Bed & Breakfast Heaven...

Name of Lodging: Juniper Hill Bed & Breakfast and American Impressionist Art Gallery

Address: 16 Elm Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886

Date and Time of Most Recent Visit: July 5-6, 2011; check in at 6:00 p.m. on the 5th, check out at 10:00 a.m. on the 6th.

I won't lie--I'm a Trip Advisor junkie.  So when I decided I wanted to stay overnight in the Finger Lakes, it was the first place I checked in order to come up with an idea of where I wanted to stay.  I looked in Watkins Glen, Trumansburg, and Ithaca, simply because of their proximity to Watkins Glen State Park.  Since I knew I wanted to see Taughannock Falls while I was out there, I narrowed my search down to Trumansburg, which was only a 3 hour and 15 minute drive from Clifton Park.  I quickly noticed Juniper Hill, because Trip Advisor users have it rated as the #1 bed and breakfast in Trumansburg.  I had never stayed at a B&B before, so this seemed like exactly the time to try one out!

Juniper Hill bills itself as a luxury B&B, located in a historic restored 1920s Colonial Revival mansion.  They have an American Impressionist Art Gallery on site that specializes in the works of 20th Century American artists located in the Finger Lakes.  They are located on four acres of impeccably groomed land, with a lovely area of patio seating in the backyard, and a beautifully maintained garden in the front yard.

Juniper Hill has four rooms of varying sizes and appointments for guests, but all of the rooms notably have private bathrooms, which is a MUST for me.  Check in times are between 3:00 and 8:00 p.m., and check out is by 11:00 a.m.  There is free Wi-Fi on the premises, and other amenities also include spa robes and slippers in your room, in-room electronics charging stations, in-room refrigerators with complimentary beverages, 300+ thread count sheets, individually controlled room air conditioning, and much, much more!   Since I was traveling alone, I opted to stay in the Lilian Wescott Hale room, which is the smallest of the property's offerings.  Its private bathroom was located across the hall, and had an aromatherapy steam shower, which I was seriously looking forward to after a day of hiking!  I actually wound up enjoying that shower twice: post-hike, and again the next morning.  The Lilian Hale room has a queen sized bed, a writing desk stocked with a wine opener and wine glasses, and a 32" LCD flat panel TV with DVD player.  Lovely.  Definitely check out their very informative website, which I'll link to at the end of the review, so you can pick out exactly what sort of room you want if you choose to stay here.

My room:

Bruce is the man running the show here, and he is a lovely, warm, accommodating host.  The house itself is everything one could hope for in a place to stay.  The common rooms are beautiful, and the on-site gallery meant that there was amazing artwork throughout the house.  After checking in, I ate my carried-in dinner out in the property's backyard, which was perfect!

However, it's not a B&B without the breakfast, and this is where Juniper Hill truly shines.  Juniper Hill serves a gourmet 3 course breakfast, which is presented at 9:00 a.m. sharp, on fine china.  Breakfast is by candlelight, with a nice selection of background music playing.  Starting at 8:00 a.m., coffee, tea, and hot chocolate were available just outside of the bedroom doors.  Other snacks such as fresh fruit and homemade biscotti were also available with the beverages if one were to wake up hungry ahead of the scheduled breakfast serving time.  Juniper Hill staff asks to be informed in advance if you have any dietary restrictions, and the planned menus are posted the night before.  I am a vegetarian, and informed Bruce that this was the case before my stay.  The posted menu during my stay was: Roasted Nectarine (to die for, accompanied by cottage cheese and encrusted with pistachio nuts), Pound Cake with Grapefruit (also delicious, but Bruce ran out of grapefruit, so mine was actually Pound Cake with Strawberries), and Quiche in a Bread Bowl.  Unfortunately, the quiche had sausage in it--Bruce had forgotten about my vegetarian diet--but he quickly whipped me up what were probably the freshest, thickest, and most delicious blueberry pancakes I've ever had in my life.  If you go to Juniper Hill for any reason at all, go for the breakfast.  Just incredible!  Plus, I was so full after eating that I didn't even need to stop and have lunch later on in the day.  Mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about that breakfast now...

I will definitely return to Juniper Hill someday, possibly with a companion in tow.  Trumansburg really is a great home base for exploring the Finger Lakes, and this is a top notch place to stay while you're here.

Overall review: 5 out of 5 Upstate!Stars

Learn more at their website: www.atjuniperhill.com