Inn Victoria in Chester VT Hires an Assistant Innkeeper!

Jessica Kinsley of Chester, Vermont has been hired as a full time Innkeeper for Inn Victoria, a Romantic Vermont Bed and Breakfast.  "Jessica is a perfect addition to our niche"; says Penny Cote, the President of Inn Victoria.  "We realize that there are not too many Bed and Breakfasts in the Okemo Valley that can hire a full time innkeeper, however our business has been booming since we made some extensive improvements to marketing.  Jessica came on with us as a temporary helper for the busy season and has proven herself a worthy asset to our business.  We hope that she will grow with us as we grow the business over the years to come.

Jessica aspires to obtain a degree in the hospitality industry and has all the right attributes to make her  successful in this industry.  She is very bright, has an exceptional work ethic and is a natural with customer service. 

Our goal is to engage Jessica in every aspect of the business, giving her the opportunity to excel with her customer service and cooking skills.

Congratulations Jessica, and welcome to Inn Victoria; a place where our guests can enjoy romantic Vermont vacation getaways.

Penny and Dan Cote
Owners, Inn Victoria, A Chester Vermont Bed and Breakfast

Murder Mystery at Inn Victoria, in Okemo Valley

Who done it?  That question was answered last week at Inn Victoria's Murder Mystery Weekend, and the perpetrator arrested for murder in the quiet village of Chester, Vermont.  Prince Earnest, the brother of Consort Prince Albert of Inn Victoria, a Romantic Vermont Bed and Breakfast, was indeed arrested for murder last week.  Yes, much to the surprise of several guests at Inn Victoria that weekend, Earnest was charged with the death of his brother.

A full house of guests at Inn Victoria as well as a full house at the Hugging Bear Inn, made for a lively weekend of searching and scheming with several of the village business owners, to finally get down to the point:..."who done it?" As well as a hearty dinner and movie night on an 8' x 10' screen on which we watched "Murder on the Orient Express".  Over 20 people gathered at the following businesses to assemble clues and reason through the Murder Mystery:

• MacLaomainn's Scottish Pub
• Meditrina, wine, beer and cheese
• The Pear Tree Shop
• Misty Valley Book Store
• Chester Historical Society
• The Teddy Bear shop
• DaValia

In the end, the perpetrator was arrested as detailed in the attached photos.  Yes all is safe and quiet once again in the village of Chester, Vermont.  Not so within the walls of Inn Victoria however, it appears as though another event is brewing for the month of March. Watch the "Packages" page of Inn Victoria to prepare yourself for a March event...as details unfold, an all out call for help will be made outside of the Okemo Valley Lodging community.

Penny and Dan Cote
Owners, Inn Victoria, a Romantic Vermont Bed and Breakfast   

Vermont Okemo Valley Snow / Ski Report From Inn Victoria, Chester

This is it!  Today is the day!!!  Okemo Mountain opened one trail on the 23rd of November and today there are seven trails open.  With weather in the mid twenties all week, there will be plenty of snow available for guests of Inn Victoria, an Okemo Valley Romantic Bed and Breakfast, to ski and enjoy.  The season has started early this year and with gusto!

I did some homework, so that you can get started with your winter plans.  Below, I've listed the five major ski resorts within a 15-30 minute drive from Inn Victoria, with their current snow report summary for today.  In addition I've attached the link to their daily snow report page.  Copy the link and it will give you daily reports of the weather in the area.  Even if you do not ski, the reports will help guide your next winter trip to the area.

Okemo Mt.     15 minute drive from Inn Victoria        Open Nov 23          7 trails open on Tgiving day


Stratton Mt.    30 minute drive from Inn Victoria        Open Dec 3


Bromley Mt.   25 minutes drive from Inn Victoria      Open Dec 3


Magic Mt.      20 minutes drive from Inn Victoria      Open Dec 18


Ascutney Mt. 15 minute drive from Inn Victoria        No date set yet

See you soon!

Penny & Dan Cote, Owners
Inn Victoria, a Chester Vermont Bed and Breakfast

Inn Victoria of Chester Vermont, Inn Keepers Return Fom Vacation

Inn Keepers of Inn Victoria, an Okemo Valley Loddging Bed and Breakfast, return from vacation refreshed and thrilled to be in the business!
"Ahhhhh, Vacation was great!" Says Dan and Penny after stepping down the gangway of the Holland America ship.  "We love to travel and compare our service against other well known service venues around the world.  We learned a lot on this trip and we hope to share some of our experiences with our guests."

It was relaxing and we accomplished a lot of marketing.  Penny put lots of hours into her dissertation and is feeling much better about her prospects of finishing the paper by late spring when it is due. 
Who minds the shop while we are away?  Jessica and Cindy, are the two who have made it possible for us to sail the southern seas of the Caribbean.  Without these two, we'd have to close the Inn....we do not want to do that.  THANK YOU ladies for making this possible for us and carrying on our tradition of "Exceptional Service".  From what we hear from guests through e-mails, they were well fed,  loved the bedding system, and especially loved the temporary inn keepers!


Penny and Dan Cote
Owners of Inn Victoria, an Okemo Valley Lodging Bed and Breakfast.

Inn Victoria, a Chester Vermont Bed and Breakfast Earns an "Award of Excellence" from TripAdvisor

Inn Victoria, a Chester Vermont Bed and Breakfast, earns an "Award of Excellence 2010" from TripAdvisor.  TripAdvisor has rated Inn Victoria, a Romantic Okemo Valley Lodging Bed and Breakfast, a full five point rating out of five possible.

To say that we are excited is an understatement!!......we are thrilled to be recognized by our guests as
The Best of the Best in our industry!  Thank you for making this a reality for us!  As you know, the name of our corporation is "Exceptional Experience", and we firmly believe that providing an exceptional experience is what we should focus on.  There is no better way to distinguish ourselves from the myriad of Bed and Breakfasts in Vermont, than to sincerely seek excellence in everything we do.  Our guests obviously agree, and we humbly thank each of you for making your views known.

This award was a surprise to us; it showed up in the mail, wrapped in a very nice business envelope.  We opened the envelope and let it set on the counter for a few days until we finally had time to study the words on the certificate.  "For Real!!....we are being distinguished by the travel industry's most prestigious rating organization, TripAdvisor!!!"  Penny drove to a local frame shop that same day and had the award framed.  It now hangs in the parlor along with the two other prestigious awards that have been bestowed on the Inn Victoria; Yankee Magazines' "Best Romantic B&B in VT for 2009" and TripAdvisor's 2008 "10 Best B&B's in the US".

I guess I just had to brag a little!..............We'll take a picture of the award and post it in a future blog for you to see.

Penny and Dan Cote
Owners of Inn Victoria, A Chester Vermont Bed and Breakfast

Visitors from Paraguay LOVE Vermont and Inn Victoria

A few weeks ago we enjoyed the company of a couple from Paraguay who were thrilled to finally fulfill a life dream to visit Vermont during peak foliage.  They chose Inn Victoria in Chester Vermont, awarded Okemo Valley's most distinguished lodging by Tripadvisor "2010 Award of Excellence".

Here is a thank you note we received from Queña and Flaco, just today.

"Dear Penny and Dan,

Finally we manage to have the time to answer your kind mail.  We want to thank you for the wonderful time we spent in the Inn Victoria.  We didn't imagine we would find such a lovely place and people there.  We really loved being received at the train station by a Victorian gentleman to the surprise of the rest of the passengers.  It was a very warm and friendly welcome to the beginning of an incredible stay in the Inn Victoria at Chester.  Food and accommodations were superb.  Penny as a chef was magnificent; every day she surprised us with another delicious breakfast and if all that wasn't enough, we had the great pleasure of being driven around the best of Vermont by Dan, the most charming driver in town.  We really, really enjoyed our time there.  It was a lovely experience that we recommend to our friends and family here.  We hope we see each other very soon again.

Warm regards,

Queña and Flaco"

 

Whenever a guest travels to Inn Victoria from one of the East coast cities by train, I pick them up at the train station with my full Top Hat and Victorian Period gentleman's formal wear.  It sure is a site to see all of the faces when I pick up our guests.  This is the train station experience Quena speaks of.  I gave them a chauffeured tour of Vermont sites for three days, and believe me, they saw The Best of Vermont in those three days.
 
Ahhhh.........I love this job!!!
 
Penny and Dan Cote
Owners of Inn Victoria, an Okemo Valley Lodging, Bed and Breakfast

What do the Owners of Inn Victoria, Chester Vermont do While on Vacation?

It is hard to imagine what Innkeepers do on vacation; travel the world?, Hide from people?, Sleep?.  The owners of Inn Victoria, a Chester Vermont Bed and Breakfast, are traveling with Holland America Cruise Lines to experience the Panama Canal and Costa Rica.

It is funny how two people like Penny and I specialize in service to others while at the Inn, but seek total seclusion for a vacation.  Because we know how difficult it must be from your vantage point how it is to imagine such a thing, we thought we'd give you one photo that says it all.  Here's Dan, preparing for departure in his Holland America Cruise to the Panama Canal

Over the coming few weeks we will share some of our experiences while on vacation.  Believe it or not, we too need a vacation.  Certainly not from guests; after all we so enjoy serving and getting to know each of our guests, enjoying conversation and family discussions, talking about where the best place on earth might be to explore next, or how many of the "1000 Best Places to Visit" have our guests been to. 

And then, there is the endless list of things WE DO need a vacation from:

• Laundry
• Mail
• Bills
• Building upkeep and maintenance
• Interruptions at every conceivable moment….oh yes!...EVERY!
• Cleaning
• Cooking
• Marketing

No doubt, no fear...we'll be back soon.  For now we'll enjoy the quiet life aboard the Holland America Cruise line to the South Caribbean islands, beaches, and coconut rum.

Penny and Dan Cote
Owners of Inn Victoria, a Chester Vermont Bed and Breakfast