Getting luxury right – at Twin Farms in the Vermont Woods

Maybe I am jaded, too much travel to too many wonderful places, but rarely do luxury resorts live up to over the top hype. So I flew up to Vermont with trepidation to visit the much touted Twin Farms. Additionally, I am not really a nature girl,  so promises of fly fishing lessons and campfires did not entice. But to the woods I went and I was absolutely floored. They got it-every little thing was perfect. Luxury was in the detail, food and design, but was always in proper character for the locale. Service was 6 star, but invisible and unobtrusive, which is a hard blend to master. This Relais and Chateaux property consists of 300 acres about 1 and ½ hours from the Burlington airport. The transfer, with one of the long time staff driving, telling me of the history of the resort,  was a highlight of the stay There are 20 different types of rooms, including 10 free standing cottages that are the finest I have seen in US or abroad. The art collection, that they call eclectic is world-class. Your cottage may have a masterpiece by Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Frank Stella, Jim Dine, Deborah Butterfield, Milton Avery, Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Sean Scully, or Cy Twombly to name a few. Or your cottage may be designed by Peter Bohlin. Check the picture of  the Aviary on their website. My cottage was a Moroccan-inspired fantasy, the Meadow, surrounded by lupine filled meadows and certainly the place I will retire to write my first great novel. Untrue to my instincts, I did hike and I loved it. Walking through the grounds and paths, barely manicured, but defined, took me out of my iphone centric world and into a more contemplative one.   One note to mention and hard for me at first, was that there is limited cell coverage. All living areas have strong wifi but no cell. To compensate, all phone calls on their land lines are free including international. They hope to have cell coverage soon. Food, of course, was wonderful. Locally sourced, picked that day and their gardens are extensive.  Staff quickly learn your likes and preferences so my Diet Cokes appeared wherever I went-but water soon seemed the more fitting beverage of choice.  Wines were plentiful and well matched and the bar is always open. Everything is included or beyond inclusive as they say. I would return, anytime, which is something I rarely want to do. They set a new standard, both in refining the rustic experience with excellent curated contemporary taste  and in their service and general approach to meeting the demands of clients, including  hypercritical, high strung, luxury travel specialists! Jean Newman Glock is Director, Leisure and Group Travel Services of Connoisseur Travel Ltd. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.