Vermont
One of the best new hotels of 2025 is in Vermont, according to Esquire. Here’s where
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If you’re planning a trip to Vermont in 2025, Esquire says one of the best new hotels in the world can be found in the Green Mountain State.
The magazine recently released a list of 2025’s top 42 new hotels, determined by contributors personally visiting new hotels around the world and judging on factors like comfort, customer service and experiences. Out of all the hotels judged from around the world, Twin Farms in Barnard, Vermont managed to make the list.
Here’s what the magazine had to say about the new Vermont hotel.
About Twin Farms
Set in 300 acres of the Vermont countryside, Twin Farms is an inclusive resort and spa personalized for each guest. While the resort first opened with nine rooms in 1993, Esquire included Twin Farms as a new hotel for its latest addition – treehouses.
Nestled 20 feet above ground, the treehouses offer a private, whimsical getaway complete with modern furniture and luxurious amenities like a deck, heated floors and a bathtub next to a window, so guests can bathe while overlooking the scenic Vermont woods.
Other room choices include cottages and farmhouses, all of which are uniquely designed with museum-quality artwork. Beyond the spa and fitness center, Twin Farms has archery, axe throwing, cycling, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, swimming, law games, picnics and more, all of which are included.
To keep guests well-fed, three gourmet meals, cocktails, canapés and spirits are available daily in an inclusive dining policy. Twin Farms focuses on farm-to-table dining, sourcing their food with meat and vegetables from local farms and honey and maple syrup made on-site.
How to stay at Twin Farms
Reservations for Twin Farms can be made online, with rooms starting at around $3,000 per night.
Twin Farms is located at 452 Royalton Tpke. in Barnard.
Gov. Phil Scott has chosen a replacement for the Democratic state representative who resigned and moved to Canada this summer out of fear for a second Trump administration.
On Oct. 17, Karen Lueders, an attorney and fellow Democrat from Lincoln, was appointed to fill the open Addison 4 seat, which Mari Cordes vacated in June to start a job in Nova Scotia after six years in the Legislature.
Cordes attributed her departure to fears that the Trump administration might cut Social Security, continued concerns about her safety as a queer woman in the U.S and a loss of work hours at her nursing job at the University of Vermont, according to VTDigger.
Before she moved to Canada, Cordes occasionally made the news for her activism, especially regarding medical and social issues. In 2018, she was arrested in Washington, DC, after joining hundreds of other women to protest U.S. immigration policies.
Lueders will represent the district’s four towns: Lincoln, Bristol, Starksboro and Monkton.
“Karen has strong ties to her community, which will bring a valuable perspective to Montpelier,” Scott said in an Oct. 17 press release. “With many years of public service, I believe she will be an effective legislator and represent her constituents well.”
Who is Karen Lueders?
Lueders has extensive nonprofit and volunteer experience, according to the press release from the governor. She is a board member for Addison Housing Works and serves on a Lincoln Selectboard-appointed committee tasked with studying and recommending improvements to local voting, including during Town Meeting Day.
Lueders previously sat on boards for Addison County Home Health and Hospice and Habitat for Humanity. Along with her law office, Lueders also ran Walkover Gallery and Concert Room in Bristol for 17 years until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Lueders’ son is Tim Lueders-Dumont, who serves as the executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs.
“I am grateful to the governor for the opportunity to represent Addison 4 in the Vermont House of Representatives,” said Lueders in the press release. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to find solutions for the complex concerns that affect our communities across the state.”
Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.
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Vermont might not be a huge state but the amount of land the largest landholder owns might surprise you.
The World Population Review drew on 2025 data and found the biggest land owners in each state of the country.
“Approximately 60% of land in the United States is privately owned, and just a few individuals and families control a significant proportion of this land,” they said.
Here’s what the World Population Review said.
What is Weyerhaeuser
Owning 86,000 acres of forestland, Plum Creek Timber Company was the largest landowner in Vermont, but it merged with Weyerhaeuser in 2016, the Review said, technically making Weyerhaeuser the biggest landowner in Vermont.
Weyerhaeuser also owns land outside of Vermont.
The state website said that the Kingdom Heritage Lands that encompasses the West Mountain Wildlife Management Area as well as the public easement on private timber lands are currently owned by Weyerhaeuser.
“Essex Timber Company acquired 84,000 acres for working forestry, with easements protecting certain natural resources and guaranteeing perpetual public access,” the Vermont government website said. “This land was subsequently purchased by the Plum Creek Timber Company and again purchased by Weyerhaeuser.”
Today, the company manages land for wood production, conservation, and recreation. There are 20 miles of hiking trails as well as rock climbing opportunities.
According to investor.weyerhaeuser.com, Weyerhaeuser owns and manages 10.4 million acres of timberlands across the United States, making its overall market capitalization approximately $17.2 billion.
Weyerhaeuser also has had its fair share of controversy, facing repeated accusations of violating the Clean Water Act and dozens of charges for stormwater discharge violations in the state of Washington. They have continued to deny wrongdoing and have settled in the past to end legal proceedings.
In 2016, Weyerhaeuser faced legal controversy when the Vermont Supreme Court said that their loggers cut down more trees than they were allowed to cut. They would settle with the state for $375,000 in 2017.
“Our environmental stewardship in these northern forests is shaped by responsible forest management, the geography of our ownership and past land management practices,” Weyerhaeuser’s website said. “Our forest management plans address biodiversity in line with state and federal environmental laws, collaborative projects with a variety of stakeholders, and practices that support sustainable forestry.”
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.
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