The Landgrove: A Vermont Stay with Heart

Some hotels give you a room key and point toward the elevator. The Landgrove gives you Bruce and Emily, a historic Vermont inn, a terrific chef named Angela, a pond, a pool, an art studio, a few resident animals, and the feeling that you have somehow been folded into someone else's very fun family adventure.

We spent a summer weekend at The Landgrove with our kids, and it was exactly the kind of stay we love. It was warm and welcoming, special without being formal, and full of little moments that made the place feel less like a hotel and more like a home with an excellent restaurant attached.

It helped, of course, that Bruce is one of Matt's old friends from the University of Florida. It also helped that our families' paths had overlapped across the world before meeting again in Vermont. Bruce and Emily lived in Oman during the years we lived nearby in Dubai. Somehow, after all that time in the Gulf, we ended up reconnecting on a quiet dirt road in the Green Mountains.

A New Chapter Led by Wonderful Hosts

Bruce and Emily took over The Landgrove in 2025 with their three daughters, becoming the next caretakers of a property that has been welcoming guests for generations. Their goal is not to erase the past and make everything shiny and generic. It is to preserve what people already love while adding fresh energy to the Inn, Studio, and Restaurant.

You can feel that balance everywhere.

Bruce talks about The Landgrove as a place where people gather to create, share good meals, and find inspiration in Vermont's beauty. Emily describes it as a place for connection between art and nature, and between people who arrive as guests and leave as friends.

Bruce and Emily are present. They talk with guests. They share the story of the property. They make introductions. They notice what people need. Their daughters, pets, and everyday family life are part of the atmosphere too. This is not a hotel run from a distant office. The Haupt family lives onsite, and their warmth reaches every corner of the experience.

A Property That Refuses to Be Boring

The Landgrove is not a cookie-cutter hotel, and that is very much the point.

The property began as Swallow Farm, a dairy farm established in 1810. In 1935, Madelon Tengbergen transformed the old farmhouse into Tengbergen Lodge, one of south-central Vermont's early après-ski hotels. The lodge attracted skiers, Ivy Leaguers, celebrities, members of the Kennedy family, and former New York City Mayor John Lindsay. Later owners expanded the property, and in 2000 Tom and Maureen Checchia began developing its identity as a creative retreat.

The post-and-beam art studio arrived in 2009. Today, it hosts more than thirty-five workshops a year in watercolor, oils, acrylics, mixed media, photography, writing, yoga, and other creative pursuits. Classes are intentionally small, and workshop guests can stay, eat, and create without having to get back in a car.

That history is not tucked away in a display case. It is right under your feet. The original wood floors creak. Staircases have character. The dining room sits inside the historic 1810 farmhouse, and fireplaces, art, books, and comfortable corners make the whole place feel lived in.

At the same time, the 16 guest rooms have new DreamCloud mattresses, updated linens, locally made bath amenities, and fast Wi-Fi. There are no televisions in the rooms by design. Instead, guests get board games, books, conversation, fresh air, and, on a clear night, some of the darkest skies in Vermont.

The property is wonderful because it has personality, and the character that comes with generations of history, while being comfortable for the modern traveler.

A Vermont Base for Doing Plenty, or Nothing

The Landgrove sits along a quiet, unpaved road in Southern Vermont's Green Mountains. It feels removed, but there is plenty nearby.

The Appalachian Trail is only a few miles away. Bromley, Okemo, Magic Mountain, and Stratton are all within easy driving distance for winter trips. In warmer months, the surrounding area offers hiking, trail running, swimming, scenic drives, covered bridges, farm stands, and small towns that invite slow wandering.

We mixed our inn time with stops at the West River Farmers Market, the Vermont Country Store, Northshire Bookstore, Taylor Farm, and a few local food favorites. But we could easily have stayed on the property longer.

That is part of The Landgrove's charm. It works as a base for exploring Southern Vermont, but it is also a destination in its own right. You can fill the day with activities, or you can swim, read, walk, eat, talk, and let the kids disappear into a patch of grass for a while.

Honestly, both options sound pretty good.

A Weekend with Friends

While there, Eva and Jordan especially loved having Bruce and Emily's three daughters to play with. The kids quickly fell into the easy rhythm that makes family travel so much fun: roaming the property together, playing with the dogs, checking on the quail in their hutch, swimming in the pool, and heading down to the pond for canoe rides. There was always another small adventure waiting outside.

Seeing them all together made the inn feel even more like a family home. Eva and Jordan were not simply being entertained by hotel amenities. They were making friends, discovering animals, getting wet, and enjoying the kind of unstructured outdoor time that children remember long after a trip ends.

Matt got his own adventure early Saturday morning when he joined Bruce for a trail run. Getting out on the trails before the day really began was a lot of fun, and it gave the two old friends time to catch up while taking in the quiet woods and mountain air.

Breakfast Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Breakfast at The Landgrove is not a sad muffin grabbed on the way to the car. It is part of the experience.

Mornings begin with fresh self-service options, followed by a hot breakfast. The restaurant features homemade scones, bagels, a yogurt bar, blueberry pancakes with Vermont syrup made by neighbors, and Landgrove Coffee roasted by a local family. The scone rotation alone includes more than a dozen varieties, which feels both delightful and slightly dangerous.

Everything we ate was excellent. More importantly, breakfast had the unhurried feeling of a country inn. We sat around a table, talked about the day, and watched the property come to life around us.

Dinner with Chef Angela

Then there was dinner.

The Landgrove Restaurant is the beating heart of the property, and Executive Chef Angela McCrovitz gives it a very big personality. Her seasonal menus highlight local farms, regional makers, and New England ingredients, but her cooking never feels like a lecture. It feels generous, creative, and genuinely exciting.

Angela describes herself as a chef, teacher, and storyteller. Her path has included owning restaurants, running the private dining and catering business Table & Thyme, styling food for Better Homes and Gardens, and earning attention for a coastal restaurant known for lobster rolls. At The Landgrove, she has found a kitchen that fits her instinct to put a story on a plate.

She even creates menus inspired by the artists working in the studio next door. Courses have carried names like First Expressions, Shadow and Light, Brushstroke Harmony, and Final Impressions. The food responds to what is happening elsewhere on the property, which is such a wonderfully specific Landgrove idea.

Our dinners were fantastic. The food was thoughtful and beautifully prepared, but the room still felt relaxed enough for a family. Angela was awesome with us, and her warmth did not stop at the kitchen door.

On Saturday morning, she joined us at the West River Farmers Market. Walking the stalls with the chef who had just cooked our dinner was one of those small experiences that made the weekend feel personal. We could see the connection between the market, the local community, and the food on our plates.

And yes, traveling to a farmers market with a chef is always an excellent strategy. They know where the good stuff is.

What Made The Landgrove Special for Us

The buildings are beautiful. The history is fascinating. The beds are comfortable. The food is exceptional. The studio is inspiring.

But the people are what made our stay.

Bruce and Emily are building something that feels both ambitious and deeply personal. They are caring for a historic property, raising their family onsite, welcoming artists and travelers, supporting a creative community, and trusting Angela to make the restaurant sing. That is a lot to hold at once, and they do it with humor, curiosity, and genuine kindness.

We arrived excited to see old friends. We left impressed by what those friends are creating.

The Landgrove feels like a place in motion, but not in a frantic way. It is evolving thoughtfully. The history is still visible. The new energy is easy to feel. Guests can come for an art workshop, a ski weekend, a family getaway, a memorable dinner, or simply a quieter pace.

If your travels bring you to Southern Vermont, take the dirt road to The Landgrove. Stay for the history and the mountain air. Eat everything Angela puts in front of you. Say hello to the animals. Wander through the studio. Ask Bruce and Emily about their vision for the place.

You may arrive as a guest.

There is a very good chance you will leave feeling like a friend.

Author bio: Matt Nobles is a dad, husband, and relentless learner. After nearly 20 years in corporate finance and sustainability, and after having already travelled to 77 countries over the years, he's now spending the 2026–2027 academic year worldschooling with his wife Kelly and their two kids, Eva (11) and Jordan (9). Follow the journey at theglobalnobles.com.