Inn At Crystal Lake the

Specialties

We’re small, full-​service inn with 11 guest rooms, an eclectic pub and dining room. Open year round, we’re located in a little village complete with a Little White Church, general store and sparkling Crystal Lake. We’re on the northern edge of New Hampshire’s Lakes Regions and the southern end of the White Mountains — perfectly situated to enjoy all the year-​round activities throughout the area. The pub and dining room are open to the public serving dinner Wed.-Sun. (and also Mondays in the summer) starting at 5pm. We have a charming greater named Monty (a small 23 pound dog) and the restaurant has a wide ranging menu of both traditional pub food and classic New England entrées. The inn is also known for is operatically themed dinners which are held Sept.-May. (www​.innat​crys​tal​lake​.com/​o​p​e​r​a​.html) and its year-​round connection with the Stone Mountain Arts Center which hosts national acts like Lyle Lovett and The Indigo Girls (www​.innat​crys​tal​lake​.com/​s​t​o​n​e​m​o​u​n​t​a​i​n​a​r​t​s​c​e​n​t​e​r​.html).

History

Established in 1884.

In 1884 Nathaniel Palmer built his unique, Greek-​Revival home overlooking Crystal Lake and Eaton’s Little White Church. Nathaniel ran his home, known as The Palmer House, as a small hotel taking in some of the many visitors that came to spend time enjoying the mountains and lakes. After Nathaniel’s death in 1899, his wife, Mary, continued to take in guests and their son, Frank, continued this until the 1940’s. In the late 1940’s, The Palmer House was purchased by the Buckelew family who started Camp Star Acres. In 1961, it was turned into a boarding school known as The Palmer House School. The school closed in 1974 but was converted back to inn in 1976 by the Gospodarek family who called it The Palmer House Inn. In 1986, the inn changed hands again and was purchased by Walter and Jacqueline Spink who renamed it the Inn at Crystal Lake. The current innkeepers, Bobby Barker and Tim Ostendorf, took over in 2001 and are happy to continue the tradition started in 1884 by Nathaniel Palmer.