Lovely in London – Idlewyld Inn
By Margaret Swaine
(Ottawa Citizen May 12, 2007)
Some inns are a stronger draw than the cities that house them. Such is the case with Idlewyld Inn, an 1878 mansion in London Ontario that has been transformed into 23 unique guest suites. “Guests come here as a destination and then look for things to do,” said Christine Kropp who is proprietor with her husband John. Staying there I felt the inn helped me change my perceptions of London. Such was its appeal, after a conference instead of leaving this city on the Forks of the Thames, I stayed on and discovered the area.
The Idlewyld was originally the private home of Charles Smith Hyman, a renaissance man of the highest order. He was Mayor of London, a cabinet minister in Wilfred Laurier’s government, captain of Canada’s most successful cricket team and seven times Canadian men’s singles tennis champion. He’s also credited with introducing the game of bridge to Canada and late into the night I found guests at the inn playing cards in the parlour by the fireplace. It was a picture perfect homage to the world’s most revered card game.
I was wooed more by the elegance of the restoration, the magnificent antiques and the attention to period detail. I live in an 1828 restored home and know how much time, patience and money it takes to keep period while living modern. I noticed at the entrance a beautiful jewelled stained glass window above the door and found out it was painstakingly taken apart, fixed and reassembled. The gleaming exotic hand carved woods in the rooms all displayed the talented craftsmanship of days past. Not only were there doors, baseboards and doorframes in carved wood but also interior wood shutters that folded into the inside of the windowsills so they could be out of sight during the day.
Only people who really care about getting the past right would have gone to this kind of trouble and expense in restoration. I had to ask the couple about their own experience with the inn. When the Kropps bought the place four years ago it had already undergone many changes and been refurbished into a luxury inn. They told me they researched the inn’s past with an eye to restoring and expanding it perfectly in tune with its origins. They spent millions in the process.
The dining room for example had all new recreated beams that fit like a glove into the décor. “When a client sits down here I want them to feel like they are in the original building,” said John. Both John and Christine are accountants but John, the more gregarious and handy of the two looks after the food and beverage aspects of the inn, the construction and the marketing. Christine handles the day-to-day, accounting, packages and business development.
Period upholstery in muted greens, burgundy and gold graces the lounge. The couple spent months visiting manufacturers before they found the right one to make the dining room’s highback upholstered chairs (to be comfortable and absorb noise). Antique dealer and local character Bud Gowan helped them find the antiques. It’s been a dedicated labour of love. Yet Christine says, “Once we’re finished we’ll redecorate the rooms again,” noting that bathrooms and bedrooms need constant updating to stay current.
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For that very reason no room was like the other. Some had spanking new marble bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs while others still needed an update. My room 202 despite an ordinary bathroom was lovely with its fireplace, three interior shuttered south facing bay windows and high ceiling. One of my favourite rooms was 301 on the top floor with slanted ceilings and turreted windows. Another gem, the west facing room 204 was large, with lots of original shutter windows and an air-jet soaker tub in the newly renovated bathroom.
The Kropps want the Idlewyld to get a five diamond rating for its food and have given executive chef Andrew Wolwowicz full reign to do the necessary to attain that status. Local meats and produce, fresh fish flown in from our coasts and wild game are on the menu. My sweet pepper soup with lobster was delicious and my hearty venison dish cooked to European standards. Breakfast which in summer can be taken outdoors on the patio is generous. For twelve dollars I had eggs Florentine with fruit, potato, toast, coffee and fresh made scones.
While in London I enjoyed an excellent Michel Tremblay play at the notable Grand Theatre (said to have a resident ghost), visited the Banting House and Eldon House both seeped in fascinating history and did a tour and tasting at the original Labatt Brewery. On Richmond Row I found great shopping, particularly lightening my wallet at Fisher & Company. As I drove away from the Idlewyld I felt gratitude that an inn had lead me to discover the special character of historic London, at the hub of a delightful circuit of small Ontario towns.
If You Go:
London is about a six hour drive from Ottawa. You can also travel by Via Rail (the station is just minutes away from the inn).
Where: Idlewyld Inn, 36 Grand Ave., London ON N6C 1K8. 1-877-435-3466. Website: www.idlewyldinn.com Email: innkeeper@idlewyldinn.com
Cost: Rooms rates vary according to room and season from $129. to $199. Dinner and breakfast package starts at $255.
Activities: The Idlewyld packages activities in the area including the Grand Theatre in winter, golf at London’s premium courses such as Firerock in summer and a “perfect elopement” package which includes wedding ceremony, couples massage and breakfast in bed. The Spa at Wortley Village is just two blocks away in the Old South area of London. Stratford, St. Mary’s, Port Stanley and other charming towns are less than an hour drive away.