written by Lauren Kramer | photography by Warm Springs Inn
This majestic inn sits on the banks of the Wenatchee River and at the foothills of the mountains. Stately aspen trees shade its meticulously landscaped gardens, home to Prince, a peacock who arrived unexpectedly and adopted the inn, and a flock of chickens whose eggs are poached for morning breakfasts. Built in 1917, the 9,000-square-foot mansion was lovingly restored by Julia and Ludger Szmania in 2014, when the Seattle couple left big city life for a peaceful, rural alternative. Today they grow merlot, sangiovese and syrah grapes in Cashmere, make a wonderful assortment of wine and run their inn as a classy Wenatchee bed-and-breakfast where no detail is overlooked. Guests can watch the antics of a pair of bald eagles who nest on the property, roam and pick cherries from the neighboring cherry or-chard and visit Stutzman Ranch, a u-pick apple, cherry, pluot, peach and nectarine orchard across the road.
AMENITIES
The inn has an outdoor pickleball court and offers afternoon wine tastings. At night guests can sink beneath the bubbles of a large hot tub overlooking the Wenatchee River.
DECOR
The inn is furnished with an eclectic mix of old and new that blends seamlessly, creating charming interiors that reflect its long history but are unconfined by age. Guests gather in the sunlit riverfront lounge for breakfast and afternoon wine tastings featuring Warm Springs’ wines. The large outdoor deck is the perfect place to bask in the sunshine and watch the river’s current flow.
ROOMS
The six bedrooms are spacious and beautifully decorated. All feature private bathrooms, soft linens and large windows over-looking the cherry orchard, garden and river. Most have in-room tea and coffee-making facilities, refrigerators, flat-screen televisions, robes and slippers.
FOOD
Breakfasts are a decadent affair presided over by Ludger, who was executive chef at many Hilton and Four Seasons hotels before opening Szmania’s restaurants in Kirkland and Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. He ran those until 2014, when the couple moved to Chelan County. Ludger’s menu changes daily, but his magical summer breakfasts include a fruity appetizer, a sorbet amuse-bouche made with local fruit and an egg-based entrée featuring the eggs of the contended chickens who peck at the grass just below the kitchen.
HISTORY
The 108-year-old inn began as a family home in 1917 and became a sanitarium for infirm patients after World War I. Over the 1940s and ’50s, it changed ownership many times, at one time becoming a horse ranch where Arabian horses were shown and bred. By 1991, Warm Springs Inn was established, and when the Szmanias purchased it in 2014, they renovated and updated the property, adding a wine tasting room.
1611 LOVE LANE
WENATCHEE
www.warmspringsinn.com
