Elm Hurst Inn & Spa, Ingersoll, ON

I have a meeting tomorrow morning in Tillsonburg. Rather than drive down tomorrow (it's about two hours west of Toronto), I came this afternoon. I didn't want to chance the weather ... as it was, I ran into some snow east of Woodstock.

I'm staying at the Elm Hurst Inn in Ingersoll (about a 20 minute drive from Tillsonburg) ... there are not a lot of places to stay in this area.

James Harris erected the James Harris Cheese Factory on the grounds of what is now Elm Hurst Inn & Spa in 1865. One year later, the factory was the birthplace of a 7,300 pound cheese, co-manufactured by local producers to put Ingersoll on the map. The famous 'Mammoth Cheese' travelled to exhibitions in Toronto, Sarasota New York, Paris France and London England.

The Harris family later planted commercial apple orchards on the property. In fact, their vaulted buffet room is the original apple shed.

The Elm Hurst mansion restaurant was built in 1872 as the personal residence of James Harris and family. A fine example of the Gothic Revival style, it remained a stately family home for more than a century.

The last Harris heir sold the property in the mid 1970s and the house was transformed into a popular dining establishment that opened in 1979. An addition was added to the rear of the original structure five years later, with the 49-room Elm Hurst Inn & Spa being built in 1988.

I heard they are adding another 51 rooms this year.

Here's my room ... it's large.

I had supper in the restaurant ... there isn't anything else within walking distance.

They are having a promotion this week to celebrate their anniversary and rolled the prices back to 1975. Needless to say, it was quite a busy spot. I was seated in a cozy room which was probably a parlour back in the old days. I ordered the Roast Prime Rib of Beef (Yorkshire pudding; natural beef jus) for $14 (usually it's $27 to $34).

Hot rolls arrived.

About a minute later (I hadn't even had a chance to butter a roll), my meal arrived on a "don't touch the plate, it's hot" plate ... surprisingly the food wasn't. It was just warm. It was just okay. The veggies (I ate the peppers and carrots) had the texture that they'd been frozen.

Christine, my server, was friendly and helpful. She suggested I try the Black Forest cake. I'm not a fan of Black Forest cake but it was good.

You know how much I love love love baths so I had to check out the jacuzzi. It was huge (way too big for one person) and deep. I watched Dragons' Den while soaking in green apple bubble bath.

I went to set the alarm at 9:09pm and saw that it was actually 11:20pm. Huh?! That gave me a bit of a shock (how did I lose two hours?!) until I confirmed that it wasn't that late. I wonder how long it's been two hours ahead without anyone noticing.

I'm having a comfortable stay here and, though it's fairly isolated, would come back. WIFI is free as is parking and a continental breakfast tomorrow. I booked it online at a rate of $139 which is a great deal! Ingersoll is just a couple km away.