You may have noticed that I write mostly about attractions and not about hotels. That’s because, in most cases, I feel that a hotel is a place to sleep in between visiting attractions. But sometimes the lodging is an attraction, and that is certainly the case with The Inn at Shaker Village. If you read my article about the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, you may remember that the Shakers established the village at Pleasant Hill in 1805 and lived there about a hundred years. It is now a living history museum, and while a visit to the village is fascinating, what makes it even better is completely immersing yourself in the experience by spending the night in the village inn.
The Inn accommodations are spread out all over the village. Some are in buildings originally designed as dormitories for the Shakers, while others are in buildings that were originally used for other purposes, such as the Wash House, the Old Stone Shop, or the Farm Deacon’s Shop.
There are many different types of rooms and suites with various combinations of twin, double, and queen beds. Larger suites have two bedrooms and a sitting room, and a few have kitchenettes. Nightly rates start at $100. We stayed in the West Family Dwelling (the red brick building pictured at the top) and had two bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with two twin beds. The entrance to our room had a graceful arch.
The rooms were very simply furnished and decorated in the Shaker style. The room with the double bed was the smaller of the two. Note the pegs around the perimeter of the room. The Shakers hung all sorts of things from these pegs like chairs, brooms, and more.
And while the furniture pieces were Shaker reproductions, the mattresses definitely were not–they were very comfortable, modern mattresses. My room also had a small desk.
Just in case you’re afraid you’ll have to walk to an outhouse or use a chamber pot, I’ll mention that the rooms do have private bathrooms. The larger bedroom had two twin beds. I need to point out that the housekeeping staff was not responsible for the wrinkled bedspread. I’m still working on training my kids to wait until after I take pictures before sitting on the beds. 🙂
This room had a desk, a Shaker reproduction dresser, and two rocking chairs.
You may have noticed the candlestick holders in the pictures. My son didn’t like them because he kept bumping into them and hitting his head. Here’s a closer look.
A trunk on the floor held extra pillows. When I saw a cabinet hung from the pegs, I figured it probably contained extra blankets.
Then we opened it up and discovered I was quite wrong!
Were you surprised to see a TV in it? The room has the amenities you’d expect, but they are worked into the Shaker design style. It made me smile when I discovered those little details, like this fire extinguisher.
Don’t you just love the attention to detail?
Another thing we loved about the Inn at Shaker Village was the Game Room in our building. There was a cabinet filled with games and my kids did take advantage of this amenity one evening.
There was also a wooden bowling game table that I wasn’t familiar with.
Next to the Game Room is a sitting room that has free Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi is not available in the lodging rooms, so I visited the public sitting room at least once a day. The third public room was a kitchenette with an ice machine, microwave, and coffee machine.
There are a few, but not many, scheduled activities in the evening. During our stay there was a guided walk and marshmallow roasts. We enjoyed strolling around the quiet village, exploring the gardens, and visiting the farm animals. On our walks we found a wooden swing hanging from a tree and several mulberry trees with ripe, juicy berries. There are also several miles of trails in the Nature Preserve to hike.
After dark, the options are more limited. One evening we enjoyed going to the Twin Hills Drive-in in nearby Harrodsburg. Movie schedules are announced on Twin Hills Drive-in’s Facebook page. Concessions are available and very reasonably priced. One tip–avoid parking on the side near the road because noise from passing traffic is distracting.
Be sure to also enjoy at least one meal at the Trustees’ Office Dining Room while staying at the Shaker Village. It is a special treat that is worth the splurge.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Inn at Shaker Village. We were genuinely sad when it was time to leave and my kids definitely want to go back again. We are most grateful to the Harrodsburg/Mercer County Tourist Commission, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, and Twin Hills Drive-in for hosting our visit. They paid for my lodging, admission, and some of our meals so that I could write about our visit.
Ready to visit?
The Inn at Shaker Village
3501 Lexington Road
Harrodsburg, KY 40330
(800) 734-5611
