161 Main St. | Philmont, NY 12565

518-672-9993

ABOUT US

Opening a hotel is something that Bob Mansfield has always wanted to do. 

 

Listen to Bob and Marcy on Flo Hayle's Arts Alive Radio Show. Arts Alive Radio Show: FM 93.5

 

"People love this old place.  So do I," So says Bob Mansfield, the third generation Mansfield to own and operate the Vanderbilt House Hotel & Restaurant.  Built in 1860 by the Vanderbilts to serve their railroad employees and upstate travelers, Bob’s great-grandfather Leverett bought the property in 1890. The train station was across the street, and guests could step off the train and onto the hotel porch thanks to the spur the Vanderbilts added to the main line.  In time, Bob’s grandfather Douglas became the innkeeper, and Bob’s father Leverett and his aunt Madalyn were both born in Room 12. 

 

"I grew up hearing great stories about life in the hotel from my grandma, my dad and especially my aunt," Bob recalls. "Even after my grandfather died in 1937 and the hotel was sold, everyone in my family always thought of the Vanderbilt House as ours." Bob was raised in Philmont and nearby Valatie and upon graduation from high school he attended the U.S. Naval Academy.

 

After leaving the Navy, he had a long career as a financial planner and businessman, ultimately living in San Diego.

 

Whenever a Mansfield visited Columbia County, it was a ritual to check on the hotel. On a trip back east in 2009, Bob made the pilgrimage to the Vanderbilt House, then a restaurant owned and operated by Marcy Groll.  In the tavern, Bob saw a picture of the hotel, circa 1900, that included his great grandfather. When he tried to buy the photograph, Marcy told him "Sure, but you have to buy the hotel first!"

 

By November 2009 the Vanderbilt House, with eight rooms and two bathrooms, was back in the Mansfield family.  Bob renovated the first floor, including the tavern, a larger formal dining room, the Victorian parlor and the restrooms.  The restaurant opened in April of 2011. He also added a 2-level outdoor deck, overlooking Summit Lake. Since then, he’s renovated and restored the guest rooms upstairs, adding private baths to each. Their numbers run from 1 to 7, but there’s still #12. 

 

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The Vanderbilt House | 161 Main Street | Philmont, NY 12565 | 518-672-9993

Site Design and Photography: Holly Northrop/831 Studio.