By the time Eric Meadow lights the fire for evening social hour at West Hill House Bed and Breakfast in Warren. he has already put in two full workdays.
Mornings begin early helping prepare breakfast for guests alongside his wife, Theresa. By midmorning, he shifts gears to his day job, mortgage banking, working West Coast hours from Vermont. In the evening, he returns downstairs to tend the fire, pour a glass of wine and talk with guests at the inn.
It has been a swift immersion into innkeeping for the Meadows, who officially became the new owners of West Hill House on Jan. 13, following a yearlong process that brought them from the Chicago area to Vermont.
TRIAL BY FIRE
“We jumped right in,” Eric Meadow said in describing the first weeks of ownership, which coincided with the heart of ski season. “It’s been a fairly intense, immersive couple of weeks.”
The couple arrived in Vermont last May in anticipation of the closing, spending months getting to know the community. They lived in Huntington during that time, approaching their move deliberately, with the awareness that innkeeping is as much a lifestyle choice as a business decision.
Theresa Meadow is the innkeeper of record and oversees the day-to-day operations of West Hill House. Eric supports her in the mornings and evenings.
Their path to the Mad River Valley was anything but linear. Eric Meadow grew up in Chicago, while Theresa Meadow is originally from New Zealand. The two met while Eric was studying in New Zealand, and over the past 26 years have lived in roughly 20 places, around the country and beyond.
VERMONT WAS NEXT
Most recently, they were living in the Virgin Islands before returning briefly to Chicago, where Eric’s parents live. That stop, he said, was always meant to be temporary — a soft landing while they figured out what would come next.
What came next was Vermont.
The Meadows said they were selective about where they were willing to relocate, drawn to places that aligned with their values and offered a strong sense of community. Vermont stood out, both for personal reasons — close friends already lived in the state — and for professional ones.
Eric Meadow said Vermont felt like one of the most idyllic places imaginable to launch a career in innkeeping, with its four-season appeal, outdoor recreation and strong tourism economy. Winter, he acknowledged, is not for everyone, but ski season brings guests through the door, and the tradeoff has been worth it.
LOOKED NO FURTHER
Their search for an inn led them through consultants who specialize in helping prospective innkeepers understand the realities of the business and find properties that fit both budget and lifestyle. Through that process, they encountered West Hill House — and looked no further.
The property’s location, proximity to Sugarbush Resort, acreage and its sense of privacy stood out. Eric Meadow described it as being as close to perfect as they could have envisioned.
The transition was eased by the support of the former owners, Peter and Susan MacLaren, who ran West Hill House for almost 20 years. Theresa Meadow interned with them for several weeks before the closing, gaining firsthand experience with operations. Since taking over, the Meadows have continued to rely on the former owners for guidance, reaching out frequently with practical questions that inevitably arise when learning the systems of an old house.
That continuity has mattered, particularly to longtime guests. One of the Meadows’ first visitors after the transition was a couple making their 18th visit to West Hill House. They had gotten engaged there years earlier and return annually, underscoring the emotional connection many guests feel to the place.
CONNECTION
For Eric Meadow, those guest interactions have already become one of the most rewarding parts of innkeeping. He recalled overhearing a breakfast conversation among guests when one mentioned having a child serving in the Peace Corps in Africa. Meadow’s own 23-year-old son is currently serving in Namibia — a striking coincidence because only a couple dozen Peace Corps volunteers are stationed there.
Moments like that, he said, highlight the unexpected connections that form around a shared table.
The Meadows have spent the past several months getting to know the Mad River Valley, attending farmers markets, shopping locally, meeting merchants and vendors, and eating their way through area restaurants. Eric Meadow said the aesthetics of The Valley, the small-town feel and the kindness of people have all stood out.
That sense of place extends into the daily workings of the inn — even the quirks. In the kitchen, the step stool once used by Susan MacLaren to reach the stove still exists, but Eric Meadow now mans the grill while his wife works the counter, managing recipes and directing the flow of breakfast service.
The couple is also adjusting to life with their two dogs, Ernie and Boat, who are accustomed to having the run of a fenced yard. The dogs now live primarily in the owner’s apartment, adapting alongside their owners to a house that is both home and workplace.
