Liberty Hill Farm — Hotel in Rochester

An Unforgettable Experience

This review is about staying at Liberty Hill Farm during a pandemic. They follow COVID-19 lodging protocols.

The Hosts Everyone at Liberty Hill Farm is warm and welcoming. This includes guests and workers of the farm!

Beth is helpful and knowledgeable. She will tell you stories about the farm, Vermont, its people and the milk industry. I learned so much from her.

The Lodging We came in October. The house was perfectly warm and the bed had 3+ blankets. The bed and pillows are super comfortable.

They have soft towels. For toiletries, they have soap. They had hand sanitizer at different points around the house.

The Food I had never been to a Bed and Breakfast that offered any other than a muffin and coffee for breakfast. Liberty Hill Farm offers breakfast and dinner.

All the food is homemade and everything is delicious. We had the most decadent breakfast (eggs, potatoes, oatmeal, muffins, sausage, bacon, etc.) and varied dinner meals (pork, chicken, salmon, macaroni and cheese, cooked veggies, salad, etc.) We were wondering when she was going to repeat meals!

The food was one of the best parts of visiting the farm. Breakfast is served promptly at 8 AM and dinner at 6 PM. She says a welcoming prayer before dinner starts. Every guest introduces themselves, so we all get to know each other.

The Farm Animals The animals are the reason we came to Liberty Hill Farm. They have 300+ milk cows (1,200 lbs - 1,800 lbs each) and many barn kitties.

I was fortunate enough to witness the birth of a cow and I also got to feed a 3-day old calf which was the highlight of my trip.

I got to pet every cow and kitty that would let me. Make sure to bring a change of clothes. You will get dirty and it is worth it. They have rain boots you can borrow if you don’t bring your own and there is a laundromat in the town of Rochester if you don’t bring enough clothes.

In Summary I got to be with farm animals and I learned about how much work it is to run a milk farm. You will gain a whole new appreciation for every glass of milk you have after you visit Liberty Hill Farm.

Come for the cows, stay for the food and come back for the memories. Farms are becoming more rare as year pass by and this was the most special experience I’ve had in my 20 years living in...

This is a truly magical place, run by the most warm and wonderful people! My daughter, mother and I all went here for a weekend trip and from the first minute to the last, we had such an enjoyable stay! Beth and her family are so kind, wonderful and helpful, and the cows! We loved the cows...and cats...and goats. It is clear that they take very good care of their animals, as well as their guests. :) Every one of us had something different that was our favorite, but all three generations agreed it was the best place ever! From Beth's delicious and hearty meals, to being able to milk a cow (on my own personal bucket list for YEARS -it was everything I hoped it would be and more), to learning so much about farming and the history of the area, to the most beautiful scenery imaginable, we all just had the most amazing experience! As other reviewers have noted, this is not your typical hotel, you're staying in Beth's home, so you eat when breakfast and dinner are served (at 6pm and 8 am respectively), but lucky you that you get to eat what she is serving! Even my very picky 13 year old found much to enjoy at Beth's table! And yes, you share the bathrooms with the other guests, but with three full baths available in the house (one with a delightful bathtub), it wasn't an issue at all and we ended up mostly only using the one closest to our room, and the other guests used the one closest to theirs, thus feeling like we had our own bathrooms. And yes, wine is prohibited at the table, but that's due to Beth's allergy, and she has no problem with you drinking elsewhere before or after dinner (which we did). Again, this is her home, and you're eating at the table with Beth herself and the other guests, family style, which was truly wonderful and also such a wonderful part of our stay. Her stories and delicious food are also so much of what made this trip so special! I guess to sum it all up, we came as travelers and left as family, that's what it is like staying at this bucolic farm. I know we will be back (and really, I do know it, because before we left we actually booked our next trip for a weekend in October!). Thank you Beth, Lisa, Asia, Dave, and everyone else at Liberty Hill Farm who made our weekend such a memorable one. We can't wait to see our new...

Normally, our young family of 5 rents a house on Airbnb - but on a whim I looked up a farm stay and happened upon Liberty Hill Farm. Driving up to the farm I was struck by the fact that this was a REAL farm - not a faux tourist farm - but a real dairy farm. We bottle fed new baby calves, watched cows get milked, explored the hay loft, enjoyed figuring out the names of the hundreds of cows, raced some troublemaking goats, counted barn cats, learned about the ever evolving science and tech behind running a dairy farm (thank you David) and explored the edges of the nearby river. When we left the farm, there were countless hikes and nearby Middlebury to explore. But just being on the farm was the best. Beth’s only rules for our adventurous kids were 1) take your boots off before you come in; 2) don’t play in the manure pit and 3) don’t go in the bull pen. Our kids were in heaven and we sat back and just watched as they enjoyed not being micromanaged. Our kids watched in awe as a junior farm family member expertly navigated the loader. But - by far the best part - was the meals shared by Beth and Bob with us at their table. How quickly you adjust and enjoy having conversations with new friends around a table with hearty and bountiful food. If more tables were as welcoming and Beth and Bob’s the world would be a better place. We left with appreciation for the hard work and smarts that goes into all the dairy we enjoy and with a deep appreciation for finding such a wholesome connection with this generous and welcoming family. If you’re looking for a luxury retreat - maybe it’s not for you. But if you’re looking for comfortable lodging, great food, a learning experience and wholesome human connection - you won’t be disappointed. We...