Location: Jamaica, Stratton Mountain, Vermont, USA (12 Minutes from Stratton, 2 from Village, 4 from State Park) View Map
Accommodations: Home, 4 Bedrooms, 2 Baths (Sleeps 7-10)
By Louis Postel (Valery's husband)
Tucked closely into the quiet Village of Jamaica, our place is an easy walk to the grocery store, two interesting restaurants, the coffee shop, and the two art galleries in town. You're somewhere near civilization, but you are not right in thick of it.
Stratton Ski Resort is a straight shot up Rt 30. About 11 minutes to the base.
The West River running through the Jamaica State Park is a joy. Many people learned to cross-country ski there. In any case, there are wonderful walks and short hikes all through the park.
Twice a year the United States government releases the dam and there's a kayak festival. There is also a sheep-shearing festival in the spring. Watch a 250 pound sheep get sheared in a minute and a half without a knick!
It's near enough to Manchester to do some outlet shopping but that can be easily avoided. Stratton Resort is about eight minutes away.
About the house: Everyone loves the floors. All we did is have them sanded by experts. We had a lot of fun collecting furniture, mainly antiques, as well as working in the garden. Nothing is of museum quality value, but it is not the place for rough-housing. Our caretaker, and yours, worked on the whole place as a labor of love, creating the big screened porch and a new bath in the master.
Across from the master is a large bedroom with a bad step; it's not appropriate for small children or sleepwalkers!
Now here's the disclaimer... Even though I have written professionally about interior design for many years, I can't take much credit for the Jamaica house which is really to my wife's credit... a graceful balance between rustic and city.
Vacation Rental Features
- Amenities
- Washer
- Dryer
- Linens Provided
- Off Street Parking
- Parking for RV/Boat/Trailer
- Gas Fireplace
- Beds
- King Bed: With memory foam topper
- Queen Bed: Also with memory foam topper
- Twin/Single Bed
- Bunk Bed
- Entertainment
- Cable/Satellite TV: Direct TV Dish. Watch/record 100's of stations. Wide screen Local and New York Channels.
- DVD
- VCR
- Video Library (2) : Two boxes full...and the terrific Jamaica general store down the street has more current titles.
- CD Player
- Stereo System
- Jetted Tub in Bath
- Ping Pong/Table Tennis
- Kitchen
- Full Kitchen
- Cooking Utensils Provided
- Refrigerator
- Dishwasher
- Microwave
- Outdoor Features
- Gas/Electric BBQ Grill
- Deck/Patio: Large screened in porch on the East side for early morning coffee. View of stream, birdbath, hummingbirds, chickadees, tiny frogpond, wild flowers, Rte 30, and fire station.
- View/Location
- Water View: It's just a brook running along the edge of the property. In Spring it makes a wonderful rushing sound which is especially soothing at night with the windows open.
- Mountain View: There aren't craggy Himalyan mountains by any stretch. Their more like large rounded hills. One author compared them to the terrain in the US that looks most like Italy.
- Communications
- Telephone
- Computer: It's an IBM Thinkpad
- Broadband Internet
- WiFi (Wireless Internet)
- Other Amenities
- Eclectic library voluntarily added onto by guests (from Phillip Roth to Perricone Diet book)Some CDs, kids' videos. But best of all: Radiant heat in first floor bath.Garden furniture, swings, hammock.
- Suitability
- No Pets Allowed
- Handicapped Accessible
- Wheelchair Accessible
- Kid Friendly: It's a great place for most kids but not for rough-housing indoors or chocolate ice cream on the $4,000 Roche Bobois sofa in the living room. There's a lot of antiques but nothing so perfect and priceless it can't be touched.
- Minimum Age Limit for Renters: Let's say 25.
- Smoking Not Allowed
- Activities (on site and nearby)
- Golf
- Tennis
- Shopping
- Sightseeing
- Restaurants
- Rafting
- Kayaking
- Swimming
- Biking
- Mountain Biking
- Cross Country Skiing
- Downhill/Alpine Skiing
- Snowboarding
- Snowmobiling
- Sledding/Tubing
- Wildlife Viewing
- Hiking
- Fishing
- Hunting
- Rock Climbing
- Fitness Center/Gym
- Health/Beauty Spa
- Antiquing
- Live Theatre
- Museums
- Horseback Riding
- Other Activities
- Overflow guests? Invite your friends to camp at Jamaica State Park, or (fancier) the Jamaica House or Three MTN Inn in the Village. Another very basic activity for us: Reading and reading in the hammock. I have some of my best books there -- WS Merwin's new collected poems which are great by the way and hundreds of other tomes.
Rate Details (In US Dollars)
$1000/ week (unless it's mud season in which case we're negotiable)
A 9% Vermont Meals tax will apply on short term rentals
Security Deposit % of total rental & Cleaning Fee $150.
Ask about Utility Surcharges for oil,gas,electric and long distance phone
Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.
Map & Owner's Profile
Rent Charming Greek Revival in Jamaica Village Near Stratton
Year Purchased: 1995
Why the Owner Chose Jamaica
I told my husband if we get a second home it's got to be by the water! So we headed up Route 1 on the coast. We actually went all the way to Canada and then started down again. My husband's folks have a beautiful place on the water in Provincetown. We wanted something like that. But nothing! Nothing like that for under two million. No kidding. Somehow we found ourselves driving around in Vermont -- where I was born and where my husband went to school -- and there it was a house I fell in love with: a Greek revival farmhouse that just needed a little TLC. And guess what -- it's on plenty of water. Fresh water that's a pleasure to swim in. And it's nice being close to the village, the community -- without being right smack in the middle.
The Unique Benefits at this Home
We get down sometimes. Why aren't our kids outside? Why are they inside playing gameboy on such a glorious day? There's gardening. There's hiking along the perfectly groomed path in the state park that runs along the west river. finding a big boulder and watching the swirls and eddies. we've hiked up stratton a few times off-season. have yet to ski down it. whenever we leave on sunday we're thinking O we didn't do this and let's do this next time~ Our snowshoes are the new light aluminum kind....and I think we've used them once!
Owner's Map of Jamaica
I'm a psychotherapist with a private practice in Lexington and Cambridge MA and my husband is a writer specializing in interior design (he has a column called Trade Secrets in New England Home that's very popular). We have two young children we adopted from China. Well, the oldest one's not so young -- she just turned 18! And we have a wonderful new dog "Mochi" that our neighbor Dawn found for us. She volunteers at the shelter and she said "look, I've seen hundreds of dogs but this is the one." And indeed she was right.
Property Photos
- As seen from the road. Note hammock on lower right of house. - Stratton Mountain, Vermont Vacation Home
- A Roman matron makes herself at home in the master suite - Stratton Mountain, Vermont Vacation Home
- Time for coffee around the fire - Stratton Mountain, Vermont Vacation Home
- The gas fireplace in the living room is easy to operate
- The master suite has a whirlpool bath in the next room behind the camera
- The kitchen with view of babbling brook and even (once) a moose in the drive
- The deck looking out to the hummingbird feeder and stream
- We love having coffee on this screened-in deck furnished in mid-century modern
- Migrating with cereal bowl from kitchen to living room
- Pete the Painter is painting it this very June. No more grey pilasters!
- The West River down the street in a peaceful mood
- A rail to trail down the street
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Vacation Rentals by Owner Listing #121533
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Date last modified - June 26, 2009
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