The Dining Room at Edson Hill

Reviews

• JB

  Javier Bustamante

  4 days ago
  5.0
  One of the best dinners of our entire trip. Edson Hill was spectacular from start to finish. The pole bean tempura with roasted garlic aioli, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil, and mint was exceptional. The Atlantic halibut with white miso, pickled farm vegetables, Japanese rice, and toasted garlic furikake was beautifully prepared, and the day-boat scallops with spinach, crisp potatoes, chervil, caviar, and beurre blanc were outstanding. A truly memorable dinner and a restaurant we would enthusiastically return to.
• GR

  Gianna Ray

  Sep 15, 2026
  1.0
  I am unable to response to a previous review on a joint account, so here is my response to the marketing manager since he didn’t seem to understand my problem. Again, I’m going to repeat myself. “To be very clear, the existence of a photography policy is not my issue. Edson Hill is private property and is absolutely entitled to establish rules regarding photography. Instead, it was the manner in which we were approached and spoken to that was so upsetting. The interaction felt accusatory, condescending, unnecessarily authoritative, and frankly humiliating.” Take accountability for speaking to adults in such a condescending, confrontational, overly authoritative tone and learn your lesson.
• JG

  Joseph and Gianna

  Sep 13, 2026
  1.0
  I’ve waited about a month to write this review because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t responding solely out of frustration in the moment. First, Edson Hill is a beautiful property. Our food was excellent, our server was wonderful, and we had a great dinner. We are local( my fiancé is a Vermonter) and have been to Edson Hill before. We had guests visiting from out of town and we were celebrating our engagement. Our guest had just arrived in town that evening. After spending roughly $600 on dinner, we stepped outside onto the patio to take a few photos. There was no event happening and no other guests were using the area. One friend had a small personal camera that could fit inside a purse. There was no professional photographer, lighting, equipment, or a big bulky camera. While we were taking photos, Andreys Varela approached us. He had come outside from the bar area with a date and was holding a drink, so we initially assumed he was another guest. He asked whether we were staying at the property. We explained that we were not, but had just finished dinner at the restaurant. He then inquired if we “snuck onto the property to take photos” and told us we were not allowed to take pictures. We genuinely thought he was joking at first and laughed. It quickly became apparent that he was not. Andreys identified himself as someone who works at Edson Hill but was off the clock, and repeatedly emphasized his position while telling us photos were not allowed. When we tried to clarify the policy, his response was essentially, “Again, I’m the marketing [director/manager], and no photos can be taken here.” To be very clear, the existence of a photography policy is not my issue. Edson Hill is private property and is absolutely entitled to establish rules regarding photography. Instead, it was the manner in which we were approached and spoken to that was so upsetting. The interaction felt accusatory, condescending, unnecessarily authoritative, and frankly humiliating. After confronting us, Andreys moved to the stairs and stood at the top watching us, seemingly to make sure we did not take another photograph. We were all standing there in disbelief. The interaction had gone from confusing to genuinely uncomfortable. I went upstairs to the front desk to understand the actual policy. When I arrived, Andreys was already there discussing/reporting the situation. I was surprised to hear the interaction characterized as though we had “taken it fine.” I immediately clarified that we absolutely had not. We were extremely uncomfortable with how we had been approached and spoken to. During that conversation, the lovely host clarified that we were, in fact, allowed to take personal photos as long as they were taken on an iPhone. That distinction had never been communicated to us outside. Instead, we had simply been told with considerable authority that we were not allowed to take photos, period. There is another part of this interaction that has stayed with us. I don’t want to assign motivation when I cannot know what someone was thinking, but I can explain how we felt. We had dressed nicely for dinner, but it became chilly, so my fiancé grabbed sweatshirts from the car toward the end of our meal. We happened to be wearing them when we tried to snap a few photos together. Looking back, we have all wondered whether we were approached this way because, standing outside in sweatshirts with a small camera, we somehow didn’t look like guests who “belonged” at Edson Hill. Hospitality is about more than beautiful grounds, excellent food, or an expensive dinner. It is about how you make people feel while they are your guests. What makes this especially disappointing is that my fiancé and I are currently planning our wedding, and Edson Hill was a property we had genuinely considered. After this interaction, that consideration ended. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend Edson Hill.
• JP

  Jay Pilon

  Sep 4, 2026
  1.0
  My wife and I travel extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe, and food is one of the main reasons we travel. We have dined everywhere from small local restaurants to Michelin-starred establishments, and I can genuinely say that our experience at The Dining Room at Edson Hill was one of the most unpleasant hospitality experiences we have encountered. And remarkably, the food wasn’t even the reason. During our appetizer, my parents, who were babysitting our 4-year-old son, briefly FaceTimed us so we could say good night to him. We kept our voices low, were discreet, and the call lasted only a short time. About 15 minutes later, the manager approached our table because another guest had apparently complained. If Edson Hill has a no-FaceTime policy, that is completely reasonable. A simple, polite request would have ended the matter immediately. Instead, we were spoken to in a manner that came across as astonishingly condescending and confrontational. The manager actually felt the need to emphasize to us that we were dining in an “upscale” establishment. That comment told us everything we needed to know about the kind of hospitality we were dealing with. Truly upscale restaurants do not need to announce that they are upscale. More importantly, they understand that refinement includes knowing how to speak to guests with tact, discretion, and respect — especially when addressing something as minor as parents briefly saying good night to their 4-year-old child. We weren’t arguing about a policy. We weren’t refusing a request. The call was already over. Yet instead of handling the situation professionally, the manager turned something incredibly minor into an uncomfortable confrontation. At that point, the evening was ruined. I asked for the bill for everything we had consumed and said we were leaving. Incredibly, the manager then tried to tell us that we could not leave. That was the moment the experience went from disappointing to completely unacceptable. We paid for everything we had consumed and left. Ironically, our waitress demonstrated considerably more professionalism and hospitality than the manager. She had been wonderful from the moment we arrived: warm, friendly, and attentive. Before we left, she came to speak with us and apologized for what had happened. We made sure to leave her a good tip because she deserved it and was absolutely not responsible for the way the situation was handled. There is a huge difference between an upscale restaurant and a restaurant that simply wants its guests to know that it considers itself upscale. The finest restaurants we have visited understand that hospitality is part of the experience. You can have a beautiful property, an ambitious menu, and an elegant dining room, but if management makes paying guests feel unwelcome over something that could have been resolved with one courteous sentence, none of that matters. We arrived excited about discovering a restaurant that had been personally recommended to us. We left before finishing dinner because of how uncomfortable the manager made the situation. For a restaurant positioning itself as an upscale destination, the lack of tact and basic hospitality from management was extraordinary. Beautiful setting. Wonderful waitress. Absolutely unacceptable management experience. We will never return, and based on our experience, we could not recommend The Dining Room at Edson Hill to others
• RP

  Robert Pilon

  Sep 4, 2026
  1.0
  ⭐ 1/5 — EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE My wife and I are passionate food travellers. We travel throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe specifically to experience great restaurants, including many Michelin-starred establishments. The Dining Room at Edson Hill came highly recommended by a local, so we were genuinely looking forward to our dinner. Unfortunately, what should have been an enjoyable evening ended very differently. During our appetizer, we received a brief FaceTime call from my parents, who were babysitting our 4-year-old son, so that we could say good night to him. We were very discreet, kept our voices low, and the call was brief. Approximately 15 minutes later, a woman who identified herself as the manager approached our table and told us that another customer had complained about our FaceTime call. I can understand a restaurant having a policy regarding phone or FaceTime use. Had she simply approached us politely and said, “We try to maintain a quiet atmosphere and ask guests not to use FaceTime in the dining room,” we would have completely understood and respected that. The problem was not the request. The problem was the manager’s attitude and the way she spoke to us. She was rude, condescending and unnecessarily confrontational, making a point of telling us that we were in an “upscale” establishment. As people who dine regularly in excellent restaurants around the world, we found that comment particularly pretentious and unnecessary. Good hospitality is not about reminding customers how upscale you believe your restaurant is. It is about making guests feel welcome and handling situations professionally and respectfully. I was so taken aback by her attitude that I asked for the bill for what we had already consumed and told her we were leaving. Amazingly, she then tried to tell us that we could not do that. We paid for everything we had consumed and left. The most unfortunate part was that our waitress had been wonderful. She provided excellent, friendly service throughout our short time there. Before we left, she even came to speak with us and apologized for what had happened. We made sure to leave her a good tip because none of this reflected on her service. We came expecting an upscale dining experience. Instead, we encountered an attitude that, in our experience, confused being upscale with being pretentious. We have eaten in many exceptional restaurants, and the best ones rarely need to tell their customers how upscale they are. Their food, service and hospitality speak for themselves. A very disappointing experience, and certainly not the kind of hospitality we expected in Stowe. We will not return.

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