Our family (8 adults and 3 children under 12) stayed at the Blue Hill House during the week between Christmas and New Year's. The house was perfect for spending time with the family! It was SUPER clean, and very well stocked, including paper products, kitchen needs, and towels and linens. There were plenty of extra linens for the air mattress we brought for the youngest of us. There was also plenty of seating around the table for eating or games, and we loved the huge sectional for Jackbox TV games and watching the ball drop! Wifi in the house was excellent, but cell service in the area overall is weak or non-existent, and we even lost GPS a couple times, so pay attention when driving around. The docs in our group appreciated some time "off the grid" when we were out and about, but could still check in back at the house. The house was VERY comfortable for all of us. The bedroom on the first floor has an en suite bath, and four other bedrooms upstairs share two large hall bathrooms. The bedrooms were spacious with plenty of storage, and the beds were comfortable. If you like it dark, though, bring a sleep mask because there are only sheers on the big windows. I was concerned about 9 of us sharing two baths, but it wasn't a problem - plenty of storage in the bathrooms to keep things uncluttered. There are also big mirrors in the bedrooms, so you can do hair and makeup outside of the bathroom, which is very helpful.
As far as the local area, it is sparse. There's a small grocery store, pizza, and Chinese food a couple minutes away, and that was handy. But restaurants seemed to be on a seasonal or holiday schedule and it was hard to find places to eat. Also, local places are small, and even though we called ahead, they seemed to struggle with a group our size. The best experience we had was at a Mexican restaurant called Estelita's. Great food, great margs and fast, friendly service!
There are number of fun things to do not too far away. We took the kids snow tubing in PA, and to the Kartrite indoor water park, both 20-25 mins away. We also made the hour drive to Goshen to visit Legoland, and that was worth the trip. The grown-ups' favorite part, though, was the visit to Bethel Woods to see the Woodstock museum. Fantastic little museum! Don't miss it, especially if you grew up in the 60's/70's!
Overall, a great stay with a great host! You won't be disappointed. Thanks, Maryana!
