No doilies allowed: Arbor House brings the green B&B to Madison

Lindsey Cohen
Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:12:14 +0000
Explore, Travel, Arbor House, Cohen, explore, Madison, travel

By Lindsey Cohen

Cathie Imes greets me at the door to the Arbor House the way she greets all her guests: with a warm grin and my first name. She welcomes me in and motions to follow her into the Great Room — a small, intimate area with a traditional fireplace and exposed wood beams lining the high ceilings. A tiny fountain bubbles in the corner and soothing, classical music plays softly in the background.

The Great Room of Arbor House. Photo by Evan Benner.

I settle into a worn leather loveseat just as Cathie pops up out of hers and apologizes for not offering a cup of coffee sooner. She tells me that the inn brews Just Coffee from an eco-friendly coffee co-op based in Madison. This relationship is not unique for Arbor House, as this isn’t an average bed and breakfast. The inn strives to be as environmentally conscious as possible and stocks up only on goods that support this philosophy.

Although Cathie and her husband, John, always wanted to create an eco-friendly inn, they originally hoped to establish one in California, where they knew they would have a large clientele. When they realized the cost involved, they turned to their home state of Wisconsin.

“The business idea was a synthesis between our skills, background and our passions,” Cathie says. “Everything has the environment in mind.”

Arbor House is eco-friendly from the ground up. Its recycled timber frames once belonged to a Sears warehouse, and its 12-inch-thick walls keep the building 16 degrees cooler than the outside temperature on the hottest of days. It is also armed with a hydronic heating system that can heat the hotel environmentally and efficiently. Additionally, the fireplace is constructed in such a way that its heat can be felt throughout the entire 3,600-square-foot structure.

The Imeses’ decorating philosophy corresponds with their simple, eco-friendly outlook. Arbor House is defined by clean, simple lines and a greater emphasis on “form and function” rather than the opulent and unnecessary. Lush, green gardens and large, overgrown trees compose the outdoor landscaping and provide natural shade to assist the cooling system in the summer. The Great Room, characterized by dark tiled floors and a few sturdy dining tables, serves as a social center for the inn and gives guests a place to converse or merely cozy up in one of the leather chairs to read.

The kitchen, meanwhile, is located in the second part of the inn, accessible by a short, tree-lined walkway connecting the two buildings that make up Arbor House. Cathie cooks all the meals, which, in accordance with the Imeses’ naturalistic values, are “seasonal, organic, homemade, fresh and homegrown.” The inn, Cathie says, places a high priority on building relationships with like-minded vendors who move their mission forward.

Arbor House’s award-winning sustainability isn’t the only thing that makes it unique. It also promotes the natural side of Madison by suggesting outdoor activities for guests to enjoy. Located across the street from the UW-Madison Arboretum, Arbor House supplies guests with bicycles to use during their stay. In the summer, visitors can choose to canoe or kayak on nearby Lake Mendota and can get there using a bus pass the inn provides, free of charge.

Cathie says visitors welcome the inn’s natural, fresh-air philosophy. “People love the bikes,” she explains. “People love to be able to leave their car and walk to a restaurant.”

The Aldo Leopold room. Photo by Evan Benner.

The fact that the inn only has eight rooms adds to its unique, intimate vibe. Each room has a different name, and most are named after famous Wisconsin environmentalists, like John Muir. The Muir is one of the most requested rooms for its spacious, airy sitting room and its balcony with sweeping views of trees below. A short walk through the inn brings you to the Tap Room, a guest room with a drastically different feel — it’s as if it belongs to a different inn entirely. Lavish shades of deep red decorate the room, and the furniture is made from rich, dark wood. Despite its age, all the bathrooms in Arbor House are completely remodeled, giving the washrooms a modern, upscale-hotel feel.

Arbor House typically attracts a well-rounded mix of business people and vacationers, along with a few international guests. The reason, Cathie explains, is that the international market truly appreciates a more homestyle inn like that of Arbor House. Plus, the variety of cultures makes the mealtime conversations much more interesting, Cathie says.

“It is not unusual, on any given breakfast — we have eight rooms — for there to be … one or two people from Denmark, Germany, Italy,” she says. “We have a man from Nepal and Switzerland right now.”

Each day, the inn serves a full breakfast, has a 5:30 p.m. beverage hour featuring local beer or domestic wine and serves an organic, homemade dessert in the evening. In addition to sampling the inn’s fare, this also gives guests a chance to socialize and get to know each other.

“It almost makes me cry — how nice it is to see people coming and going and enjoying,” Cathie says.

The majority of guests are in their 20s and 30s, making its clientele considerably younger than at most bed and breakfasts. This is in part because of the young, modern vibe of the inn and the Imeses’ effort of reaching out to younger generations through YouTube and Facebook.

“I need to speak to newer customers and say, ‘We would be a good fit for you,’” Cathie says. “There’s no doilies, teddy bears or cats [here].”

An outdoor view of Arbor House. Photo by Evan Benner.

Curious Wisconsin travelers aren’t the only ones to discover the inn. The media have taken notice too. Arbor House has appeared in The New York Times on four separate occasions. Midwest Living and the Chicago Tribune have also covered the inn, while Travel + Leisure once named Arbor House its “Inn of The Month.” One might even say Arbor House has gone global, as the Fine Living Network featured the inn as one of the world’s “Top 10 Eco-Hotels.”

“It’s almost overwhelming,” Cathie says. “I never thought we’d have such a big little business in a million years.”

Ironically, while the Imeses once dreamed of starting an inn in California, Arbor House now takes in more revenue than an inn of similar size in California, a much more common vacation destination.

At the end of the day, Cathie reminds me that Arbor House is dedicated to being eco-friendly and creating a greener Earth. But it is also more than that, she says. Arbor House is an environment where people of different ages, backgrounds and cultures can come together to socialize and exchange ideas.

“There are few places now where you can actually talk to a stranger — in person, not online — and feel safe,” Cathie says. “And we provide that every day.”