Plant a Tree

Earlier this week we had the great pleasure of having a few of the children from Good Beginnings Day Care in Annapolis Royal come by to plant some trees on our property. They are participating in the "Adopt a Stream" program.

As you can see from the photos below they got their hands dirty and seemed to have as much fun finding worms as they did planting the trees.

We look forward to watching the trees grow and have invited the kids to come back to check on their trees any time.

Raccoon Poses As Santa Claus at Hillsdale House Inn

Mystery solved!! When we came into our dining room yesterday morning we discovered the screen on our fireplace laying on the floor and the plastic bag full of insulation that was packed in the flue for the winter was laying in the fireplace.

Well this afternoon I found a non-paying guest staying in Room 6 on the 3rd floor. It appears that he climbed on to our roof and up the chimney in pursuit of a grey squirrel nest and he must have lost his footing and made like Santa Claus. Ho! Ho! Ho!

With a lot of help from a representative of Natural Resources he was escorted out of the Inn to be returned to Nova Scotia's woodland's.

Potential Good News for Local Economy

Digby ready to wade into tidal energy trade

The tidal turbines are coming and Digby, Nova Scotia wants to be at the centre of the action.

The town has launched a campaign to position itself as a service centre for the tidal energy industry that is beginning to evolve in parts of the Bay of Fundy.

Digby is located less than 30 minutes from the Hillsdale House Inn on Annapolis Royal.

To read the entire article Click Here

Hillsdale House Inn receives TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Award for the second year in a row

TripAdvisor® has recognized Hillsdale House Inn with a 2011 Travellers’ Choice Award placing it among the top 10 B&B’s/Inns in Canada. This is the second consecutive year that the Inn has been honoured with this award. Once again Hillsdale House Inn is the only recipient east of Ontario. TripAdvisor® Travellers’ Choice Award winners are determined based on the unbiased reviews and opinions of subscribers about accommodations on TripAdvisor.com and other web content.

“We are so pleased to hear that Hillsdale House Inn has been recognized as one of the top ten Inns in the country by these prestigious awards,” said Percy Paris, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism. “I commend Paul and Val Stackhouse, and all of their staff, for helping to build Nova Scotia as a world-class travel destination.” Phil Roberts, Mayor of Annapolis Royal, was extremely pleased to hear of the recognition received by the Hillsdale House Inn. “Annapolis Royal is noted for its fine accommodations, ranging from large Inns to small Bed-&-Breakfasts. We are proud of them all, but particularly proud of the Hillsdale House Inn in having received its second national TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award — the only one east of Niagara-on-the Lake Ontario to do so. Congratulations to Innkeepers Paul & Val!”

For their part the owners are honoured and determined to continue to make the TripAdvisor.com Award an annual honour. To learn more about the Inn and to see what past guests have been saying go to www.hillsdalehouseinn.ca and follow the link to TripAdvisor® Travellers’ Choice Award.

Halloween Happenings in Annapolis Royal

Last evening we checked out two great Halloween experiences in Annapolis Royal. First we dared to go inside the Haunted House at the Sinclair Inn where we encountered a number of spirits from the past and wondered for a while if we would ever be able to return to present day. This was very well done and even provided a little ghostly historic education from previous times in our area.

From the haunted house we went on to Goblets & Goblins at the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens. Under the cloak of darkness the gardens provided an excellent venue for Halloween tricks and treats. The decorations throughout the gardens were great, including a carved pumpkin bonfire. The fire was burning in the Acadian cottage and there were a number of samples fresh out of the wood oven. We also took in a ghost story provided by non other than our own Mayor Phil Roberts, who was wearing his horns.

No doubt this is going to become an annual offering, so you should put it in the calendar for next year, and plan to include a night at the Hillsdale House Inn of course.

Home Routes 'Maritime Circuit' Visits Hillsdale House Inn

Val & I are very excited to be a part of introducing to you the Home Routes 'Maritime Circuit'. In simple terms, the Home Routes program is a series of house concerts. "Home Routes is about world-class musicians, known and unknown alike, performing complete concerts in the comfortable intimacy of private homes and other non-traditional spaces". For a more detailed overview of the program I invite you to click on the Home Routes logo above, which will take you to their website.

Home Routes has been very active in Western Canada and Ontario for several years. This year marks the first year for the Maritime circuit which will include Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. We are very pleased that Annapolis Royal and the Hillsdale House Inn have been selected as one of the stops in the circuit.

Outlined below you will find the dates and the artists who will be performing in November, December, February, March & April. You will also find additional information about how the concerts work. Because there will be limited seating for each performance we will be taking reservations.

As you will see there are some very interesting artists coming with a diversity of styles. To visit the websites of the artists click on their names below.

We hope that you can join us!

Friday, November 5^th  Mark Reeves

Saturday, December 4^th  John Mann

Sunday, February 13^th    Gillian Boucher

Tuesday, March 15^th   Old Sledge

Wednesday, April 13^th  Maria Dunn

• Concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. and end around 9 p.m., with a 10-15 minute intermission at the midway point.


• There is a $15.00 admission charge. Please plan to bring cash, which goes to the artist directly.


• CD's will be available for purchase during the intermission and following the performance.


• A wine & beer cash bar will be available prior to the performance and during the intermission.

Advance reservations are required due to limited seating. Please call (902)532-2345 or email to reservations@hillsdalehouseinn.ca to reserve or be added to our electronic mailing list.

Ghost Hunting, Goblets & Goblins

Ghost Hunting, Goblets & Goblins Package

While there are no known or reported encounters with ghosts at the Hillsdale House Inn, what better place to search for them than a 151 year old Historic Inn on Halloween weekend.

While visiting the Inn to conduct your own search we also want you to have the opportunity to take in GOBLETS & GOBLINS – A Bewitching Evening of Wine & Merriment in the Historic Gardens.

Your package will include:

• Overnight accommodation for two in a deluxe room


• Complimentary full hot breakfast


• Welcome gift


• Two tickets to attend “Goblets & Goblins” at the Historic Gardens on Friday, Oct. 29th

Package Price

$119.00 plus tax

[Add an extra night with room and breakfast for just $79.00 plus tax]

Advance reservations are required and can be made either by calling us directly at 902-532-2345 or by emailing us at reservations@hillsdalehouseinn.ca.