Let's see: French doors leading to the bedroom, their glass exposing the ample queen bed and evoking Louis XIV and Versailles. Check. Decanter of brandy on the table just off the sitting room fireplace, suggesting English after-dinner gentility. Check. An easel with a print of a cathedral, channeling medieval architectural magnificence. Check.
It's settled. The inn's European Suite lives up to its name, impressing us just minutes into our stay.
Owners Mark and Deni Ellis alternately refer to their establishment as an inn or a bed-and-breakfast. The latter is on the sign at the driveway entrance and one of us who doesn't particularly like B&B s expressed displeasure. But once inside, we were reassured. Though the place technically qualifies as a B&B , with just four guest rooms, those who prefer the more spacious and elegant accommodations of an inn need not scratch Clamber Hill from their to-visit list.
Built in the Roaring Twenties as a summer mansion by a Springfield couple, the Inn at Clamber Hill is the oversized kid in the B&B class. Its 9,600 -square -feet sprawl in a squared-off "U" flanked by two arched roofs as crisp as a Marine's trouser crease, reflecting Mark Ellis's former life as a member of the corps.
Our four-footed welcoming committee included Sam and Shamrock, a golden retriever and a chow, respectively, as friendly as they were furry. There was also a house cat for feline admirers, and, to the delight of our toddler, two horses who could be admired up close and from a distance when they're set loose in the field down from the inn. There are 33 forested acres surrounding the estate that are laced with trails, and depending on the season, the property is a hiker's or cross-country skier's dream.
The inn's literature said our suite was especially popular with honeymooners, and it's easy to see why a couple craving privacy wouldn't want to leave. Besides those glass doors and brandy, there was a working fireplace fronted by a sofa, several original oil paintings, an antique desk, and a bedroom easy chair with ottoman for reading.
