Stratford's newest bed and breakfast wants to introduce visitors to a peaceful side of the Festival City.
“Our favourite tagline is enjoy the splendours of the city while enjoying the serenity of the countryside,” said Magdalena Walch, marketing manager for Servus Stratford.
The B&B is set on the former grounds of W. Charlot Farms, which specialized in breeding champion horses for over four decades – including Rio Grande, a Grand Prix jumper who qualified for the Canadian Olympic Team that Walch says was well-known among local horse enthusiasts.
Although the 130-acre farm on County Road 122 is finding a new life as a B&B, it remains in the same family.
When W. Charlot Farms’ owner Augustin Walch retired last year, his grandson Tobias Walch (Magdalena’s brother-in-law) took over management of the bucolic property.
Nodding to the Walch family’s heritage, Servus Stratford takes its name from a Bavarian expression. “In Bavarian, ‘servus’ is a warm and affectionate greeting,” explained Magdalena Walch. “It's this word that encompasses everything that we're trying to achieve.”
Servus Stratford is located less than five kilometres from the city's downtown, but its countryside scenery makes it feel like a tranquil rural retreat.
“We’re a working farm and we still have a handful of these beautiful Hanoverian warmblood horses,” said Walch. “The paddock is just outside of where our dining room is so when you’re having breakfast in the morning, you can see the stallions.”
A year-long renovation saw the property’s interior – much of it barely been touched since Augustin Walch bought the property in the 1980s – refreshed with homey, modern decor.
“It’s just comfortable, cozy, and authentic,” she said.
She adds, however, that the family held on to many of the home’s original knickknacks and decorations and incorporated them into the B&B’s new look.
“Some of the items have been in that house since the early ‘80s and they’re so old now that they’re back in style,” she said. “There’s a story behind everything. There are little nods to the history just about everywhere.”
Servus Stratford offers three guestrooms: the Magnolia Suite, which is named for the grand magnolia tree visible from its window; the Biblioteca Suite, which features a small attached parlour and the Riverview Suite, offering three interconnected rooms with views of the Avon River and farm grounds.
Walch said that choosing extremely comfy beds was a top priority when designing the guestrooms.
“We tell everybody they're extremely comfortable, but you have to find out for yourself just how comfortable they really are."
True to the name “bed and breakfast,” the first meal of the day is the other key focus. Tobias Walch, who trained as a brewer, has a passion for food and beverage. Guests can expect classic breakfasts like fluffy buttermilk pancakes and avocado toast, along with creative dishes that change each week.
“As a perpetual student, he [Tobias] is always eager to try new recipes – different cuisines from around the world as well as his own heritage, which brings splashes of Lebanese and German,” she said.
Servus Stratford sources many of its ingredients from local farmers, including Clover Leaf Farms in New Hamburg. Dishes are often named after the famous horses that lived on the farm in years past.
“The house is quiet and the grounds are quiet. You can enjoy the fun of the city and then you really can rest and relax. This is a way to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just have a moment.”
