9 Best Hotels in Central Vermont, Vermont

In the Green Mountain National Forest, 5½ miles off a mountain pass on a dirt road, you'll find this secluded inn with lush gardens and a pond with a wood-fired sauna on its bank; there's lots to do if you're into nature: biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing on 43 miles of trails. Many guest rooms have views of the mountains, and all are furnished with antiques and quilts. The homemade chocolate chip cookies are locally renowned.

This charming inn dating to 1840 is as authentic as it gets in Vermont. The guest rooms—put together by owner Sara Widness, an expert on luxury travel and a poet to boot—are adorned with tapestries, antique rugs, claw-foot tubs, comfortable sofas, and old bed frames, while the outdoor garden feels Edenlike at full bloom.

A Shaker-style round barn—one of only five remaining in Vermont—is the centerpiece of this eminently charming B&B set among the hills of the Mad River Valley with resident ducks, squirrels, chipmunks, and songbirds that make it feel like a Disney movie. The rooms inside the 1810 farmhouse define "cozy," with richly patterned wallpaper, brass lamps, and rough-hewn wood beams in the ceilings—several have fireplaces and whirlpool tubs—and the kitchen and dining area feel more like home than an inn.

The unique Pitcher Inn has it all, including a supremely romantic restaurant and bubbling brook running alongside; the majority of rooms come with a rustic theme—ski lodge, trout, mallard, and more—that is manifested in impressive and stylish design, even an installed lift-ticket booth or a tree-trunk bed carved with fiddlehead ferns.

The 1814 Georgian mansion channels a classic New England style into three buildings on 4 acres of lawns and gardens. The largest and most luxurious rooms are in the carriage house, which include king-size beds, fireplaces, and jetted tubs, not to mention a steam room and sauna on the lower level; rooms in the gatehouse cost less but sometimes suffer from street noise.

You're likely to fall in love at first sight with the main 1828 three-story brick building here, the centerpiece of this 15-acre retreat, but wait until you see the spring-fed pond, which has a white sand beach with toys for kids. Many rooms have a fireplace or a Franklin stove—some have private decks or terraces—and the on-site restaurant, Ransom Tavern, serves up some of the best wood-fired pizza in the state.

The best B&B in town has cheery, comfortable guest rooms in a central setting half a block from the heart of Brandon. Antiques fill the Greek Revival mansion's spacious common areas. All rooms are furnished with claw-foot tubs and handheld European showerheads, and the grand suite has a fireplace, a two-person shower, and a marble whirlpool bath.

This former bunkhouse for the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s is now one of the Mad River Valley's chicest accommodations, thanks to extensive renovations in 2013 that transformed it into a rustic farmhouse with an edge of industrial. These transformations translate to clever touches, like bed spring light fixtures, a sign made of plumbing handles, and lots of reclaimed wood. The on-site pub, restaurant—serving eclectic international dishes—and game room keeps the fun going through the evening.

Each room in this handsomely restored 1793 country home has Queen Anne–style furnishings and period antiques. The dining room's creative entrées include the house specialty: slow-roasted crispy duck.