Hotel Snapshot
You don’t just stay at The Six Bells Countryside Inn—you fall into it like a fairytale you don’t want to leave. This upstate New York escape is equal parts boutique hotel, maximalist set piece, and immersive fantasy world, all dressed up as a cozy 11-room inn. It’s the kind of place where hand-painted ceilings whisper village gossip, and the box bed in your room looks like something a Scandinavian grandmother dreamed up in the 1700s after reading too many Grimm’s fairy tales.
Tucked inside a red-brick 1850s boarding house in Rosendale—about two hours from NYC—The Six Bells is the full-scale manifestation of Audrey Gelman’s aesthetic vision. If you remember her Brooklyn home goods shop by the same name (a decorative fever dream packed with gingham, carved pine, and imaginary village maps), this is that world… blown up, lived in, and layered with even more folklore.
Design & Character
The inn is technically themed to a fictional town called Barrow’s Green, but don’t worry—you’re not expected to cosplay. There are hints and winks throughout: a town newspaper at check-in, ceiling murals of the village map, tiny hidden bells in the children’s suite. It’s immersive if you want it, but never forced. That’s the genius of it.
Design-wise, it’s what happens when cottagecore grows up, goes antiquing for a month in Appalachia, and then falls in love with Swedish folk art. Think: densely patterned wallpapers, Tyrolean florals, chintz-covered box beds built into the wall, and wardrobes that feel like they’ve seen several centuries. There’s not a sterile surface in sight.
The Rooms
Each room has its own name and personality. Nothing matches, and that’s the point. Maximalism here isn’t chaos—it’s curation. The palette is rich and warm, the textures layered, and the details so precise you half-expect Beatrix Potter to walk in and order a Negroni. There are hand-painted tin sconces. Patchwork quilts. Woven baskets that wouldn’t look out of place in a 19th-century Finnish farmhouse. It’s incredibly detailed but not self-serious. You feel like a guest in someone’s very charming (and very fictional) country home.
The Food & Drink Situation
Downstairs, the lobby spills directly into the hotel’s shop-slash-reception area, which is basically a grown-up version of the sticker-filled Lucky magazine shopping guides of yore. Yes, there are actual stickers. You tag what you love and buy it at checkout. (The glassware? The blanket? The lamp? All fair game.)
The restaurant, meanwhile, leans into its folk-tale roots with unapologetic country cooking that feels lifted from a Pennsylvania Dutch cookbook and dressed for Instagram. Breakfast is the standout—a hearty, family-style spread included in your stay—and weekend picnic brunches are designed for long, lazy grazing. The vibe is all farmhouse classics and kid-friendly charm. There's even a kids’ playroom in full Six Bells style: whimsical, toy-filled, and thoughtfully tucked away so grown-ups can linger over coffee or cocktails.
Speaking of cocktails, the inn’s tavern is worth a stop even if you’re not staying the night. The kind of place where you can sip a herbal old-fashioned under a low, wood-beamed ceiling while pretending you live in Barrow’s Green year-round.
The Amenities
The real standout design feature? The box beds. Built into the walls, curtained off with floral drapery, they’re like adult hideaways—part alpine chalet, part cozy nook, part childhood fantasy. You climb in, draw the curtains, and the outside world disappears.
Another (very mini) detail worth mentioning is the dollhouse. Yes, there is a custom-built dollhouse replica of the inn. Not on display, but real—and designed alongside the actual construction of the hotel, complete with matching wallpaper and micro box beds. Because, why not?
Location & Neighborhood
The Six Bells doesn’t just deliver on aesthetics—it delivers on mood. This is a hotel with a heart. The staff are lovely. The scale is intimate. And everything about the place—from the fiction to the furniture—invites you to slow down and lean in.
If you're the type who travels for a hotel, not a destination, this is one to bookmark (and probably build your next long weekend around). It’s a place to sip, snack, soak, and pretend the outside world doesn’t exist.
Fast Facts
Location: Rosendale, Hudson Valley, New York
Rating: Five-star
The Vibe: A fairy tale for adults. Folklore-meets-folk-art meets off-duty New Yorker in well-worn loafers.
Food + Drink: Country classics done thoughtfully—think heritage recipes, Hudson Valley produce, and a breakfast that feels like it was cooked by someone who loves you.
Amenities: Bar, restaurant, kids' playroom, retail shop
Our Favourite Thing About the Hotel: The way fantasy quietly seeps into reality. One moment, you’re sipping coffee; the next, you’re wondering what scandal Ursula Lumley is cooking up in Barrow’s Green.
What’s Nearby? Charming towns like Kingston and Woodstock, hikes, and swimming holes.
Any Personal Neighborhood Recs? See a film at Rosendale Theatre, walk or bike the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, explore the moody Widow Jane Mine, or sip wine with a paperback at Rough Draft Bar & Books in Kingston.
Rooms: 11
Pricing: From $350 per night
Closest Airport: Stewart International (about 45 min) or NYC airports (2 hrs by car). Trains to nearby Rhinecliff also make it an easy city escape.
