Norfolk’s Romantic Hideaway under New Management
By Colleen Gundlach

Connecticut’s “most romantic hideaway,” according to The Discerning Traveler newsletter, is under new management. Oversight of the Manor House on Maple Avenue has returned to the hands of Norfolk natives, the brother and sister team of Holly Kelsey and Michael Sinclair.
Sinclair recently retired from 25 years in the construction industry and Kelsey was in the process of changing jobs when the innkeeper position became available. “We jumped at the opportunity to work in our hometown and to have our whole families pitching in,” says Sinclair.
Kelsey and her family live in the “apartment” in the Manor House, which is less an apartment and more a three-story house attached to the inn. Her youngest son, age 7, enjoys his new surroundings. “He tells his friends he lives in a hotel,” Kelsey says. Michael lives just down the road on Lovers Lane with his wife, Patti, and family. “It’s great to be able to walk to work,” he says.
While inn keeping is really an around-the-clock job, the pair has worked out a schedule so that they each have at least one full day off each week. Sinclair does much of the cooking of the full hot breakfast served each morning, while Kelsey serves the guests and makes them comfortable in the dining room. “She’s prettier than I,” says Sinclair, “so she stays out front.”  Breakfast offerings may include stuffed French toast with fresh fruit, triple berry pancakes, eggs made to order, sausage and bacon from Nodine’s Smokehouse and local maple syrup.
Both siblings participate in the cleaning, yard work and other uncounted daily tasks.  “We each just see what needs to be done, and we do it,” says Kelsey, “It’s a team effort.”  Sinclair agrees, “We have each other’s backs.”
Each of the nine bedrooms in the Manor House varies in size and amenities. Some are equipped with a fireplace or whirlpool tub and all include a private bathroom. New guest packages are being developed, including an elopement special, complete with a wedding ceremony by a justice of the peace, and weekend packages which may include picnic dinners on the lawn followed by a show at Infinity Hall.
The new innkeepers are planning a community open house to re-acquaint people with the elegance and serenity of the Manor House.  “Some townspeople have never been here,” says Kelsey.  “Manor House is a real gem in this community.”
For more information, or to visit, contact Holly Kelsey and Michael Sinclair at innkeeper@manorhouse-Norfolk.com.