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We were featured in an article in a regional newspaper.
Here's the article:
Rita
J. King for The North Country News August 24-30, 2005
During the Victorian era, the most impressive house in Croton was
passed down through generations of doctors to demonstrate their
respective skills and prestige. For the past quarter of a century,
49 Van Wyck Street has been a bed-and-breakfast run by the energetically
engaging Barbara Notarius, a master storyteller who doesn't mince
words.
Notarius and her daughter, Cyd Klein, 25, currently run the Alexander
Hamilton House together, and it is a bit like a sit-com, with a
stream of colorful characters parading through the doors"but
it is their real life," and they embrace the challenge of meeting
their guests' needs and creating the ultimate getaway, no matter
the season.
Notarius is the author, along with Gail Sforza Brewer, of a series
of books, "Open Your Own Bed and Breakfast", with hilarious,
often poignant advice for those looking to go into the business.
Got a ghost in your house? "Yes, Notarius advises," use
your ghost to market the inn. Some guests want to stay in a haunted
house.
Unfortunately, Klein noted, about the only thing they haven't experienced
in those walls is an apparition, although mother and daughter would
welcome it.
Klein grew up in the 6,600 square foot mansion, and photographs
from her childhood are still mixed into the eclectic décor,
which includes boxed wreaths made of hair that family members once
created prior to the invention of the camera so they could remember
and recognize one another.
Notarius considers herself a "child of the sixties," and
said she travelled extensively through Europe, wondering why the
United States lacked charming accommodations as a general rule.
When she first opened the Alexander Hamilton House, word of mouth
was a necessary advertising tool. The internet has changed that.
A couple from South Africa and their child spent last week with
her, along with a couple from Manhattan and another from Somers.
Growing up in a busy inn is not without challenges.
"I had no boundaries," Klein said. "It took me a
long time to recognize the concept of privacy."
On the other hand, interacting with a steady stream of new faces
helped to keep her "up front and honest." Notarius said
it is important for them to maintain relationships with their "real
friends," because it is often easy to mistake the intense yet
short-lived bonds formed with guests for meaningful social interaction.
"My mother is a visionary," Klein said, "she looks
into the future. She has visions for the future and she shapes it
the way she wants it."
One example of this would be the formerly "dark, dank attic"
that has since been utterly transformed into a bridal suite of epic
proportions, complete with a king-sized bed, a hot-tub made for
two and a fireplace, where sparks ignite the embers not only in
new marriages, but for those who return to the Alexander Hamilton
House to kick their relationships up a notch.
"Some relationships are beyond saving," Notarius noted,
"but if there‚s a chance left, they can fire up those
sparks here."
A guest ledger in the Bridal Suite confirms this. Some of the guests
noted a night of romance that began with stargazing through the
skylights above the whirlpool, while one couple admitted that they
had made the windows too "foggy" for such a view. Some
referred to the space as a "dream come true." One couple
"slept like the dead," after opening some of their wedding
presents.
"We grabbed some takeout, had a little carpet picnic and a
long, hot bath," wrote one guest. "What's bad about that?
Nothing!"
A man noted that he and his wife had such a great time that they
are now seriously considering building their own getaway room, complete
with an "electrical fence so the kids can't bother us."
He said he was kidding but there was likely a kernel of truth to
the remark, because the room is so peaceful and quiet that it does
inspire a desire to bring a piece of that relaxation home.
The Alexander Hamilton House isn't just a romantic getaway, but
also a respite for business travelers during the week and the site
of some wild winter parties. The entire inn can be rented out during
the off-season for parties, such as a murder mystery or a costume
ball. Any special occasion can only be heightened by the attention
of the mother-daughter combo, and by Notarius' outrageously entertaining
stories.
What hasn't she seen over the years? A guru had his meals delivered
once by love-elves, in full elfin attire, from the tips of their
bell-capped heads right down to their pointy little toes. Her memoirs
will tell the stories of a lifetime of running an inn.
Notarius plans to retire in two and a half years. A dream home,
another one of her visions, is currently being constructed on Cape
Cod. After she retires, she plans to become an inn-sitter, so others
who run bed and breakfasts can go on vacation and leave their business
in capable hands. She will also trade her house to others in exotic
locations so she can experience more of the world.
The dream house on Cape Cod will have one guest suite above the
garage, not surprisingly.
"You're on a different assignment every day," said Klein,
a chef who plans to embark afresh on her own career outside the
inn where she grew up in the near future. The pair notes, with a
degree of melancholy, that the property will command a higher price
as a residence than a business. But two and a half years is a long
time, and who knows what they will witness in that time.
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Barb's
daughter, Cyd Klein,
has finally had the epiphany! After leaving the
inn to bake professionally, she has returned to the AHH to run it
permanently. Barbara is thrilled to be passing her life's work to a
second generation of the family. She is making her plans to retire, but
still intent on moving up to Cape Cod to her new house! We will have a
single, beautiful guest room available, once the house is finished,
with pictures coming soon! 
