Dominion House
50 Old Dominion Road
Blooming Grove, NY
845-496-1826

Dominion House Home Page

June 2004

Welcome to www.weloveourlife.com. This is our page dedicated to our experiences while staying at the Dominion House in Blooming Grove, New York. The Dominion House has been awarded a "best of ..." www.weloveourlife.com award for their fantastic breakfasts.

Accommodations

	We stayed in the honeymoon cottage. This is one place where everything is exactly like the pictures. The cottage is a self-contained unit.
	It is a very large room that houses a queen-size bed, a sitting area with sofa, fireplace, and TV, a full kitchen along one wall, and a dining area. The walls are a buttercup yellow and the accents are dark green and ivy patterns throughout. There is a small bathroom with a pedestal sink and shower. The bed was extremely comfortable and covered in fine linens.
	There were complimentary soft drinks in the refrigerator and some snacks in a basket – even popcorn for the microwave, which was very thoughtful. A VCR was concealed under the TV and videos of several popular movies.
	The furniture was mostly white wicker, which gave the room an airy, country feel. Extra towels, pillows, and even robes are also provided. It’s clear the innkeepers put some serious thought into this, thinking about what they would need if they were staying in the unit.
	A major attraction of this unit is that there are plenty of windows and a large, covered porch with wicker furniture and very comfy cushions.

Inn Amenities

This inn boasts some amenities that are unusual to a small B&B. Since we visited in the summer, the large outdoor pool was a major attraction for us. The area surrounding the pool is very pleasant, and we enjoyed some time out there two days in a row.

There is an indoor hot tub in a wood-lined room (which also contains a long vanity and toilet). We spent some time in the hot tub on a cool evening with the window open wide. There is a pocket door to slide shut and it was as if we were in a cocoon all by ourselves – it was very relaxing. There is also a billiard table that is available to the guests. Upstairs in the main house there is a library that is stocked with many books. We were intrigued by the obviously old selections. There is also a computer in the library for guest use. There is one more amenity that can’t be ignored: the ample front porch, which is great for spending some time sipping a drink and reading a book, or simply contemplating the calming landscape.

Inn Food

We were served a full breakfast both mornings we were there, and we were very impressed. The first morning, we dined on the front porch. The meal began with home-made coffee cake that was scrumptious. That was followed by bowls full of tiny cantaloupe balls and fresh strawberries, accompanied by absolutely incredible apple pecan pancakes. A plate full of bacon was also served. We had our choice of fruit juices. When we arrived, Joe asked us what we preferred for our morning beverage, and we requested iced tea. We appreciated the pitcher full of freshly brewed iced tea prepared especially for us.

The second morning we had a change of venue and dined under an awning on the rear deck. This time, our morning culinary adventure began with fresh cranberry scones. They were wonderfully crisp, and not too sweet, but just right. That morning we were served peach French toast accompanied by fresh grapes and slices of orange. Kathy had once again crafted a carbohydrate lover’s dream of a breakfast, balanced out nicely by a place full of tiny sausage patties that were extremely fresh and out of this world. We’re embarrassed to say that we demolished all of the sausage, as it complimented the French toast wonderfully.

We are pleased to give Dominion House a “Best of” award for the truly creative and delicious breakfasts they serve!

Inn Bar/Lounge

This is a B&B with no bar; we brought our own wine.

Inn People/Service

When we first arrived, Joe was very welcoming. It almost felt like we had known him for a long time; he has a way of making guests feel very comfortable. When we told him we were headed off on a balloon trip later that day, he asked if we had directions. We showed them to him, and he told us he would write out better directions, since the ones we had used an exit that was closed during our stay. He spent some time showing us around the house. The house was built in 1880 and he has a good grasp of the house’s history. Many pieces are original to the house. He and his wife are only the fourth owners of the house; his parents owned the house before them. The ceilings on the first floor were 12 feet high, and there is a grand 20-step staircase in the center of the house. Since there weren’t any other guests there at the time, he showed us the remaining rooms, and then the library. He took the time to explain how to logon to the computer. The piece de resistance was a set of original blueprints and elevations of the house, which are framed and displayed in the upstairs hall. The provenance surrounding the house and its contents definitely deserve a lot of pride. (Joe caught us later by the pool with the updated directions that served us very well.) He is a very laid-back guy and we loved it when he said, “Whatever you do at home, we want you to feel comfortable doing here too.” And we knew he meant it. Except for smoking, of course, which is restricted to outdoors.

Joe’s wife Kathy is the cook, and she is extremely gracious and attentive. Her breakfasts are out of this world and she serves them with a beatific smile. They both took the time to say good-bye to us when we left, and they really seem like they want you to come back. When we left, Joe took a picture of us (he does that with all the guests).

We highly recommend this inn as a relaxing getaway. It is out in the country and has a bucolic setting, which we just loved.

Area/Attractions

The main reason we went to New York for the weekend was to take a hot air balloon ride. We’d been trying to do so for a couple years, but the weather wasn’t cooperating. This time, we finally got to go – celebrating Keith’s birthday from two years earlier. We flew with Above the Clouds. It was a truly incredible experience.

Check out our complete write-up and our pictures from our balloon adventure here.

Dining

La Hacienda - 17M, Goshen, NY 845-294-9795
Our balloon pilot recommended this restaurant. The restaurant is housed in an old white house. Inside, the walls are painted vibrantly with white trim and there are bold Mexican accents. The lighting was dim and romantic. Even though we arrived after 9 and without a reservation, we were welcomed warmly. We were hungry and we were pleasantly surprised that we were promptly served fresh tortilla chips and spicy, zesty, very fresh salsa. The salsa was so good that we are awarding it a “Best of.” We ordered top-shelf margaritas (they have an excellent selection of fine tequilas) and were each brought a plate with a small flour tortilla folded over what we believed to be some sort of melted Mexican cheese. We recognized this as their version of the dinner roll. We were hungry, so we ripped into that as well. We split an order of guacamole as an appetizer. The guacamole, as expected, was very fresh. Keith consulted with our server on what would be the best spicy chicken dish. The server made a recommendation, which Keith took, and was served some delicious spicy, flavorful chicken. Lori ordered what translated as “drunken shrimp” – shrimp with cilantro, jalapenos, onion, and in a garlic sauce. Both entrees were accompanied by a spiced rice side and refried beans with cheese. We followed up our margaritas with Mexican beers. The service was excellent and the ambiance and food were exactly what we wanted. La Hacienda is a gem we are happy we found.

The Hacienda has been awarded a "best of ..." www.weloveourlife.com award.

Owen Murhphy Inn - 1700 17M, Goshen, NY 845-294-0182
Owen Murphy Inn's Web Site
The Owen Murphy Inn is also in Goshen and just a few hundred yards away from the Hacienda. There is an outdoor deck, bar, and several very nice dining rooms. The restaurant boasts gluten-free items on its menu. We were served excellent, fresh, warm dinner rolls with a sweetened butter and ordered a bottle of wine. A tray was set out with vegetables and crackers accompanied by a dip. We each ordered appetizers. Keith had the artichokes stuffed with goat cheese. There is a twist – these are coated with Panko Japanese breadcrumbs and then fried. What he didn’t realize is that this was a huge portion – big enough to share with one or more. Lori had the local onion tart. Goshen is close to New York’s black dirt region, known for their very sweet onions, and she couldn’t pass this up. This was a melt-in-your-mouth crust surrounding Pine Island’s sweet onions, bacon, and nutmeg. It was incredible and again – too big for one. We also were served salads (they accompanied our entrees). Lori had the sautéed shrimp and scallops with brandy cream (yummy and huge pieces of shellfish) and Keith had a special chicken entrée with gorgonzola cheese. Entrees can come with a side of whipped potatoes. Owen Murphy had several variations of the whipped potatoes available that evening: blue cheese, chipotle, cheddar and green onion, onion straws, horseradish, pesto, and more. For $2, you could get a sampler of 5 of the variations as an accompaniment to an entrée. We couldn’t decide, so we each did that. What they didn’t tell us is that the portions were HUGE – we were each served a separate plate containing 5 small mugs each overflowing with the wonderful potatoes. We couldn’t eat everything and had to roll ourselves out of there. We do want to stress that this is no simply quantity restaurant, but rather a very high-quality restaurant with fresh, creative, flavorful food that just comes in very large portions. We enjoyed our dinner immensely (although we had to cut back for a few days afterwards).

Nightlife

As in any area, there are bars around if nightlife is what you desire. We weren’t there for the nightlife; our idea of a fine evening while we were there was a soak in the hot tub, and then curling up in our robes on the porch of the cottage and sipping champagne.

Weather

New York is one of the mid-Atlantic states. This area of New York is about an hour northwest of New York City and is cooler. We were there in June and needed air conditioning for the first 24 hours, as the air was warm and muggy. Some cooler, clearer air pushed through and on our second night, we turned off the air conditioning and slept with the windows open (and bundled under blankets). It is best to take layers to be prepared for variances in the temperature.

Tips and Suggestions

If you will be outside in the evenings in this area in the summer, it’s a good idea to use bug spray (any of our faithful readers will observe this is a tip we often dwell on, as we seem to attract more mosquitoes than the masses do). This area is very country – don’t expect big-city brusqueness. People take their time here and are courteous and as guests, it’s a good idea to act in kind.