Colby Hill Inn — Hotel in Henniker

My wedding was over a year ago, but now I’m speaking up because I do not want another bride to have the same experience I did. Unfortunately, it looks like some may already have.

The innkeeper is not good at conflict resolution. When we were outside, by the fire pit, getting ready to cook s’mores after my wedding, the fire exploded. One of my bridesmaids was sitting across from me and the fire exploded towards her. The flame was so high that I could not see her so I didn’t know if she was okay. I thought she was on fire. I asked the innkeeper to turn the fire off because everyone was too scared for s’mores at that point. It took them way too long to do so. The biggest problem is how the situation was handled afterward.

One of my guests was an event manager and he said if this had happened at one of his events, emergency services would’ve been called (fire, ambulance, police) to check everything out and so there’s a record of everything. None of this happened. No one asked if my bridesmaid was okay. My maid of honor tried to help me explain how upset we were. I asked her to do it because I don’t want to as I’m the BRIDE and it’s my WEDDING NIGHT and I knew she could handle it better than I could. The innkeeper then called her the worst maid of honor he’s ever had to deal with and said she had been on his back ever since she got here. Why?? Because she wanted to have the wrinkled table cloths ironed, which she helped iron with her own steamer? Or because she helped me explain how I wanted to walk down an aisle rather than the steps in the case of rain because I didn’t want to fall on my face in front of 30 people? Sounds like she was being a good maid of honor to me. After insulting her, he then continued to walk away into the kitchen until my other bridesmaid told him to stop. Don’t worry, it only gets worse.

The innkeeper offered my bridesmaid who caught on fire to buy her a new dress because it had melted. He never did, but he did serve more alcohol while later saying that we are all “too drunk” to even be around fire.

My bridesmaid sent him an email later on because she was upset about the way the events were handled. In a return email, she was threatened with lawsuits if anyone wrote any bad reviews and was told a bunch of lies about what happened when he wasn’t even there to know what happened. He said she was probably wearing flammable hairspray and flammable dress material when all of my bridesmaids were wearing the same hairspray and the same dress material. He claimed that my bridesmaid spilled beer in the fire when her beer wasn’t even open. Literally, all we did was sit down for TWO SECONDS and then a giant fire exploded in her face. He said that when we came to complain about the fire, that I just stood there and let my maid of honor yell at him. Yes, I asked her to help me, she explained calmly. The innkeeper said to my bridesmaid who caught on fire (in the return email), no wonder no one came to my wedding. It was an out of town wedding so the guest count dropped dramatically which I was not happy about, but people have lives and expenses. I didn’t do anything to make people decide not to come. He implied that I was a very bad person so no wonder no one wanted to show up. EXTREMELY rude.

My bridesmaid now has thousands of dollars in medical bills to deal with and her hand still hurts to this day. All because she wanted to be there for me on our special day. No one should have to deal with that.

Every time I think of that day, I now think of my bridesmaid catching on fire and anytime I talk about my wedding, they say oh, how is your bridesmaid that caught on fire? I don’t want any bride to have bad memories of their wedding day.

*My advice to future brides is to be wary, communicate via email so everything is in writing, ask when guest count is needed if it’s going to change a lot. I hope this company learns from their mistakes and calls the proper authorities the next time an...

We (middle-aged couple) stayed one night at the Colby Hill Inn before picking up our children from summer camp. Many B&Bs have a two-night minimum during peak seasons and we were so thankful that Colby Hill did not, as this was meant to be more of a logistical getaway for us than a relaxing one.||We really appreciated the beautiful and peaceful farm-like environment and loved feeding the goats and walking amongst the flowers and vegetables after we arrived. We actually forgot there was a pool and didn't pack swimsuits, it looked like a lovely place for a swim.||There were cozy areas to sit and enjoy a board game (many available at the front desk!) and cocktail. Our dinner in the Grazing Room was outstanding, and the innkeeper brought us cookies to enjoy with our tea after dinner as we played cards in the lounge area. My husband actually said that the chocolate chip cookies were the most perfect ones he had ever eaten (high-quality chocolate and a great chocolate-to-cookie ratio)!||Breakfast in the morning was equally great, husband again commented that the homemade pistachio sticky bun was the best sticky bun he had ever eaten in his life. We felt very pampered and really got to enjoy our last day of freedom before diving back into the chaos that is parenting tweens.||You can really tell that there are high standards at the Colby Hill Inn and Grazing Room; there is a curated gift shop area with really high-quality goods and gorgeous dishes that are used in the dining room and also available for purchase. The owners clearly work hard at creating a tasteful and relaxing environment for all of their guests. I can easily see how this would be a perfect spot for locals to enjoy a special occasion meal out, or even for a wedding or party. Hopefully we will be back...

We recently planned a wonderful evening with friends at The Colby Hill Inn and Grazing Room Restaurant and had the most amazing, delicious and creative feast. Order the squash blossom flower appetizer, it's simply phenomenal. Chef Bruce's food is a feast for the eyes. Modern in design and architecture, but very traditional in taste. From the moment we arrived we were welcomed with open arms and a friendly "hello" from Innkeeper Jeff. The staff was courteous, helpful and very attentive. We decided to start the evening off with two large charcuterie platters of local meats and cheeses, sooooo good! Jeff is also very knowledgeable about wines and always recommends the perfect glass or bottle to compliment your meal. Try one of their wine pairing dinners...It's always great fun, informative and a nice way to learn about wines from around the world. We live in New London, NH and make the 1/2 hour trip to The Colby Hill Inn numerous times a year. Award winning chef Bruce's menu is always "of the season" and never disappoints. I'm a floral designer/event planner and always recommend The Colby Hill Inns charming event barn to my clients and brides who might be looking for a traditional New England barn wedding....complete with goats in the pasture, beautiful gardens and lush grounds. Either an intimate dinner for two, a party with friends or a celebration in the barn, The Colby Hill Inn is one of our favorite choices as one of THE BEST in the state...