How does a little 19 room, mom & pop bed & breakfast inn, tucked away in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont become one of the Top 100 Hotels in the World?
It was a lovely, exciting, yet humbling feeling when we were notified on July 11, 2017 that Rabbit Hill Inn was named to Travel+Leisure Magazine’s Top 100 Hotels of the World. We ranked #30 in the world, #6 in the United States, and #2 in Vermont.
But how could that be? Have you seen some of the properties who share our company — the most luxe of hotels in Abu Dhabi, safari resorts in Namibia, exclusive European seaside getaways and mountain-top retreats. Some of these places cost $800, $1200, $2900 per night and more! So very crisp and professional! Then how does our sweet little inn fit into all that, you might ask, because we certainly do!
The answer: It’s personal… for you AND for us. It’s humanity. It’s all about how you feel when you leave. It’s all about the memory that gets embedded in the back of your mind. It’s the “happy place” you mentally escape to when your day gets tough. It lingers.
What makes a memory?
- It’s our asking the right questions when you call to make a reservation to insure that we are the right place for you at the right time in your life.
- It’s the unseen maintenance man who cares for this place as if it were his own home to be sure that it looks great when you approach and that everything in your room is working properly;
- It’s the host person who greets you at the door and immediately makes you feel comfortable and at home.
- It’s the diligence of a housekeeper that takes personally the result of her work insuring that everything is absolutely spotless and in proper order for each and every day of your stay.
- It’s the turn-down person who sneaks into your room while you are dining to create a playful and romantic atmosphere.
- It’s a team of culinary professionals who strive, from breakfast to tea to dinner, to create a dining experience unlike you’ve ever known by personally sourcing local ingredients and always applying new techniques and skills for the express purpose of tantalizing you.
- It’s a commitment by all of us to be truthful to who we are and to truly be ourselves without pretense.
- It’s about you, our guest, because you made the conscious decision to select us over all the other places there are to escape… and we want to show our gratitude by being the best we can be!
It may not be any one of these single things…. but when ALL these things come together, that’s when the magic happens.
We’ve been fortunate in our more than 23 years of innkeeping to have a fantastic and dedicated staff who we get to work next to every day. They all take their work very personally just as innkeeping is so very personal for us. We literally live, eat, and breath innkeeping (translated hospitality) every day of our existence. And it’s why we never forget that OUR Rabbit Hill Inn becomes YOUR Rabbit Hill Inn. We very much strive to live up to our tagline — to be a “paradise for your senses, and a vacation for your soul!”
Our sincerest and heartfelt thanks to all of our guests, apparently more in number than we can know, who participated in the T+L survey and ranked us so favorably. And many thanks to our wonderful Rabbit Hill Inn Team who make it happen every day! This is not the first time we’ve been named to this list. It has happened in 2009, 2011, and 2012. And each time we are named, it’s still like the first time. And just like the first time, we still can only say “WOW”!