We just returned from a spur-of-the-moment, one night trip to Twin Farms in Barnard, Vermont where we celebrated a milestone birthday. We enlisted the help of DavidO who was able to combine the TF Spring into Summer promotion (two 60 minute massages) with the Virtuoso amenities (bottle of Dom, artisanal chocolates, and an upgrade). I’ll admit to being a little worried at first. The Twin Farms nightly rate is high (+27% tax and service) and I usually feel better about spending that kind of money when I’ve had time to carefully plan and consider the options. But the positive reviews on this board were too strong to ignore and the resort is, after all, all-inclusive. So we packed up the car and off we went – no airline award travel this time!

Room

Twin Farms booked us into The Barn which is an absolutely beautiful cottage with a two-story picture window, a massive stone fireplace, bleached-pine paneling, enormous modern bathroom, and a loft/office. The barn theme and attention to detail is really amazing….the hand-painted designs on the walls, the original artwork….I could go on and on. Mr. Ericka was particularly impressed with the birch firewood and the resulting roaring, crackling fires.

Main house

Picnic with a view

Making friends all over

The Barn cottage

The Barn bathroom

Sunflower

Dining

Our one dinner was very special with a romantic fireplace on either side of the dining room. Thanks to a food likes/dislikes form they sent in advance of our arrival, they knew our food preferences which came in handy as there were no menus. I have especially good memories of the local Fable Farm produce, the lovely presentation, the Flowers Chardonnay, the Silver Oak Cab, etc. Foodies must love this place.

Vermont = cheese

Activities

A little hiking, a little fishing, a little biking and some shopping for Vermont cheese and it was quickly time to come home. Because we live so close by, we didn’t explore the local area (we’ve done it all before) but anyone considering a stay at this property should leave time to visit the quintessential New England town of Woodstock, the Marsh Billings Rockefeller Farm, and hike the old carriage trails. During our stay at Twin Farms, we never signed for anything and haven’t seen a bill yet (it’s in the mail). It feels like we were just visiting some friends at their country estate. Nice.

Overall

Our overall experience was fantastic. Right up there with most of our Aman stays. When we pulled up the first morning, we were greeted by name, told our room was almost ready and given a tour. They knew we were considering a picnic and helped us plan a hike, the menu and location. Every question or request was followed through on, and we later received an email from the GM, Michael Beardsley, in response to a question we had asked him at dinner. Service, service, service.