05/20/2022
Dear Friends, Family, and Valued Guests of the Trails End Inn,
We hope this message reaches you and your family in good health and great spirits. The weather is getting warm (we’ll see mid 80’s late this week) and the buds are coming in thickly on the trees. Guests this week reported some snow in the Great Range, but spring has sprung here in the valley. We look forward to seeing all of you soon and wanted to share a few announcements and updates as we head into the busy season.
If your primary interest are the Change of Service Announcements, which may impact your visit, feel free to skip ahead to that section!
Owners Updates
Growing Family: Our Inn Family got bigger this year! First, my family welcomed a new kitten, Junebug, into our home last fall. Our children Indiana (7) and Fenix (4) have been overjoyed, and our other cat (Lala) has never been happier. You may see a few cats wandering the property, helping to keep our chipmunk population in check. Feel free to pet them. They are a bit skittish at times, but love to play!
Secondly, and MUCH more importantly, Our partners/fellow-owners, Leah and Brendan, welcomed their first baby girl, Callan, into the world this winter. We’re so thrilled to have little Callan joining us on this adventure. No one is more excited than Sadie the dog, who has a new little sister to look after. We can’t wait to see all the ways Callan brings new fun and joy to our Inn community.
Winter Summary: We had a lovely, if not frigid winter here at the Inn. I grew up nearby in Elizabethtown, so I’m no stranger to the cold. Still, those long stretches of -20 degrees in January and February are still as surprising! We learned a lot about wood burning fireplaces, and the costs of being dependent on fuel oil for heat (more about that in a moment). It didn’t seem to phase all of the brave souls who visited us this winter–and guests raved about all the skiing, ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing, and winter hiking. We added a second outdoor firepit to the property and spent some great winter days huddled around it. It was a wonderful first winter for us here at the Trails End Inn and a big thank you to everyone who kept us company!
Big Plans: We’re excited for all the friends, family, and guests (new friends?) who are planning to visit us soon. We thought you might like to know a little about our plans for the future of the Inn. Most of the services and amenities of the Inn will remain unchanged this year, with a few exceptions that I’ll mention below. Generally, our hopes are to make the Inn more family friendly and easier for you to launch your individual adventures. Whether you are looking for a good meal, a nearby playground, the best sledding hills, or a place to swim, we plan to make it easier to find the community amenities you are searching for. We’re also focused on setting up systems that make it easier to check in, check out, and communicate with us on the go so you can have your adventures on your timetable.
We also hope to make the Inn more energy efficient and eventually energy self-sufficient. Over the next five years we hope to install geothermal heating and cooling, new aluminum roofs, and banks of solar panels. While these are big projects, we believe in the long run going green is the best way to make the Inn sustainable, cost effective, and environmentally responsible. We hope these ideas sound exciting to you and thank you for your ongoing patronage. Your visits make these changes possible!
Change of Service Announcements
Breakfast: We heard lots of different feedback about our breakfast partnership with Old Mountain Coffee. Some people raved about their amazing food, while others asked for more options on the vouchers, different choices of restaurants, or simply opted not to use them. We’ve decided to make a change in the name of supporting your choices:
Starting May 26th, 2022, we will be ending our breakfast partnership with Old Mountain Coffee. We still love them, and their food, but you can decide how you want to spend your breakfast dollars.
For all existing reservations impacted by this change, we will be removing the cost of the breakfast vouchers from your guest balance.
Starting in June (exact date TBD and pending approval by the health department), we will be re-introducing on-site breakfast. To help us cover the increased prices of food and labor, we’ll be offering breakfast as an add-on for our guests. Although the exact details are still in flux, we will reach out to affected guests as soon as we know more.
Every morning we will continue to put out complimentary coffee, tea, and our oatmeal bar.
We’ll continue to stock the kitchenette with snacks and drinks to help you out between meals.
We will be providing an updated map of local food options to help you plan your meals.
Our two gas grills and three charcoal grills are at your disposal, so feel free to cook with them while you are here.
We have a refrigerator in the kitchenette and lots of extra fridge and freezer space. Feel free to plan to bring and store food.
We have tons of silverware, glassware, plates, and cups that are yours to use during your stay.
In some circumstances, we can allow guests to prepare meals in our main kitchen. Please feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss this for your group.
Kids Policies: We recognize some people travel here for the quiet woodsy getaway. We choose to live here for similar reasons. We also live here with our children and think every kid (and family) should get to experience the beauty and magic of the Adirondack Park. We are removing the Inn’s historical “No Children under 8” rule. We welcome families with children of all ages. Here are few helpful planning notes:
The Inn’s quiet hours remain 10pm - 7pm (same as always). To protect the sleep of our hardcore hikers and late risers, please plan quiet activities to engage and entertain your children during the wee hours of the morning. We suggest quiet movies (we have cable in the TV room), reading books (we keep a range of age appropriate titles in the game room), or doing art. Our game room has an array of toys (Legos, action figures, puzzles, etc). Please note your young children should be actively monitored at all times while on property.
If you are planning to travel with an infant, please let us know. We can recommend rooms that provide the most possible separation from other guests. Some of our walls are thin and we recognize you might need a quieter space. Additionally please have a plan to make sure all of our guests get a good night's sleep!
We are adjacent to the Keene Central School Property. The school has an amazing playground, sports fields, and an outdoor classroom that looks like the most amazing stick fort you’ve seen! Again, young children should be actively monitored at all times.
Self Check-In, Check-Out, and Mid-Stay Room Services: The Trails End Inn will continue to use self-check-in and self-check-out, as it has for years. We think this makes it easy for guests to arrive and leave at times that work best for them. We also will continue to offer services to rooms during your stay, but recognize different people want different services. Here is what’s changing:
Check-In is at 3pm, Check-Out is at 11am. If you can give us some advanced warning, you can request an early check-in or a late check-out.
When you arrive, come to the entry area just inside the Inn’s front door off the front porch. There you will find the steps to check-in (and check-out).
When you are checking in, be sure to fill out a Room Service Survey so our caretakers can anticipate your needs!
If you are checking in or out during quiet hours (10pm - 7am) please do so as quietly as possible to avoid waking other guests.
Connecting with the Innkeeper: Want to chat with the Innkeeper? You can still give us a call. Since we have young children, we are not always glued to the phone, but will always try to answer as we can. To schedule a time for a call, use Calendly or email us at [email protected]. Please note that cyber protection issues are causing some emails to bounce back to senders. If you have that issue, please email us at [email protected].
See you on the Trails!
Appreciation and Love,
The Trails End Innkeepers
Leah, Stacy, Dillon, Brendan, Indie, Fenix, Callan, Sadie, Lala, & Juno!
