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By Bob & Tanya Waite
Tanya and I leave our Langhorne home around noon and soon are in what seems to be either an obstacle course or demolition derby or some combination of both. Route 95 south often requires driving around road work, and dodging cars that seem to be trying to knock me off the road. Tanya, rather skeptical of my driving, covers her eyes when those pushy blinking arrows squeeze us into another lane of drivers who are unwilling to let anyone get in front of them.
Driving is hurried all the way to Wilmington, and then like entering a spearmint gum commercial we find ourselves on Route 100 in the Brandywine Valley. The difference is refreshing. Tanya no longer covers her eyes as we drive past horse farms, splendid gardens, tall trees, hill and dale. Instead she praise the Creator of all beauty. She exclaims, “Beautiful! Glory to God!”
We arrive at our destination, The Inn at Montchanin Village, an hour before check-in time. As we drive around the property looking at the stucco houses that were once homes for workers at the Dupont powder mills, Tanya says, “It looks like we are going back in time.” I assure her we are doing just that, and soon our Nissan Altima will turn into a horse and buggy. She says, “Oh you.”
We arrive on the hottest day of the summer. Right now it is 99 degrees and humid. It is so hot you could fry a hamburger on blacktop. We decide not to walk around this 19th-century village until later when it cools off, so we take another drive, enjoying the tranquility of the Brandywine Valley.
We return in time to check in and walk up the slate steps and through the French doors into the Dilwyne Barn, a restored barn that is now a lobby and the Gathering Room—a beautifully furnished room, which is also a wedding venue.
We meet Jessica Tracz, director of sales and catering at the check-in desk. She is ready to show us around the grounds and take us on a tour to see the various wedding venues and several of the rooms in the restored homes that make up the inn. Jessica gives us time to get settled and tells us that our room, the Dupont, is one of four rooms that are called Superior rooms because they are large, beautiful and luxurious. The inn has 28 luxury rooms and suites in total.
We park right beside the house where our room is located. There are four rooms in the house, each with a private entrance. Our entrance is from the front porch on which are two chairs facing the grounds. Tanya says, “Look how cute. I could just sit there all day.” I know if it were cooler, we linger there and enjoy the view of the grounds and the path leading elsewhere into Montchanin Village. A little foyer and a staircase meet us. Tanya’s eyes sparkle as we approach our room. I know I will be relegated to some unseen corner of the room and may as well put my suitcase in the closet at the top of the stairway. Tanya, I know, is itching to take photos. She already gives me that “get out of my way” look.
Watching Tanya enter a beautiful room is more entertaining than watching my favorite sit coms. This time, instead of screaming, she greats the room. “Well Hello!” I actually expect the room to answer, saying, “Hi, I’ve been expecting you.”
The first thing we notice is the large stone wall and high ceiling. It is a big room with a fireplace, a sitting area with a couch and two very comfortable chairs each facing a table that is between them. The table has wooden legs and a tabletop made of painted metal. Regional art decorates the walls, and the very room itself is a work of art. Besides the magnificent stone wall, we immediately see from the hallway the large king-size reproduction period solid canopy bed with four turned posts and detailed to look like a genuine antique, including little nicks on the footboard. In front of it is an antique pine blanket box. “Check out the bed,” I say to Tanya. She says to the bed, “Wait for me.”
The room is full of period furniture and is large enough to accommodate an amenities area that has a refrigerator, a microwave, a Keurig coffeemaker, silverware, lots of teas and Keurig cups, sugar, half &half and artificial sweeteners. In a corner is a tv. There is also an upholstered plaid loveseat sofa, that has a period portrait painting of a woman above it.
The bathroom is large. In it is a super large porcelain tub with room around it to put a glass of wine, scented oils and/or candles. There is a rainforest shower and the sink is set in a large cabinet that has shelves on the side of it for toiletries. There are also small windows on each side of the sink.
After enjoying the room we unpack and meet up with Jessica in the lobby. She leads us into the Gathering Room. It is described on the Montchanin.com website as “… our largest venue and boasts a pole barn design with 28-foot high ceilings, a stately stone fireplace, wide plank wood floors, a grand piano, and tons of rustic elegance.” Jessica explains how this room, which is furnished with beautiful period furniture, sitting areas with small tables and a bar is transformed into a wedding venue. Combined with the adjacent Dilwyne Room it can comfortably host 60 people for weddings or other events.
After we leave the Gathering Room we visit The Spa at Montchanin Village. Tanya loves the waiting room with its stone wall, colorfully upholstered chairs, reading lights and bottles of water. The spa itself is big inside with treatment room for facials, hydra facials, body treatments, massages of every type, including Swedish, deep tissue, hot stone, lavender flower, and even an expectant mother massage. Treatments also include facials, paraffin, waxing, tinting and also a few treatments for men.
On the grounds we walk through gardens crisscrossed with little paths and areas to sit and read, we enter several of the suites and rooms. Then we visit some of the indoor wedding venues first. The Crow’s Nest is a venue is graced with charm, stately elegance, a fireplace, natural light and is ideal for up to 40 guests. For smaller weddings there’s the Carpenter’s Room and Patio, about which the website calls, “… our most intimate private venue combines a private landscaped patio along with a magnificent space for celebrations of up to 14 guests…”
Outside there are spots in the gardens, patios and other areas for outdoor weddings. The largest of these outdoor spaces is Privy Lane. It is a tree-lined wide brick walkway that can be transformed into a beautiful setting for a wedding and a reception. (Jessica explains to us how she creates this magical transformation).Tanya swoons as she visualizes Privy Lane as the perfect place to say those sacred vows and to hold a joyful reception.
After the tour we go back to our room, freshen up and get ready to go to Krazy Kats Restaurant for dinner. I’m hungry and Tanya, who never admits she is hungry, says, “I’m ready to eat.” Our reservation is for 6 p.m. so we leave the Dupont and walk down a shady path, crossing one of the village roads and soon find ourselves outside of Krazy Kats.
Tanya photographs the outside of the building, which is a converted 19th century blacksmith shop. “I love the door! She exclaims. The strap hinged wooden door brings to my mind movies that show Vikings storming a medieval castle.
Once in the door we are awed by the charm of this on-site restaurant. There are large painted portraits of cats in costumes on the walls. Tables have beige top coverings under which is a burgundy colored cloth. The upholstered chairs are regal in appearance and very comfortable. The lighting is perfect. Everything is sparkling and magical. Tanya is fixated on the spiral staircase that goes to a more private dining room for small events and groups.
Our waitress, Clementine, brings us menus and a smile. We are brought sparkling water and order an appetizer—Buttermilk Calamari (fried calamari served with avocados, cherry tomatoes and lemon caper aioli). Clementine, not missing a beat, also brings us bread. As we nibble on the calamari and peruse the menu for our entrées, I savor the calamari. Many times in the past I got calamari that is overcooked. This calamari is perfect—fresh and cooked just right.
While waiting to order, Beth, a manager, comes to our table to see how we are doing. Tanya and Beth hit it off immediately, and in an uncanny way, they seem like they knew each other for years. Hospitality of the kind we are experiencing is a precious rarity.
Clementine visits the table and asks us if we are ready. I order Krazy Kats Sherry Crab Bisque and cannot make up my mind about the entrée. I am tempted to order the Herb Rubbed Elk Rack served with sweet celeriac puree, frisee and walnut salad nest, seared zucchini medallions, and blueberry sauce au poivre. As I ponder, Tanya orders a Romaine Salad that has chopped romaine hearts tossed in parmesan dressing, cherry tomatoes, garlic croutons and parmesan tuiles. She selects the Blackened Salmon served with shrimp etouffee, white rice, Brussel sprout kimchi, apricot ginger coulis and tarragon lemon crema. After she orders I choose the Filet Mignon that is served with duck bacon and goat cheese dauphines, grilled asparagus, caramelized cipollini onions and demi glaze.
Wow! The food is cooked to perfection and the tastes are subtle. Full, we order dessert. I choose Crème Brûlée and Tanya orders the Vegan Berry Tarts. My Crème Brûlée is delicately light and, like our entrées, perfect. The three tarts filled with mixed berry compote, with almond milk crème anglaise, crushed walnuts are more than a full and content Tanya could eat, so I helped her. They were really good and maybe even healthy.
Upon leaving Krazy Kats, Tanya sees Beth and says, “Let me give you a hug.” They hugged, and I knew that if we lived in the area they would become longtime friends.
We retire to our room, make some tea and watch television for a while before turning in.
I wake up early, get dressed and go to the porch to see how the day looks. On the porch is today’s New York Times. The Times is delivered to each room every morning compliments of the inn. I lay the paper aside and pick up my Bible, reading a few Psalms and then open the paper. Tanya gets up and is ready to go exploring. I am surprised since Tanya usually takes some time to wake up and I dare not speak to her while she is in the process.
We lounge around a while. Tanya takes a bath in the large tub and I take a shower. We leave around 10:30 and decide to take a sightseeing tour of the area. We stop at a little diner in Wilmington and have a big breakfast and then take the scenic drive on Route 100. We drive to the north and cross the state line into Pennsylvania. In Chadds Ford we decide to visit the Brandywine Battlefield but it is closed, so we head back to the inn. Our sightseeing tour of the area ends and it already 4:30 p.m.
We buy some food to eat in the room and talk about how we could have visited Longwood Gardens, the Hagley Museum, Winterthur and so many wonderful places during our trip, but we love the room and our two-day stay at The Inn at Montchanin Village. Our visit and scenic tours of the countryside not only refreshed us but also gave us a a deep appreciation for the hospitality, beauty, and tranquility of the Brandywine Valley—somewhere we want to visit again and again.
The Inn at Montchanin Village is located at Route 100 and Kirk Road, Montchanin, DE. For more information call, 302-888-2133 or visit www.montchanin.com. For information about weddings and other events, call Jessica Tracz at 302-888-4204 or email her at salesandcatering@montchanin.com.
(bio)
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine and Tanya is his wife, travel companion and the co-writer of this department.