Longfellow’s Wayside Inn
Sudbury, MA
We spent our wedding night here in 2013 – could not have been a better experience. Everyone was incredibly accommodating. We had trouble finding the place through a lot of twists and turns off the Mass Turnpike so it took a little longer to arrive than expected. Definitely recommend a navigation system! Checking in was easy (room was booked a year in advance) and we got our first sign of outstanding hospitality. Just so happened that it was Tuesday night and there was a special – pay an extra $40 and it would pay for 2 dinners. More on this later. Breakfast was included in the normal room charge, which was already quite reasonable even though it was during week of July 4th . We said we’d be a little late for our dinner reservation. Had to take a shower and get back into our wedding clothes for dinner – colonials, of course. Now, to the room
There are two rooms that are kept in the late 18th/early 19th century appearance – # 9 & #10. All other rooms are modern. We booked the #9 room. Very narrow stairway. The room had a cozy feel with exposed ceiling rafters and simple – Queen sized bed, twin spare bed, a chair or two; the floor was wood planked and carpeted. There was also a big dresser. There were modern conveniences, but were cleverly tucked behind period doors. The bath and shower were quite modern behind one door. A closet behind another. Another door led to the main second floor hallway which was more of a showpiece than a link to any other rooms.
When we got to the room, we noticed folded up papers – letters- stuffed into the eaves. While preparing for dinner, Pam discovered scores more letters in the bottom dresser drawer. Turns out there was a tradition of writing letters for future occupants – and a roadmap of sorts to finding a hidden treasure. The whole thing was based on the “Secret Desk Society” that the famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” and other writers in the area like Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau were part of. They would hide notes to each other in the desk at the Inn. Now, the notes included everything from funny stories about family experiences to blaming incidents on a ghost. This ghost is supposed to be Jerusha, the daughter of a former owner.
We went to dinner thinking we’d be on a limited menu. Nope! Our waitress implored us to order the good stuff. So we did. Our extra $40 at the desk covered two multi-course meals and dessert that would have come to well over $100. The only thing extra we had to pay for was one alcoholic beverage that was about $6 – Coow Woow, said to be America’s first mixed drink of rum and ginger brandy. The food was terrific no matter what the price. Being in our best colonials may have helped get a little extra attention, but our waitress was fantastic – best service we’ve ever had before or after. Everyone we encountered was great, but she was lights out from the start. The chef made up a big, tasty muffin at the end to help celebrate our wedding. We were flush with cash from wedding gifts, so we left a very generous tip on the table. We went to look through the gift shop (nice shop, too!) and we heard someone call out to us – it was our waitress. She made a beeline to us and gave us a hug and asked if we were sure about the amount of the tip. Great service and humble, too. Wish everyone in the service industry could be like her!
We walked the beautiful garden and grounds after dark. Got lots of compliments on our clothes from dinner guests coming and going. Then we went to our room. We dove right into all the letters strewn about the room. We followed directions and riddles that led to another letter with more instructions and riddles that eventually led to us finding the hidden treasure. We can’t say where it is – we’re now part of the secret society. But, we did add a personal memento of our wedding to the treasure.
We had breakfast in the morning – the price of which was included in the room charge. Very nice and filling. We explored the rest of the Inn – kept as a museum was the room in which Longfellow penned his famous “Tales From a Wayside Inn” and also housed the desk in which so many famous writers used whenever they stayed there. Nearby was a one-room schoolhouse and a grist mill that could be explored.
Our experience here was so good that we’re almost afraid to go back in fear that we would be disappointed with anything else a second time around. Cannot recommend this Inn any higher – please visit the inn online to plan your visit:
