Our story
An old farm, gently woken up
We spent three years restoring the house and barn with local builders, salvaged timber and a great deal of patience.
The family
We came for a weekend and stayed
Eleanor and James Marsh found the farm in 2018, overgrown and for sale, while picking apples with their children. Eleanor had spent fifteen years running hotels in London and New York. James was a furniture maker who wanted a bigger workshop. The orchard decided for them.
The restoration took three years. James built most of the beds, tables and headboards from black walnut felled on the property. Eleanor found the linen in Lithuania, the soap in Vermont and the chef in a Brooklyn kitchen he was ready to leave.
We opened in the autumn of 2021 with twelve rooms and a borrowed tractor. Today there are twenty-four rooms, two cottages, a restaurant and around 400 apple trees, many of them older than the hotel.
We wanted a place that feels like visiting friends who happen to have a very good cook.
Through the years
Two centuries on Orchard Hill
1842
The farmhouse is built
The Van Alstyne family builds the stone house and plants the first orchard.
1911
The dairy barn rises
A post-and-beam barn is raised. It is now our restaurant and six of our rooms.
2018
A new chapter
Eleanor and James buy the farm and begin a careful restoration.
2021
Doors open
The Alder House welcomes its first guests with twelve rooms.
2025
Cottages and sauna
Two creekside cottages and a cedar sauna are added beside the pond.
How we run the house
Good to the land, good to the valley
Local first
Over 80% of our food comes from farms within twenty miles.
Solar and geothermal
The barn is heated and cooled by geothermal wells; panels supply half our power.
A living orchard
Heritage apple varieties, wildflower meadows and no synthetic sprays.
Made here
Furniture made by James in the workshop behind the barn.
Fair employer
Year-round contracts and housing support for our 38 staff.
Giving back
One percent of room revenue supports a local land trust protecting valley farmland.
Come and see for yourself
Book directly for the best rate, breakfast included and a bottle of our cider on arrival.