Wow, waay too long of a review. Let me sum up (and I'll put this at the top so you can choose to read the rest... if you want):
1. Doug and Janet are AWESOME.
2. Breakfasts here are homemade and delicious.
3. Free canoeing whenever you want on the nearby Jenness Pond (during the non-winter months at least).
4. House is historic, cute, and clean. But creaky floors in the East room and just okay beds.
5. Cute and quiet town. Not a whole lot to do other than antique shop but easy enough to drive around NH and see plenty of other stuff.
6. With the room rates as low as they are, this is definitely well worth the money!
Okay, onto the real review now...
For someone on a budget who wants a great relaxing vacation, this place is for you! Doug and Janet (the owners of this B&B) are super nice and definitely make you feel comfortable and at home. They have a couple dogs who are also really friendly, but mostly stay outside or in the downstairs area so don't worry if you're not a dog person. The surrounding area is gorgeous, and you can take a short walk down to Jenness Pond and take their canoe out onto the lake! You don't have to go to some fancy schmancy canoe rental place and pay way too much for too little time... you just walk down there, pull the canoe into the lake, and off you go. My bf and I did this a couple times during our stay and it was a perfect way to enjoy a lazy sunny morning after one of Janet's delicious breakfasts.
That brings me to the breakfast. Let me just tell you... Janet and Doug are amazing cooks! Every single breakfast was soooo good, and we ended up asking them for the recipes after each one. Breakfast would start with a little bit of fruit (like mixed berries or a cooked apple fan) that Janet would bring out to us while she prepared the rest of the meal. Then onto bacon, eggs, and either homemade blueberry pancakes, muffins, or a peach bismark. We stayed there 3 nights, so for each of the 3 mornings we had something different.
Now that we've done the breakfast part of the B&B, onto the bed part. So the house is the historic home of.... erm, I can't remember the exact details, but there are a few guidebooks available over there that will tell you all about it! Anyway, it's kind of like staying inside a big antique. It's pretty awesome. The house was clean and nicely decorated. I think the only thing that bothered me was that the room we were staying in (East Room) had REALLY creaky floors, so I felt like I had to tiptoe around late at night so I wouldn't wake everyone in the house. But I had a chance to check out the Weaving room which is right next door, and it's floors were fine. The bed wasn't the most comfortable, but it didn't ruin my trip either so I must have been able to sleep well enough. Like I said though, it's like staying inside an authentic antique (which it basically is), so I guess it's to be expected. Did the people of the 18th century have sleep number beds? I don't think so! Get into the time period, and it'll be more fun :) Don't worry, they have hot showers and electricity though, haha.
Doug and Janet as hosts are, as I said, very friendly and welcoming. At the same time, they're not overbearing or intrusive at all... you can go out and do your own thing for the rest of the day after breakfast (they will too). They're helpful in offering suggestions for day trips and nearby restaurants.
I was pretty apprehensive the night we arrived, after driving down miles of dark and windy road and thinking we were lost... and then we arrived at Meadow Farm and I had no idea what to expect in terms of the location or the people. But all my fears were quickly laid aside, and I would not hesitate to stay at this place again. The only reason we haven't yet is because we want to explore other areas of NE... but if I want to just relax out on the lake in a canoe or go antique shopping or hiking, Meadow Farms B&B it is. read more