We’ve been called the “Shrek” hotel. Which is a bit confusing… because we aren’t.
I think I understand the reasoning though, because we are a kind of fairytale hotel. Not Shrek’s fairytale, or Bilbo Baggins’ fairytale, or even sleeping beauty’s fairytale — a fairytale of your own.
A little fantasy world you can literally step into.
And that’ll do…
Ten years ago, Hailey and I were lucky enough to travel to Europe for our honeymoon. We spent a little time in Italy and had the opportunity to stay in a beautifully restored tower in an old Roman villa.
It was a wonderful experience and it sparked a dream of building our own magical getaway.
This year we opened our first suite—the North Star—and we are now talking reservations for our second—the Under Hill.
However, our third offering—the Copper Crown—will be the suite that is most closely tied to that early dream. We’ll be starting on the Copper Crown’s interior very soon…
According to Google, one of the most common questions people ask about the Hazelnut Inn is “are we open?” And the answer is a resounding yes! We opened our first suite this year and we have opened our second suite for bookings starting in June of 2025.
The North Star Suite evokes the romance of the sea — of pirates and of magic. Staying here is like stepping into the pages of Treasure Island. You even sleep in the Captain’s quarters, guarded by twin mermaids.
The Under Hill Suite will be open in June of 2025. It is literally under a hill and if Beatrix Potter had written The Hobbit then Bilbo “the rabbit” Baggins would have lived in someplace very much like the Under Hill.
We hope you will come for a visit and stay in one of our amazing suites.
Photo Credit: Michael Cox
Like many people, as a teen, I spent a lot of time with my friends. We’d watch movies at my house or I’d visit their homes to play games or listen to music.
And of course, I got to know many of my friends parents; I liked most of them and there were a few I admired, but I always felt that I had the best parents.
Other parents were kind, or intelligent, or passionate but it seemed to me that my parents had these qualities in just the right measure. And importantly (from my perspective) they were interested in me and my dreams.
30 years later I still feel that way. When Hailey and I first started talking about a little hotel that adds an aura of magic to a special occasion, they were right there dreaming with us.
This year my parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. And we were so pleased to have them stay at our magical little hotel.
Happy Anniversary to my favourite parents!
When I was a child, my mother had a rather extensive collection of books.
But she didn’t always have a library — or even a bookshelf. In fact, as a young woman, she would buy used books and sell them back to the secondhand bookstore once she’d read them. The difficulty however, was that she read so many books she began to lose track of what she had or hadn’t read. She found herself buying books, taking them home; reading the first few pages only to realize she had already read them.
So she started keeping her books and her collection began to grow.
Now, my mother read science fiction and fantasy novels almost exclusively (and does so to this day). And she is such a prolific reader that by the time I was old enough to read the spines on the shelves we had more speculative fiction than any bookstore I’ve ever visited.
My mother taught me the joy, and the value, of reading and her library has left an indelible mark on my life.
Photo by @thecasualceltic
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island”