DesBarres Manor - A Hidden Gem

10 October 2012

Story #587

R. Linda:

After a rather stressful drive on the gravel road, we came out to hard pavement with a line down the middle. Such was our relief that we wanted to jump out and kiss the tarmacadam, but the day was ending, and we needed to get to our inn. We had no idea if there was another gravel road in our immediate future, so with slightly heavy hearts, we turned onto the hard pavement and started forward.

Luckily, the inn wasn't far, and there were no more gravel roads for us—at least that day. We arrived at DesBarres Manor, which looked like another nice place to stay from the outside. After the opulence of the Waverley, we were sure it would be all downhill from there, but we were surprised that we had gone another notch uphill.

 

DesBarres Manor

The Manor is an Egyptian revival-style building built in 1837 for lawyer, legislator, and jurist William Frederick DesBarres (pronounced DeBar), who became Nova Scotia's Solicitor General on the Supreme Court. DesBarres came from an illustrious family, and the history is fascinating, but for our purposes, the Manor interests us more.

Walking in the front door, we smiled at each other. Yes, this stop looked as good as our last one, and we did not think we'd be disappointed. The front hallway was as light and airy as the one at the Waverley, but it seemed more welcoming. The decor was more colonial than Victorian, which perfectly suited us. The staircase to the second floor Tonya said would make a perfect photo opportunity for any bride descending it on her wedding day. She must have been psychic because we discovered we and another couple were the only guests at the Manor. A wedding was coming in the day after we left, and the Manor was getting ready, so they had booked down.

                                                                                      

Reception

                                                                                      

Staircase

                                                                                   

Front doorway

                                                                                     

A peek at the kitchen from the front hall

Our room can only be described as the room you want to wake up in on Christmas morning. It was beautiful! While understated compared to the Vanderbilt Room, this was an entirely different setting and extremely well done. We had what we were told was the best room in the house, and I can attest it was. We had General Wolfe's room, a rather large room in the front of the house.
                                                                                  

King-size bed - VERY comfy

                                                                                      

Sitting area with telly and fireplace - cosy

                                                                                      

Large bath - it doesn't get more perfect than this room

The downstairs had a small dining room, and a larger one called the Hearth Room, a bar room, and a front parlour where we enjoyed whiskey before dinner. Across from the front parlour was the reception.

                                                                              

Room with bar

                                                                                       

Front parlour

                                                                                       

Hearth Room, where we had dinner for two

Dinner was the most memorable dinner ever. A table for two, and we were the only ones! We had been welcomed earlier in the day by Chris, a vibrant young lady whose smile lights up a room. She's fantastic in that talking with her makes you feel like you've known her, making us feel more at home at the Manor than anywhere else. She seemed genuinely interested in us, and she was most knowledgeable in answering any questions we had. She served us whiskeys in the bar, which we took to the front parlour to await dinner. We had just the right amount of time to sip our drinks without feeling rushed (something that doesn't always happen).

Tonya said her dreams came true to staying in castles in Ireland, but dinner in a beautiful room, just us two, served so splendidly, was another dream come true. It was romantic, just the two of us, but the dinner was all that and more! We even met executive chef Joe McLellan, who is truly a culinary master. This young man uses local produce to create authentic Canadian dishes that make our taste buds smile if taste buds can smile. He served us the soup portion of our five-course meal and spent some time chatting, which made us feel even more special that he'd do that. How often can you count on meeting the head chef of any place you've had dinner? So Joe's appearance was an amazing perk in our estimate.

But let's talk dinner for a minute. Never have I had such delicious food with such a beautiful presentation. Unfortunately, we were too busy tasting and eating to stop and shoot photos. You'll have to take my word for it that each dish was presented beautifully. You could taste the freshness of the fare; there was an even balance of flavours and harmony to the dishes served. Chef McLellan certainly is an artist in the culinary world. He prepares well-thought-out gourmet foods with finesse. Bravo to Chef McLellan! Tonya wanted to take him home with her. Yes, she did, and she hasn't stopped praising him. I was hoping she'd get inspired and start cooking, LOL, but she'd rather talk about the DesBarres Manor and the man behind the wizardry of preparing delectable foods. Yes, I think she's got a crush going. 

After the superb feast, we sat outside on the large deck/porch to finish our wine. This was indeed a magical stay. The Manor's beautiful views only enhanced everything about it.
                                                                                   

Six lovely acres to look out upon

                                                                                     

Back deck gazebo where we sipped our wine the night before under faery lights

                                                                                    

Table for two on the deck overlooking the garden

                                                                                        

A longer view of the back deck/porch

As you can see, it rained the next morning, and as dreary as that was, it made being inside the manor more cosy. We wished our stay could have been longer in Guysborough, but we were due in Glenville, so we reluctantly left. Now that our trip is over, we can say without any reservation that THIS was the place to stay and the highlight of all the inns we stayed in.

Gabe
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