Rooms to Explore -- Deerfield Inn, Pennsylvania
Rooms to Explore -- Deerfield Inn, Pennsylvania
This Rooms to Explore feature focuses on places to stay throughout the country and the world that become part of a visit to a destination. These inns, hotels, and other accommodations help bring the local history, culture, and lifestyle alive in a very meaningful way — where the sightseeing and travel experience begin in the lodging itself. When I’m lucky enough to come across such places, I take pleasure in sharing my fortunate encounter, and my observations, with others
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Once a health retreat the Deerfield Inn is a perfect place to relax
In 1979, a woman named Frieda Eisenkraft dreamed of opening a "health retreat" in the countryside where guests could relax, recharge and take steps toward better fitness and health. She and her husband found a rambling Victorian country home in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania which its owners called The Humble Rest. Frieda and her husband purchased the property and used it to transform her idea into a reality. Because deer were grazing on the expansive lawn surrounding the home, they named it Deerfield.
The new business flourished and later was continued by their daughter, Joan Wolff, as the Deerfield Health Retreat & Spa. It built a group of loyal regulars who returned year after year and grew into a kind of extended family along with long-serving staff personnel.
This property became a B&B after COVID
When the Covid pandemic significantly reduced the number of guests, Joan decided to end Deerfield's life as a destination health resort and transform it into a Bed & Breakfast. Today's lodgers find the same replacing and rejuvenating setting, the rambling house and adjacent comfortable annex, and many of the amenities that so many people enjoyed over the years.
Reminders of the dwelling's past include rooms with wicker and other period furniture, a corner hutch crammed with antiques that Frieda had collected. The old Carriage House doubles as a well-equipped gym and workout room.
Its location makes it a perfect home base for exploring some of the best natural attractions that the Poconos Mountains region has to offer and for which it is popular. Some four dozen hiking trails lace the surrounding forests. They range from walks for beginners, with names like Childs Park and 2 Ponds, to Intermediate (Scenic Gorge and a fire tower loop) to Advanced (Mt. Tammany trail, one of the most challenging in the Worthington State Forest).
The nearby Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area combines rural scenery and a stretch of the Delaware River with Native-American archaeological sites, early Dutch Colonial structures, and remains of a 19th-century grist mill village.
From relaxation to plenty of activities the Deerfield Inn is a perfect Poconos Mountain establishment
Patrons of the Deerfield Inn seeking alternative activities have a choice of a heated outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, pickleball, table tennis, croquet, and other leisure time pursuits. The Recreation Area adds to the available mix with canoeing, horseback riding, and bicycling. In winter, a five-mile drive takes skiers to Shawnee Mountain, a family-oriented resort with 23 trails, two terrain parks, and a snow-tubing area.
Given the enticing history of the Deerfield Inn, numerous touches and reminders of its setting, and a tradition of service that continues to this day, it's no surprise that it has a history of repeat visitors. These included a group of female friends called The Sunshine Ladies, one of whom was Warren Buffet's sister Doris.
After learning all that the Deerfield Inn offers in the way of accommodations, facilities, location, and history, you might decide that if it's good enough for Warren's sister, it should be good enough for you.
For more information, call 570-223-0160 or log onto www.deerfieldpoconosinn.com.
Victor Block
After gallivanting throughout the United States and to more than 75 other countries worldwide and writing about what he sees, does, and learns, Victor Block retains the travel bug. He firmly believes that travel is the best possible education and claims he still has a lot to learn. He loves to explore new destinations and cultures, and his stories about them have won many writing awards.
