Prince Edward County, Canada

Merrill House

Price per night from$187.57

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (CAD263.25), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Merrill House Photos

Style

Curiouser and curiouser

Setting

Peaceful Picton harbourside

Explore

More hotels in Prince Edward County More hotels in Canada

Boutique Canadian hotel Merrill House is for gourmands, art aficionados and the open-minded: after all, this turreted Gothic Revival redbrick has exotic curios, a few spirits and its own ‘invisible man’ in one of the 14 uniquely decorated suites (you’ll see what we mean). It’s packed to the rafters with artefacts from afar, vintage treasures and storied knick-knacks, and even has a replica of the owner’s impeccably furnished London flat. And, while it has a wild imagination, its cosseting approach is equally well-anchored with an outdoor sauna, wine cellar and ensconcing suites.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bottle of Prince Edward County sparkling wine; GoldSmiths also get a wine-tasting passport

Facilities

Photos Merrill House facilities

Need to know

Rooms

14 individually-designed suites.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability and an hourly $50 charge. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates include a one-hour session in the sauna. Breakfast is excluded, but a daily buffet is available for $35 each.

Also

Due to the historic nature of the building, this four-floor hotel is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible. There is no lift at the property and some stairs to reach rooms are quite steep.

Hotel closed

Merrill House closes annually for the second half of December and six weeks during January and February.

At the hotel

Garden with a fire pit and outdoor sauna, wine cellar, drawing room, parlour, boutique, gallery walls across each floor, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: smart TV with Netflix and Amazon Prime, mini fridge with free soft drinks, small library, wine and water glasses, satin and plush dressing gowns, slippers, eye masks and Hydrangea House bath products.

Our favourite rooms

It’s hard to choose as each of the 14 suites are so unique. The Owner’s Suite – essentially a faithful recreation of the hotel owner’s wonderfully quirky London flat – is great for groups of friends, sleeping up to four. For couples, the romantic Tower Suite with its Klimt-inspired hot tub and turret setting, will suit; or the dramatic Velvet Room, if you lean that way. Those who want to embrace the hotel’s darker side should stay in the Gothic Room in the old servant’s quarters, which offers eerie thrills; or in the Future Room, where the hotel’s ‘invisible man’ can be identified by his chair and clogs stuck to the ceiling.

Spa

All guests get a one-hour session in the garden’s barrel-shaped sauna.

Packing tips

Bring your dandiest threads and your tallest tales for gatherings around the fire pit – we’d wager your fellow guests will buy into the hotel’s fantasy too.

Also

You'll be given a 'wine passport' during your stay, which gives you access to special offerings across 16 of the region's celebrated vineyards.

Children

Children can stay, but the house’s winding stairways, delicate decor and insatiable wine habit make it more of an adult hideout.

Sustainability efforts

This is a hotel with a big planet-loving heart. They’ve ridden themselves of plastic toiletry bottles; installed double-glazed, thermal windows; reduced food waste; and installed a state-of-the-art energy management, heating, air-conditioning and ventilation system. They dutifully recycle too. Plus, they support community projects such as the Regent Theatre’s performing arts programme, independent charities and museums, community-improvement bodies, environmental-protection groups, and LGBTQ+ rights and human-rights organisations such as the Rainbow Railroad.

Food and Drink

Photos Merrill House food and drink

Top Table

Cosy up to the wine cabinets if you want to have a nose at the hotel’s impressive collection.

Dress Code

Distinguished eccentric.

Hotel restaurant

The hotel’s dining area isn’t a restaurant of the traditional sort, instead, you’re welcome to book the space for a private dinner. Menus are helmed by head chef Michael Sullivan, whose ravishing dishes are rooted in traditional French flavours (with a little Brit influence), and come accompanied with worthy pairings, hand-picked by the hotel's wine director, Astrid Young, from its on-site cellar. Pop-up restaurants also often host events in the dining space, so keep an eye on upcoming schedules. Breakfast bites are also available from February to May and November to December; but if you're staying outside these months, you'll have to source your fuel from Picton's array of eateries.

Last orders

Breakfast is served February to May and November to December, between 8am and 10am.

Location

Photos Merrill House location
Address
Merrill House
343 Main Street East
Picton
K0K 2T0
Canada

Merrill House sits on Picton’s Main Street overlooking the harbour, due north of Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County.

Planes

Toronto Pearson Airport is the closest, around a two-hour drive from the hotel. There are direct flights from major hubs throughout the US, Canada and Europe. Flights from further afield usually stopover in the US or Vancouver.

Trains

Belleville Station is a 30-minute drive from the hotel; trains regularly arrive here from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Automobiles

Petite Picton is charming for a stroll, but you’ll want to go out yonder to see the wilds surrounding Lake Ontario and sample the county’s culinary delights. You can easily acquire wheels at Toronto airport and there’s free parking at the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

There’s plenty to do within the hotel’s boundaries, and you won’t be judged for whiling away the time admiring the artwork and artefacts, getting cosy by the fire pit in the garden, sweating out any lingering stress during a complimentary one-hour sauna session, saluting the sun from your yoga mat, or working out with free-to-borrow weights and strength bands.  

If you’re heading out, your ‘wine passport’ offers exclusive deals across 16 of the region’s storied vineyards. Head north to Glenora to admire the Bay of Quinte’s striking scenery from Lake on the Mountain; or venture west to sit on the beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park, which watches over Lake Ontario. Boat tours can be arranged, too. To start your own collection of oddities, try close-to-home antique stores like City Revival, Mary Street Vintage, MacCool’s Reuse and the Local Store.  

Local restaurants

The hotel restaurant is one of the finest diners in Picton, but Prince Edward County is known for its farm-fresh food, so take your appetite on the road. Kick off with coffee and busting-at-the-seams paninis at the Bean Counter Cafe. And, stop by the Pink Lunch Pail Bakery for glazed cinnamon buns and whiskey, cherry and chocolate doughnuts; or Beacon Bike + Brew for ginger-molasses cookies and to pick up some cycling gear. You can get your poutine fix at the Barley Room if you’re craving Canada’s beloved national dish. In Bloomfield, the Agrarian Bistro is a good pit stop for lunch – their shrimp sandwiches come in a pretzel bun with chipotle, and ingredients are all sourced from nearby growers. Stop into their speakeasy for a drink after. Close by Bloomfield Public House’s charcuterie is butchered onsite and it does a fine line in waistband-tightening comfort food (chicken and waffles, pastrami-spiced brisket sandwiches). Stock up on dairy goods at Fifth Town Artisan Cheese. For dinner when the hotel’s restaurant is closed, try East & Main, for their hearty comfort food, such as white bean and smoked gouda ravioli, and lamb shank shepherd’s pie with a cheddar crust. Or drive 10 minutes down the road to Flame + Smith for their oyster bar and fire-cooked dishes of albacore tuna with veal sweetbreads and piquillo peppers or smoky mushroom salad.

Local bars

When you’re not vineyard-hopping or detecting floral notes in the hotel’s tasting sessions, head to the County Canteen for a welcoming ambience and 26 Ontarian craft beers on tap.

Reviews

Photos Merrill House reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this charming character of a boutique hotel in Canada and showed off their newfound knowledge of art, wine and antiquity, a full account of their cultured break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, let’s listen to the riveting stories Merrill House in Prince Edward County has to tell us…

Merrill House, with its Gothic Revival spires and baker’s dozen of gables, feels like the abode of a retired sea captain from Victorian times, who spent his twilight years regaling swashbuckling tales of danger and intrigue to intimate audiences plied with excellent wines. After all, the hotel’s a veritable wunderkammer on a grand scale: there are elephant tusks bought from Sir Robert Peel’s family in the living room, Egyptian busts and intricate Japanese porcelains in suites, Zanzibari artefacts, centuries-spanning artworks, toile de Jouy and William Morris wallpapers, books with satisfyingly crackly spines and plenty of chandeliers to swing from (although, don’t). In reality, the house (built in 1848) belonged to Edwards Merrill, scion of a Canadian legal dynasty, who loved the house he’d crafted so much he built a smaller version to retire to when he sold it. And, it’s been restored in sensitive style by art collector and hospitality whizz Jordan Martin, whose impeccable taste can be noted in the Owner’s Suite, which is kitted out in furnishings from his London flat. 

In true Victorian style, every nook and cranny is stuffed with intriguing objets, but Martin has kept the house with the times, salvaging original features such as the hardwood floors and adding statement pieces from the Fifties and Sixties, setting up a fire pit and barrel sauna in the garden and connecting with local gallery Maison Depoivre to keep the walls in eye candy. Add an impressive wine cellar, cocktail parlour and fine French cuisine, and you have an inviting rabbit hole to curl up in.

Book now

Price per night from $181.16

Hotels nearby

Villas nearby

Recently viewed