cortesi and Jon Taufman present a seasonal menu of American fare, made whenever possible with fresh, locally-grown produce. Starters range from a sophisticated pan-seared tuna with sesame ginger vinaigrette to a classic clam chowder seasoned with thyme and topped with a chiffonade of fresh parsley or a seasonal butternut squash tart with ricotta salata. Entrees include a health-conscious roasted halibut with escarole and an unbutton-your-pants serving of grilled angus strip with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and green peppercorn and port sauce. If the food wasn’t reason enough to spend an evening at the inn, then Karen and Steve sweeten the deal on Thursday and Saturday nights with live jazz vocals.

As I was saying my goodbyes to Karen and Steve, Edwin and Jennifer Brown of Connecticut came over and raved about their weekend stay at the inn, “everything was excellent.” Married at the inn over the weekend, the Browns were already planning another visit to celebrate their anniversary. Like many of Karen and Steve’s guests, they found that just one visit wasn’t enough.

The Egremont Inn