The Icehouse is a historic house situated in the High Peaks. The building is surrounded by a stunning private wilderness, with trails, brooks, and fields that no one but guests have access to. As the Park gets more crowded, enjoy undisturbed hiking, back-country skiing, biking, or simply going for picnics to take in some of the best views in the East! The house is very well equipped and has a great kitchen, comfy beds with high-end mattresses and linen, as well as unique furniture and artwork.
The space
The historic 19th century property derives its name from its original purpose: it was built to store blocks of ice in the Summer that had been cut in the Winter from the nearby ponds. The ice blocks were used in the walk-in cool rooms of a nearby Great Camp.
The building has been lovingly restored over the past few years and transformed into a spacious home with a welcoming and warm atmosphere. Many original features have been conserved, and contemporary additions were carefully planned. Using mostly reclaimed local wood and ecologically sourced materials to create a comfortable and unique living space, the inside has been decorated to combine old and new in harmonious ways. Thus we offer guests the experience of simple cabin-living in the Adirondack wilderness in comfortable style (we even recently caved in and now have a very good air-conditioning unit for those hot Adirondack Summer nights!).
Everything at the Icehouse has its own aesthetic and functional purpose and contributes to the simple, intimate and warm atmosphere of the building. Great care has gone into every detail, such as the hand-cut red hardwood flooring in parts of the building, custom-made windows set into the original wood-panelled walls, and new, high-end kitchen appliances integrated into existing countertops. We chose lovely high-quality bedding (organic linen in the Summer, flannel in the Winter) for our comfortable beds (Awara organic mattress on the master bed), and plenty of blankets and pillows are scattered on sofas (Sixpenny and West Elm) and chairs to ensure maximum comfort and coziness!
The kitchen is well equipped with a professional-grade Jenn-air stove, Bosch dishwasher and family-size refrigerator with freezer compartment and ice-cube maker. Coffee is important to us so we have a high-end filter coffee maker (Moccamaster - if you know, you know!), as well as French press and Italian stove-top coffee makers and a Nespresso milk foamer, as well as other small appliances such as a toaster, kettle, waffle iron, ice cream maker, kitchen aid hand blender; excellent pots, pans and all other necessities for cooking and baking.
We have a new Breeo firepit in the backyard, locally-made Adirondack chairs (from Dartbrook furniture in Keene) as well as an old but charming picnic table ready for breakfasts and dinners outside.
If you have any special requirements, please just let us know and we'll all do our very best to accommodate them. Please note that the Icehouse is strictly a no smoking property and that rule will be reinforced!
We have an extensive guest info pack that will help you find your way around the house and that includes directions as well as some background on the area, where to eat, shop, etc etc. It's an ever-growing list!
STRICTLY NO HUNTING. Absolutely not.
Guest access
Guests have access to the whole building and the land surrounding the house. Property boundaries (marked with red markings and 'posted' signs) must be observed at all times. Any reports of visiting the neighboring property (the Wellscroft Lodge) uninvited will lead to us withholding the security deposit - we REALLY cannot accept our guests disturbing the peace of our only immediate neighbours.
Please read our guide to the property (you'll find it at the house) for further details.
Other things to note
Pets
The airbnb pet fee is for 1 pet. If you would like to bring more than one pet, please confirm with us. We are very agreeable, but do add an additional fee when more than one pet joins you.
Winter
During winter months, all wheel drive is needed for the driveway. While expertly plowed, it is long and relatively steep in areas
