For 10 years Philip Thornber owned a breathtaking lakeside bed and breakfast called Stag Hollow in Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL). He sold it in 2012, “It all happened so quickly," says Philip. He decided to buy a house in the historic area of NOTL in that very same fall of 2012 and immediately got knee deep into restoration. The 1817 house is a traditional NOTL saltbox-styled home built on the original 1795 fieldstone foundation with an addition that was added in late 1830s.
“Saltbox style homes normally have small bedrooms so we took down walls and made two rooms into larger bedrooms, with each guest room having the original fireplace and added private baths. The 12 over 12 casement windows are large and offer a lot of natural light in each room.” It has taken a year and a half to design, restore and detail everything. The rooms are beautifully appointed and named after the descendants of the original inhabitants, Lady Richards, Sir William and General Prideaux.
“The nicest thing about running a bed and breakfast is hosting so many wonderful people, it’s like having a cocktail party every day except it’s in the morning and coffee is served.”
When guests pull into the driveway towards the carriage house they will be pleasantly surprised with the gardens and a dream courtyard with brick and ivy walls. Running the B&B on his own, Philip loves to cook and uses local ingredients from the Niagara region. Every morning guests can wake up to the waft of fresh bread drifting through the air, plus the man never stops, he also makes his own preserves and loves to bake.
Breakfast begins with fresh fruit and yogurt. Or perhaps a morning salad of citrus fruit dressed with grated onion, honey and celery seed or a salad of watermelon and cucumber with lime and cilantro sorbet. Hot entrées follow and of course wonderful baking.
Look for the lovely white house with the stone covered ivy wall out front and welcome to Historic Old Ivy Walk Luxury Bed and Breakfast.
“I couldn’t see myself living here and not having people stay."
Historic Old Ivy Walk Luxury Bed and Breakfast.
905-468-9076
28 Prideaux Street
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
By Mary Hughes
Luxury Bed and Breakfast Treasure
28
Inns E-Magazine / Summer 2014
Historic Old Ivy Walk