I've stayed here many times over the past 18 years and have fond memories of the aroma of baskets of apples in the Fall and Ann and Jim - the owners - are kind friendly and helpful but the accommodations are no longer quite so charming as they were 18 years ago! They allow dogs in two of their "cottages" at a fairly reasonable charge of $20 per night. It's difficult to find VT inns that accommodate dogs and Field House - where I stayed - sleeps 4 people with a double bedroom and a daybed in the sitting room. There is a tv and WiFi and all US calls are free. The carpet and rugs are somewhat sad and slightly stained. The shower is good but not tiled and somewhat depressing. There is a restaurant for both residents and visitors and the food is home cooked and quite good although the prices are not inexpensive. All tips are included in the cost of the room and they offer a package dinner for residents of $65 for two people. The restaurant is family run and the breakfasts are good with some choice. I had been offered the choice of a more expensive cottage on the phone - which I had agreed to - but when I arrived was given "Field House" and told there was water damage in the other cottage. I later discovered that other visitors were staying there.

Barrows House is a very old, but well kept hotel. We were looking for something out of the norm, and this was perfect. The meals provided in the resturant were excellent, however the dinner menu is very pricey. Our room was clean and neat, the staff very kind and the garden was beautiful. We have talked of staying there again in the future.

When the proprietor showed us to our room, we were bowled over by it's musty odor. I had to ask for air fresheners and put the a/c on to get the smell out of the room. The more we looked around, the more obvious it became that they put as little money as possible into the place. Furniture is worn, shades were all broken, most of the windows didn't open. They weren't kidding when they said VCR, there wasn't a DVD player in sight. Wifi worked well but wasn't available outside of the room, not even in the main house.

While the owners were kind, coming out to offer us flashlights when we were walking to the theater, they ignored other requests we made. We asked for some games, they said they'd look. We asked for a DVD player, they said they'd find one. Never heard a word. After the room was 'cleaned', I noticed they had just refolded damp towels. I don't mind reusing a towel but I prefer to hang it up to dry first!

The one dinner we had there was very good and the breakfasts were good also, if a bit redundant.

Would not stay there again. It cost 3 couples about $3,000 to stay there for 4 nights. I think we would do much better renting a house on a lake!!!!

Dorset is a picture-perfect tiny village in Southern Vermont, and the Barrows House Inn is a wonderful place to stay. Friendly owners, comfortable rooms, and good breakfasts make this our destination when leaf-peeping in the Green Mountains. It's close to the outlets in Manchester, but away from the congestion and traffic. And the Dorset Playhouse provides entertaining theater.