Nova Scotia is filled with colorful, seaside villages with quaint lodgings. In the little college town of Wolfville, you’ll find none better than the historic Blomidon Inn. Built in the 1880s by a prosperous shipbuilder, the three-story inn features grand period touches like marble fireplaces, gold gilt mirrors, and teak and mahogany mantels, staircases and wainscoting. They offer 24 guest rooms ranging from superior rooms to suites and six luxury guest accommodations in a separate building.
The broad porches invite guests to sit a spell.
Outside the inn is just as elegant with a Mansard roof, a widow’s walk, and broad porches with rockers that invite guests to rest a while. One of the outbuildings (perhaps an old carriage house) has been converted into a large, meandering gift shop with high-end art, clothing, and collectibles.
Blending Today and Yesterday
While the inn is true to late 1800s styling, it also offers all the modern updates. The rooms feature queen beds, flat screen TVs, free super-fast Wi-Fi, individual air conditioners, and, in some rooms, jetted tubs and gas fireplaces.
My room featured period antiques, including a tall four-poster bed.
My room included original wood floors with colorful Oriental rugs and a tall antique four-poster bed (with little steps to get onto it), an antique dresser, small writing desk and chair, and two upholstered wing back chairs. The bathroom, updated with a modern tub-shower combo and pedestal sink, was spacious and featured elegant toiletries.
The room rate includes a continental breakfast (cereal, yogurt, fruit, juice, breads/pastries, coffee/tea) served in sunny, elegant dining rooms. In the afternoon, they serve complimentary wine and snacks in a light-filled front parlor decorated with an impressive tile and wood-fronted fireplace, comfy upholstered chairs, and a sumptuous “fainting” couch upholstered in dark blue velvet.
Complementary afternoon wine and snacks are served in the front parlor.
If you’re a gardener, you’ll enjoy exploring the inn’s four-acre property. They boast several Victorian gardens, including pond gardens. Follow a meandering path to several tucked-away “secret” gardens where you can sit and relax. A terraced vegetable garden provides the dining room with fresh salad greens, beans, tomatoes and peppers.
Take some time to explore the inn’s gorgeous gardens.
Delicious Dining
Don’t miss dining in Blomidon Inn’s restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner. For dinner, I dined on crispy pan seared halibut over silky mushroom and asparagus risotto. It was accompanied by a pea and Parmesan puree that was finished with tangy lemon vinaigrette and micro greens. Everything from the entrée to the refreshing lemon sorbet with Amaretto palate cleanser to the slightly sweet brown bread and richly chocolate flourless tort with crème anglaise was delicious and satisfying.—Story and photos by Bobbie Hasselbring, RFT Editor
If You Go
What a gorgeous building!
It is and a fabulous place to stay. Cheers, Teresa. — Bobbie, RFT Editor