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Walking by way of the doorways of The Six Bells feels such as you’ve stepped right into a life-size dollhouse—one whose rooms, residing areas, and bedrooms are so effortlessly charming with out a single sense of attempting too onerous. Think minimal but colourful wallpaper, moody coloration palettes, cover beds, and most significantly, that heat fuzzy feeling that simply retains effervescent up.
Despite the multitude of resorts in upstate New York, nobody has fairly nailed down this aesthetic with as a lot accuracy and depth as founder Audrey Gelman. She took inspiration from a fictional city she ideated known as Barrow’s Green—a small civil parish with 640 residents that resembles an previous English countryside city the place sheep roam freely, youngsters roam round in cotton clothes barefoot within the grass, and the village Christmas competition is the most important occasion anybody’s ever seen. The vibe right here is immaculate, extremely distinctive, and easily put, heat.
Set the scene
The inn brings a brand new vibrancy to Rosendale, an in any other case quiet Hudson Valley city with a handful of retailers, boutiques, and a beloved one-screen movie show alongside its Main Street. While longtime locals pop in for dinner or a drink, most visitors are New Yorkers on the lookout for a peaceable base for daytime exploring. By late afternoon, the inn shifts right into a wind-down spot: individuals trickle in with tote luggage and path mud, seize a drink, and sink into the stylish corners of the inn’s tavern earlier than heading upstairs.
The crowd right here skews design-savvy and detail-oriented: assume Barbour jackets, a well-worn pair of Birkenstocks, and a cool pair of classic denim. Younger metropolis guests may be discovered quietly documenting almost each nook of this place (responsible) for a protracted string of Instagram tales, as a result of the house actually is that impossible to resist. Despite the brand new buzz that the lodge brings to Rosendale, the general temper stays relaxed, unfussy, and splendidly sluggish.
The backstory
Owner Audrey Gelman—longtime buddy of Lena Dunham and the inspiration behind HBO’s Girls character Marnie Michaels—was the cofounder of the ladies’s social membership and co-working house The Wing. As the corporate was shutting its doorways in 2022, Gelman opened the Six Bells in Cobble Hill, a country-style house items retailer with kitchenware, antiques, and merchandise from native small manufacturers. This is the place the creation of the aforementioned fictional Barrow’s Green took place, which ultimately got here to life within the type of The Six Bells Inn. In 2024, Gelman bought The 1850 House Inn and Tavern in Rosendale, and the remainder was historical past. The inn opened its doorways in summer time 2025.
The rooms
There are 11 rooms in whole, and every is exclusive in its design, with altering components like coloration and wallpaper. All of them embody the storybook vibe with daring colours, patterns, and comfortable hues that make you need to bounce proper into mattress. About that mattress: Truly, it is without doubt one of the most snug I’ve ever slept in—my buddy and I had been speaking concerning the bedding for days after our keep. The linens—which I’ve been eyeing ever since—are from their very own model (offered on-line and of their Brooklyn retailer), including to the genuine really feel of the rooms.
We stayed in a typical room known as Mildred’s Plum—every room has a novel title tied to the theme: Mant’s Crake, The Old Room, and many others.—with a plushy queen mattress, a sofa and seating space, a incredible view of the lovable city, and a bathe that was what goals had been fabricated from, with extraordinarily excessive ceilings and fluffy robes and towels. The entire room dripped in a deep purple hue, actually leaning into its title. We additionally took a peek at The Innkeeper’s Suite, a two-bedroom suite with an in-wall field mattress that’ll make you are feeling like cozying up and never transferring for a couple of days—regardless of it being a twin mattress, and regardless of its adjoining room having a a lot bigger king-sized mattress, the field mattress would positively be known as dibs on first by virtually anybody (until you’re on the taller aspect).
Food and drink
The lodge is house to The Feathers Tavern, a comfy restaurant rooted in early American and conventional nation cooking. Here you’ll find a mix of straightforward, hearty dishes impressed by regional historical past and custom. For dinner, I had a heat honeynut squash soup with lemon whipped ricotta, roasted trout as my foremost dish (one thing you’ll discover in abundance within the Hudson Valley space), and most notably, a divine crème brûlée for dessert that was little doubt the standout.
A small breakfast buffet with yogurt, fruit, a couple of pastries and different bites is obtainable; it made an amazing pre-brunch appetizer for the weekend we had been planning. While it won’t be sufficient to final you til lunch, sitting within the blue velvet cubicles with a heat cup of tea was the right approach to get up at a slower tempo. Do be aware that the restaurant will not be open day by day, so if you happen to’d prefer to eat right here throughout your keep, be certain to plan accordingly.
The neighborhood/space
The inn is tucked into the quiet city of Rosendale, a city based in 1844 that grew to become recognized for its manufacturing of pure cement, which truly contributed to the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge and the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. In its present state, the city is proscribed however adorably cute, house to the beautiful Rosendale Theatre and different retailers and galleries alongside Main Street—a lot of that are housed in vibrantly painted buildings which actually add to its character. The city is inside a 20–40 minute drive of cities like Woodstock, Saugerties, and Catskill, so that you’ll actually by no means run out of issues to do close by.
Some specifics to not miss within the surrounding space: Go to the enduring Phoenicia Diner for the coziest brunch or lunch second (if you happen to’re a Severance fan, you may geek out over the set of “Pip’s” diner within the present); go to Kingston’s brightly coloured buildings and head to Camp Kingston for unimaginable lattes, matcha, and ol’ pizza bagel (I haven’t had a type of in eternally, and it actually hit the spot). There’s a lot to eat and see in upstate New York (and never all the things is open seven days per week), so I like to recommend making a gameplan that works to your time right here. Also, if you happen to’re headed right here within the fall, it’s useful to make use of a fall foliage tracker to be sure you come on a weekend of prime foliage for the last word fall expertise.
The service
Service is heat however minimal, simply as anticipated at a smaller inn like this. Staff helped us with our luggage up and down the steps which was very useful, they usually had been available after we wanted the rest. Because the inn is so small, you’ll grow to be conversant in the faces in and across the inn, which makes the environment really feel much more heat and pleasant.
For households
Right by the doorway is a playroom with a desk, chairs, and a few actions. It’s one thing hardly ever seen at a small inn like this so it was a welcome shock. Otherwise, there’s positively a family-friendly aspect to the lodge (the entire storybook really feel screams childhood), although the meals choices could also be a bit bit superior for a youngsters’ palate.