If you are searching for great Hudson NY lodging, Thyme In The Country is a wonderful bed-n-breakfast. When we go on vacation, we try to pick one or two places that are different than a chain hotel. You know that great feeling on a vacation when you land at the perfect place to stay? The kind of place that you are determined to visit again and one of the highlights of your vacation. Thyme in the Country is that special kind of place.
Thyme in the Country has everything that you want in your vacation home-away-from-home: a charming house with beautiful rooms, a scenic location, a wonderful hospitable host, great food, and close proximity to lots of area attractions.
House and Rooms
The House
Thyme in the Country is an 1880’s farmhouse in Upstate New York’s Columbia county. The house is in a rural setting on 5 acres with beautiful scenery and is only 6 miles east of Hudson, NY. (more about the setting below).
The bed-and-breakfast and surrounding grounds are absolutely beautiful. The house is decorated with antique furnishings, and has several comfortable sitting areas. Mary (the owner) cuts fresh flowers from her gardens and has vases of flowers throughout the house. There were also fresh baked cookies and organic strawberries from the garden in the kitchen.
The Guest Rooms
The 4 guestrooms are furnished with antiques and have a warm cozy feeling. The queen size bed in our room was extremely comfortable with an organic mattress and down quilts. Wi-Fi is available, but once you see the wonderful views out the window you won’t want to play on your phone.
The Lavender Suite
We stayed in the Lavender Suite. The room was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. Windows on one wall looked over the backyard with a view of beautiful flower gardens. Windows on an adjacent wall looked over another flower garden and a small country road. It felt like we were visiting the English countryside.
The private bathroom in the Lavender Suite is furnished with wonderful handmade soaps and has a stand-up shower. There is AC in the room, but we did not need AC in early June.
Hudson NY lodging With Beautiful Grounds
Thyme-in-the-country is surrounded by scenic countryside. There is a wonderful organic garden area, a pond, a salt-water pool, and several gardens full of flowers.
The Gardens
When we drove up to the B&B, we were greeted by Bill (the genius behind the gardens). Bill gave us a tour of the gardens and the green house. The gardens are fascinating. There are several raised garden beds with vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Bill has sifted much of the dirt in the gardens to produce a finer quality of produce. Mary cooked something from the gardens every morning at breakfast. My favorite was a rhubarb crisp, but I also loved the asparagus, the sprouts, etc.
More than Gardens
The organic gardens alone would have made me happy, but there is so much more to see on the grounds. The grounds also have a pond with fish. The pond is a short walk from the B&B and is a scenic peaceful place to be. Beside the pond, there is a chicken coup with very cute chickens. Mary serves fresh eggs for breakfast as well.
There is a salt water pool on the grounds. We were there during a rainy week so we didn’t get to swim. I plan to try the pool on our next visit.
Bill mentioned that you can hike across other farms. The scenery is so beautiful that I would love to take some nice long walks in the country.
The grounds also have several beautiful flower gardens. The setting makes for a wonderful quiet and relaxing time-away.
Hostess
Mary, the owner, was a wonderful hostess. Every morning at breakfast, we would visit about the surrounding area. Mary has great suggestions about things to see and do in the vicinity.
We both asked for allergy-friendly breakfast (dairy & egg free). Mary was very gracious and provided a wonderful allergy-friendly breakfast every day. One morning Mary made avocado toast with herb infused oil. The herbs were from the organic garden. I had never eaten avocado toast before our visit, it was fantastic and I now have it regularly at home.
Area Attractions
We visited he Hudson River Valley specifically to see the Hudson River Valley mansions, but we ended up totally enjoying some of the state parks and waterfalls.
Any direction you head from the B&B has an attraction worth visiting. We were able to see waterfalls, historic sites, gardens, get in some good hiking, and see beautiful scenery all within an easy drive of the B&B.
Water Falls – High Falls
High Falls Conservation Area is 5 minutes away from Thyme in the Country. The falls are a great place to hike wooded trails and have a picnic. There is a scenic overlook with a place to sit and enjoy the view. The trails were scenic and not crowded at all.
We bought a picnic at Hawthorne Valley Organic Farm Store before going to High Falls. This is a wonderful small farm store that sells organic produce.
Water Falls – Bash Bish Falls
Bash Bish Falls is only about 30 minutes from Thyme in the Country. Bash Bish was even more scenic than High Falls, it is the highest waterfall in Massachusetts. You can hike to the falls by starting in New York or starting in Massachusetts. The walk is easier and flatter from New York, shorter and steeper from Massachusetts. We left from the New York side, and had a scenic 1.5 mile round trip walk.
Two States at the Same Time
We absolutely loved the hike and seeing the Falls. There is a fun place to take a picture on the trail with a sign with one arrow pointing up the trail that is labeled ‘Massachusetts Parking Lot’ and a second arrow pointing down the trail labeled ‘NY Parking Lot’. We really enjoyed being able to put one foot in each state at the exact same time. This is a great place to visit, the trail and waterfall are truly beautiful scenery.
Clermont State Historic Site
Clermont is a short 15 miles from Thyme in the Country. We loved visiting the house, grounds, and seeing the scenic Hudson River views. The river view from the front door of the house is fantastic. The house tour was an excellent place to learn more about colonial New York and one of the area’s founding families. The 500+ acres of grounds are stunning with beautiful gardens, green lawns along the Hudson River, and ruins of old buildings. We loved the freedom of being able to walk anywhere within the grounds without being confined behind a fence or limited by the time of a tour.
Olana State Historic Site
Olana is a little over 9 miles from Thyme in the Country. We enjoyed taking a tour of the historic house museum home of artist Frederic Edwin Church. The grounds were very beautiful with several gardens. We also were able to walk anywhere within the grounds and spend as much time as we wanted.
Rip Van Winkle Bridge
The Rip Van Winkle bridge is an interesting scenic bridge spanning the Hudson River. You can walk the entire length of the bridge on a walkway. The views of the Hudson river are wonderful from the bridge. The bridge is only about 20 minutes from Thyme in the Country.
Restaurants
There are great restaurant options close to Thyme-in-the-Country. Mary will also provide a meal upon request if you want to stay around the B&B and relax. We were always out touring around meal times so we didn’t get to enjoy a meal at the B&B. We tried several area restaurants that we loved.
Seafood
Hudson was crowded with an event the first night of our stay so we ventured to Frank Guido’s Port of Call in Catskill for seafood. We loved the food and the atmosphere. We sat outside overlooking the water on Catskill Creek.
Burgers
Grazin in Hudson NY is a fun place to go for burgers. The restaurant is decorated as an old-fashioned diner. However, the food is even better than an old-fashioned hamburger. The menu has a large variety of burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs, all organic and grass-fed.
Mexican
On our way back to Thyme in the Country from Clermont, we stopped at Modern Taco in Redhook. I know, what are 2 people from Texas doing trying to eat taco’s in New York? We were actually just looking for some place that wasn’t crowded, but were pleasantly surprised at the menu and the food. The chorizo and sweet potato taco’s were excellent. We only wish we could get taco’s like this in Texas.
Hudson NY Lodging at its Best
As you can see Thyme in the Country is great Hudson NY lodging. There are several other attractions and restaurants in the area on the Thyme in the Country web-page that we didn’t get to try on this visit. Sounds like a good reason for another visit!