Last week, Al & I travelled to Pennsylvania by motorcycle. Al has a Honda Goldwing, and I have a Suzuki Boulevard. For these types of bike trips, we have a small trailer that Al pulls behind his “Wing” that carries a cooler and our luggage.
Although we didn’t have a big itinerary for this trip, we had two inns we had booked that we were really looking forward to. The first was The Inn at Turkey Hill in Bloomsburg; the second was The Inn at Jim Thorpe in Jim Thorpe.
To tell the truth, we had three inns that we were looking forward to, but the third one didn’t live up to our expectations so didn’t make the cut for this posting.
The Inn at Turkey Hill
Al & I first stayed at this inn back in 2014. We loved it so much it was high on our places to visit this trip; and, we were not disappointed. Although it’s right near the highway, it’s a quiet place with only 23 rooms.
Our check-in was very quick and pleasant. Later that evening we ran into the woman who checked us in outdoors at the brewery. She reintroduced herself but I’ve forgotten her name as I was more focused on her adorable Bernese Mountain dog – his name was Soca.
We booked the standard king room which has a comfy king size bed and a sitting area with a sofa and chair. It’s a very nice layout that is beautifully decorated in a country theme. The room had a fridge and microwave.
The grounds of the inn are beautiful with a small pond, gazebo, immaculately kept gardens and some ducks.
For dining, it offers a fine dining option in the inn or the craft brewery and restaurant in a separate building. For dinner, we visited the craft brewery as you would expect. Al ordered a flight of beer and the server obliged his request to swap out the dark beer for another IPA. Al found the Barn Dance Blonde Ale very light, but I liked it as it had no aftertaste (remember: I don’t like beer!). His favourite was the Revelation Pale Ale – his official verdict was “That’s good!” For dinner, I ordered the fish tacos. The mahi-mahi was cooked perfectly, and the toppings were delicious. I was surprised that they were hard tacos as other fish tacos that I’ve ordered have always been soft shells. Al had the gyro which was served with a wasabi cucumber sauce. He thought the gyro was quite tasty but that the sauce had no heat.
Breakfast was included in the price of the room and was served in the main dining room of the inn. There is a buffet area plus a limited made to order menu. I ordered the breakfast tostada and also had some of the mixed fruit from the buffet. Al had the bacon and eggs from the buffet as well as toast, juice and the mixed fruit. And, of course, coffee for both of us. This breakfast was far superior to any hotel chain complimentary breakfast. The breakfast room is staffed by one man who is also a rider, so we had a pleasant conversation with him about things to see and do in the area.
The Inn at Jim Thorpe
When we booked this inn, one of my first thoughts was “who names a town Jim Thorpe?”. It turns out that there is an interesting story behind the name. Jim Thorpe was a Native American athlete and 1912 Olympic gold medalist. I’ve included a photo of the plaque in town that describes how the town came to be called Jim Thorpe.
The inn is comprised of 3 historical buildings in the downtown. Our room was in the main building which also houses the restaurant and bar. Every room is different and furnished with antiques. Our room had a comfy king bed and an alcove which had a dressing table as well as fridge and microwave.
Carol and Jim were at the front desk when we arrived, and they are the perfect ambassadors for the inn. Pleasant, helpful and funny. They even laminated our parking passes for the motorcycles – that was a good thing since it poured rain later that day.
After unloading our luggage, our first stop was the bar in the inn. Trish was an outstanding bartender. With a number of IPAs on tap, she and Al had some serious discussions about which ones he should try next. She introduced me to Stateside Vodka and Revivalist Gin – let’s just say that some of those Pennsylvania craft distilled products came home with me. We were staying in Jim Thorpe for two nights, so that was only the first visit to the bar for us.
Breakfast at the inn gave me an opportunity to try scrapple which is a breakfast meatloaf made from ground pork and cornmeal. Apparently, it’s quite a favourite dish in this area of Pennsylvania. I can’t say it’s something that I will order again, but it was interesting to try it.
Jim Thorpe has a quaint little downtown area which is great for wandering and doing a little shopping. We were disappointed that some of the stores were not open midweek. I talked to one of the shopkeepers, and she told me that many of the shops don’t open fulltime until the July 4th holiday and then only to the Labor Day weekend.
I would highly recommend both these inns if you happen to be travelling through Pennsylvania or are looking for a memorable place to stay.
Safe travels!
Vanessa