The Cherry Tree Inn Bed and Breakfast — Hotel in Woodstock

NOTHING BUT FIRST CLASS:

We visited the city of Woodstock strictly for the groundhog festivities.  The Cherry Tree Inn had a cancellation on the day we’d called and fortunately we landed the Magnolia Suite.  It’s the same room that provided Bill Murray’s view in the movie “‪Groundhog Day‬”.  To land THIS room, much less a stay at this B&B on the Groundhog Day holiday weekend is like acquiring season tickets at the storied ‪Lambeau Field‬.  Everyone who learned we were staying there thought we’d won the lottery, or that we had called years in advance.

We arrived ‪Thursday evening‬ from LA via Chicago in a blizzard and -30 wind chill temps.  WOW!!! It literally hurt to breathe.  We were met graciously by their son Payton, who offered to help with luggage and ultimately gave us the tour of the historic mansion. Gorgeous, and they’d clearly kept the original Victorian ambiance as much as possible. Owners Lori and George take very good care of the place, and we’d often seen them cleaning in our time there (including washing windows - it’s immaculate).

‪Friday morning, special guest Stephen Tobolowsky (aka Ned Ryerson of “Groundhog Day” fame) was downstairs telling stories before breakfast. He was there to partake in several Groundhog Day festivities, including signing autographs and taking pictures at the library, the Groundhog Day prognostication reading, and ultimately receiving a key to the city. Upon returning to our room, we found a gift bag full of goodies, including a Woodstock sweatshirt I’d been asking about sitting at our door!‬

‪Saturday morning by 630a they’d once again sent us off to the groundhog festivities with a nice warm breakfast.  They’d also given FREE tours of the B&B that day. Over 600 visitors walked through their home.  And I believe they had another 200+ visitors the following day!  They’d provided amazingly soft and tasty cookies and nice warm apple cider on both days (I’m not usually a fan of the drink, but Lori’s mix tastes amazing)!  All donations from the free tours go to charity (Rotary Club’s Christmas Clearing House).‬

Breakfast was served every morning, and it was never the same exact breakfast twice.  On our last day, they’d asked us what time we wanted OUR breakfast to be made…  Literally tailor made, and always delicious!!!

I could honestly go on and on with tall tales of warmth and hospitality from Lori, George and their children, but I strongly urge you to find out for yourself.  Did you read what they did for those who were affected by the government shutdown?  Charitable, giving human beings!

You won’t find this kind of eloquence or over the top accommodations in many 5 star hotels.

A must see/stay while in Woodstock!!!

John & Violet...

Have you seen Groundhog Day?

I first watched it shortly after it came out in 1993. It's always been one of my favorite movies. A few years back I discovered that the movie was filmed, not in Pennsylvania, but in Woodstock, IL and that the town still has many landmarks from the movie that are part of a walking tour.

When I decided to take a road trip as my vacation, I knew I had to make Woodstock, IL one of my stops. My first night in town I stayed at a local chain motel. That night I drove to the downtown area, parked, and walked around. Everything I wanted to see was within walking distance, including the bed and breakfast Bill Murray stays in in the movie.

The Cherry Tree Inn Bed & Breakfast looked so familiar, even in the dark, as I've possibly seen Groundhog Day more times than any other movie. I took a bunch of pictures and selfies in front of the house and fully expected to hit the road the next morning. However, the next morning, I realized I had not taken my most recent auto insurance card with me, and my policy expired THAT DAY. In order to be in compliance, I realized I would need to stay in town long enough to call my insurance provider, have them email my insurance card, then hit the library in order to print it out.

Fate.

While waiting for the library to open, I was poking around on the Cherry Tree Inn's website and happened upon the cell phone number of the owners and a note that said "Call or text us."

I texted them, fully expecting they would not respond or have no vacancies, or both. To my shock, I received a reply within 20 minutes. Within a couple hours, I had gotten breakfast in town, printed up my insurance card, and walked down to the Cherry Tree to check in.

Lori and George were amazing, and we had quite the conversation while I checked in, complete with George playing music from the Groundhog Day soundtrack to really set the mood. I stayed in the Magnolia Sweet, which sports the same view from the movie whenever Bill Murray's character looks out the window. That same iconic view I had seen...how many times throughout my life?

We had another long chat that night, with Lori and George offering to make me breakfast in the morning. I thanked them but told them I would have to pass on breakfast, as I needed to hit the road early.

6:00am my alarm went off. I bet They would have arranged to play "I Got You Babe" as my alarm song if I had requested it. Within an hour, I was packed up and ready to go. I took a nice, long look through the window, seeing again the same view from the movie. I wanted to burn that image in my brain. I wrote a long note, thanking Lori and George, and then i hit the road, wondering if I'd ever find a better place...

Only reason I am giving this place 5 stars is because Google doesn’t have 6

So, on one side we have a Bed&Breakfast business here which is pretty amazing. Comfortable, well located, great breakfast with good quality raw materials and on top of that one of the most amazing customer oriented top notch passionate owner you will ever find. Rooms are impecable with enough amenities you can imagine. They have thought about every single detail. There is an additional room, fully dedicated to soulful your snack cravings and thirst. With a wild wide offering of complimentary treats plus some for which you have to pay pushing the offering the extra mile. Really, if you think of this as if it’s just an B&B it extensively fulfills any expectations you can have from a B&B.

However there’s something else here. This is not just another B&B, this is an icon, a living legend, a must visit and visit and revisit location if you call yourself a Hollywood fan or a classic movie lover. This is the Groundhog Day original house. If you like anything from this movie this will be your dream come true. Shenanigans just made it easy for us to be able to stay here since demand is off the charts and you will have to book in advance, but that day we were just checking it out and it just happened that one room got cancelled and we just needed a few moments to decide we were going to spend the night here. If you’re planning to watch the movie before coming, don’t bother, it is not for nothing when I say that the amazing owner went the extra mile and she placed a DVD on escuchar room for you to enjoy the movie while staying there. It was just amazing. So yeah, if Google reviews had an extra star I would totally give it to this place (and am not that easy with my reviews)

We will be back for more since we can’t get enough of it with...