Beyond the sixteen guest rooms, the property unfolds into a collection of spaces made for spending time - a living room filled with books and art, quiet corners for reading, a rooftop overlooking the mountains, a sauna, sprawling gardens, and Restaurant Matilda just downstairs.

There’s no particular way to spend a day here. Have breakfast and disappear for a hike. Take a book outside and lose an afternoon in the mountain air. Sit by the fire longer than you intended. Have dinner at Matilda and wander upstairs when the night is over.

The Henson feels less like a hotel you pass through and more like a place you can settle into for a while.

Interior of a living room with framed artwork on the wall, a wooden sideboard with books and decorations, a large leafy plant, and a table with chess set.
A landscaped garden with gravel paths, flower beds, and wooden lounge chairs, surrounded by green trees and hills in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
Assorted dishes and drinks on a wooden table, including a bowl with cooked meat and peas, a bowl of rice, a bowl of creamy sauce with herbs, a glass of dark cola, and a glass of a pinkish cocktail with lemon slices.
A pair of striped deck chairs with wooden armrests, a wicker picnic basket, and a pair of glasses on a grassy field.
A hand holding a clear glass of white wine held above colorful Autumn flowers and green leaves.
An outdoor deck with white cushioned seating and tables, overlooking a scenic landscape with trees and hills during sunset, with a sky filled with pink and orange clouds.
Interior of a cozy wooden restaurant or bar with large windows, a bar counter stocked with bottles of liquor, and tables set with glasses and napkins.
Two women standing in a lush garden with bushes and flowers, one of them is throwing a ball, and a dog is nearby, with dense trees in the background.
Group of people sitting around a fire pit in a backyard, with a wooden fence and trees in the background during sunset.
A breakfast spread on a green outdoor table with a bowl of granola and raspberries, a cup of black coffee, a glass of orange juice, and a plate with bread, ham, cheese, and assorted olives, set against a background of purple flowers.
Interior view of a cozy bedroom connected to a bathroom. The bedroom contains a bed with white bedding, a red upholstered chair, a small side table, and a lamp. The bathroom features a wooden vanity with a potted plant, two mirrors, and two vanity lights, all illuminated by warm sunlight filtering through a window.
A partially assembled wooden sauna with glass door and wooden interior, placed in a room with green wall, potted plant, and wooden floor.
A partially assembled wooden sauna with glass door and wooden interior, placed in a room with green wall, potted plant, and wooden floor.
Interior of a cozy restaurant with wooden flooring, round tables set with glasses and silverware, warm lighting from ceiling fixtures and hanging lamps, large windows with natural light, and a person working in the kitchen area visible through an open wall.

HISTORY

Hensonville, New York was officially established in 1818 as a hamlet of Windham, which itself was settled in 1798. The earliest record we have found of our building operating as a hotel dates back to a postcard from 1918 - The Hensonville Hotel. We’re told by a town surveyor the structure was built sometime during the latter half of the 19th century as a boarding house, just beyond the end of The Civil War. It has changed hands numerous times in the hundred and fifty or so years since then.

When we started renovations, one of the first orders of business was to remove the thousands of square feet of vinyl flooring plastered edge to edge in every room. We didn’t know what we’d find underneath and already had in the plans to lay down new hardwood. What we found, beneath layers of paper and adhesive, was pristine, original flooring. But the more we peeled away the more a patterned oddity revealed itself. The wood was different throughout the building. Douglas fir and wide plank pine, wormy hemlock, hard maple, and red oak. Different varieties, different widths, even different orientations and fasteners and finishes.

A story began to unfold. The building had been pieced together - added to and subtracted from, modified and expanded - over it’s long life. It had evolved to meet the whims or needs or imagination of the current owner. We were there doing the same, no? And, almost as an act of providence, we discovered that some rooms had unsalvageable floors that needed replacing. We tried to match the adjacent boards but they were hand-milled and impossible to source. So we settled on the flooring of our time, new fir. Yet another variety to piece in. A footprint of our own. A contribution to this wonderful place that will hopefully continue to stand long after our time with it has passed.

Color postcard depicting the Hensonville Hotel in Hensonville, Greene County, New York. The hotel is a large, multi-story building with a wraparound porch, surrounded by trees, gardens, and a few people. An American flag flies from a pole above the hotel. In the background, rolling hills are visible. A vintage car is parked near the sidewalk in the foreground.