Juniper Hill Inn in Windsor recognized with innkeepers award
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By Josh O'Gorman Rutland Herald - Published: September 15, 2008
WINDSOR — The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has recognized the owners of the Juniper Hill Inn in Windsor as innkeepers of the year.
Co-owners Robert Dean and Ari Nikki will share the B&B Innkeeper of the Year Award and will be honored Wednesday night during a gala at Stratton Mountain Resort.
"They actually got two nominations this year," said Vicky Tebbetts, vice president of the Vermont Hospitality Council for the state chamber of commerce. "Robert really understands that when people come together, it's good for the community and the state."
Dean, 44, and Nikki, 54, have owned the inn for nearly three years. Born in Hawaii and raised in Virginia, Dean spent most of his adult life working as an interior designer in New York City. Nikki is a native of Finland. He recently became a U.S. citizen and is a retired corporate executive for a Finnish paper company.
Dean said he was first attracted to Vermont as a small child when he read copies of Yankee Magazine at this grandmother's house in northern Pennsylvania.
"I remember reading about the houses and how people lived and I thought, 'I want to live like that,'" Dean said.
Dean said he and Nikki looked at more than 200 B&B's before finally choosing the Juniper Hill Inn.
"We probably stayed in 90 properties in looking for a place, and we looked at things that worked and things that didn't work," Dean said.
The historic mansion was built as a private home in 1902 and in 1988 was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. It has an elegant "great hall" and guests can choose between 22 rooms with prices ranging from $135 to $285 a night. Dean and Nikki employ seven people, both part- and full-time to keep the inn running.
Dean said one thing that makes his inn so special is the town of Windsor, which offers attractions like the American Precision Museum, the Cornish Colony Museum and until recently the longest covered bridge in the country.
"One of the reasons we chose Windsor is we thought our talents could refocus the community on what's good about it," Dean said.
Tebbetts said one of the criteria of being named B&B Innkeeper of the Year is to participate in legislation that supports the hospitality industry. Dean said that while he hasn't gone to Montpelier as a lobbyist, he is in touch with his local legislators and Gov. James Douglas to promote the importance of tourism in the economy.
Dean said he regularly provides his guests with itineraries of regional attractions and said he had conducted a study that found for every dollar that was spent at his inn, $4.10 was spent outside in other local businesses.
Dean and Nikki also open their doors for philanthropic functions.
On Sept. 20, they will host the Fourth Annual Great Gatsby Party to help raise money for the Cornish Colony Museum. On Nov. 1, the inn will be the location of Masquerade 2008, a fundraiser for Opera North in Lebanon, N.H.
Dean said the award also brings recognition for the town.
"We think of it as a win for Windsor," he said. "When we heard we won, I looked at Ari and I said, 'Well, this makes all the hard work worth it.'"
Tickets are still available for the Vermont Hospitality Gala by e-mail at aopitz@vtchamber.com. For more information about the Juniper Hill Inn, visit them on the Web at www.juniperhillinn.com.
Contact Josh O'Gorman at josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com.
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