The New England Inns and Resorts Association awarded the Beach family, who have owned and operated the Ferrisburgh, Vt., club and resort for five generations, the prestigious title, which is only given to 25 innkeepers in the region.

The Beach family, fourth and fifth generation owners of Basin Harbor Club & Resort in Ferrisburgh, Vt., were awarded the prestigious title of Masters of New England Innkeeping by New England Inns and Resorts Association (NEIRA) at their annual meeting held at the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in Harwich, Mass., on October 26.

The NEIRA program, launched in 2003, assigns Masters of New England Innkeeping to outstanding individuals or families who make a profound and lasting contribution to the culture of hospitality in the region. Honorees are nominated for this award by their peers in the industry. The award was presented to Pennie Beach, fourth generation owner and host and Sarah Morris (Pennie’s daughter), fifth generation host and director of sales.

“The Beach Family lived just up the road from Basin Harbor for years before the resort was founded in 1886. Those deep roots in Vermont and in hospitality have shaped our entire family and given us an appreciation for the land and what it provides to all visitors.  We didn’t just grow up as a family, we grew up with our guests and their families; watching the generations grow and strengthen over the years,” Morris said.

“Representing the fifth generation of our family, I’ve been fortunate to have some very strong female characters to model myself against. My great, great aunt Ardelia, my grandmother Merle, and my mother Pennie have been instrumental in building the operation we have today. We often say if our ancestors were alive today, Basin Harbor Club would look largely as they’ve left it; with subtle upgrades and conveniences as the world has modernized.  

“We have been blessed to find a balance working together as a family, while leading the resort operations through the years. Our goal isn’t just to operate year to year.  We want to build relationships that last from one generation to the next.”

NEIRA plans to award Masters’ titles to only twenty-five Innkeepers in order to preserve and archive a living culture of New England Innkeeping at its best over the last century. Fourteen Masters have been named to date.

C&RB featured Basin Harbor Club & Resort in its August 2015 cover story.