“You’d be hard pressed to find a room on the island tonight,” says Jordan Paul Martin, owner and creative director of Picton’s Merrill House. It’s a weekday at the beginning of August. I’m seated in the sun-dappled Merrill House garden sipping perfectly chilled Gosset Champagne with Jordan and feeling pretty chuffed that I had the good sense to secure a room here weeks ago (accommodations at Merrill House are like hen’s teeth now).
Merrill House proprietor Jordan Paul Martin.
Mixed in amongst the predominantly Ontario-based guests are a Montreal couple who, after having to cancel their European vacation because of Covid, have checked into Merrill House for a week’s stay. Then there’s the Montreal family who are in residence for five days, during which they will launch their yacht in Picton Harbour. “They said it’s a running joke on their street that everyone summers in Prince Edward County now,” says Jordan. And finally, there are the eight rooms filled with a “micro-wedding” party that had to downsize their pre-Covid guest list from 200 to 10. “The wedding is this afternoon in our conservatory and it’s one of five micro-weddings we have booked for the next two months.”
Fresh flowers from Coriander Girl were among the welcoming treats in our room.
I’m no stranger to the charms of Merrill House, having blogged about it in its first year of opening and written about it for both The Globe and Mail and Food Network Canada. And I can honestly say, it keeps going from strength to strength.
Our room for this stay was The Dreaming Suite, a joy year-round and perfect for a winter break as it features a wood-burning fireplace.
There are the delicious aspects: individually decorated rooms, many unblushingly romantic; fresh flowers and contemporary art everywhere; a wine list chock-a-block with Champagne, grand and premier cru Burgundies and rare local County vintages such as “Fool on the Hill.” It’s a serious oenophile destination that’s garnered the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for two years running.
A rare County pour.
The menu is heavily influenced by Burgundy and dishes up old-school delights like oeuf en meurette.
And then there are the charitable aspects. Jordan recently married, and he and his Venezuelan-born husband wanted to make a difference by giving back to a country very much in need. “We founded the Venezuela Emergency Medical and Educational Supply Relief (VEMSR),” says Jordan. “It provides all critical medicines and supplies to a partner primary school and hospital servicing 50,000 people. We are also currently renovating the school, giving it a new playground and funding a lunch program.” The couple started VEMSR through private funding and are now raising cash through private donations and Merrill House – guests can opt in to donate $10, $20 or $50, which will be added to their bill.
The Dreaming Suite’s wood-burning fireplace and contemporary art - this piece is by artist Roshanak M. Heravi and is on consignment should you wish to make it your own.
It’s another impressive layer to Merrill House, a relative newcomer in Prince Edward County that already feels like an impressive grande-dame in the most cool and contemporary way. If you’re remotely interested in going, book now! Like I said, hen’s teeth…
Safety first at Merrill House where strict Covid protocol is in place.
