Befitting the 18th century atmosphere of the Dorset Inn, an outstanding Honest American Fare is offered featuring the talents of Chef/Innkeeper Sissy Hicks (a Three-Star "Excellent" rated chef by Mobil Travel Guide).

Located five miles north of Manchester, Vermont, facing the village green, the Inn is ideally located for leisurely exploration of Dorset's many rural amenities. (Yankee magazine referred to Dorset as "... a unique blend of country charm and sophistication... a perfect Vermont town: a village green, a few inns, meadows that roll like sine waves to the horizon, mountains rounded and flushed with woods, of maples, beech and oak..." Craft and antique shops, a handsome stone church, a general store and the oldest summer theater production in the state can also be found among this small, pleasant community.

The New England Village Green was the center of town activity. In Dorset, the Green Mountain Boys planned their exploits against the British in 1775 at the Green before riding off to rally their compatriots. And it was at the Green where the parades started or a game of tennis or croquet could be played.

In the summer of 1918, Inn proprietor Amy Ann Lapham added new guest rooms by raising the roof over the ballroom. The Inn provided lodging for 35 guests, mostly "city dwellers" who fell in love with the area's beauty and charm. Guests would stay for weeks or months at a time. Excursions to Equinox, Downer's Glen, Lake St. Cathcrine, the Quarries and Mount Antoine's were favorite pastimes.

For the first 100 years or so, the chef relied on the Inn's backyard population of chickens, a cow or two and the vegetable garden for the ingredients in each day's meals. Later, the neighboring farmer would supply fresh Vermont milk and cream while Thomas Hanley's general market was the source for meats, vegetables and poultry. At the Dorset Grist Mill, established in 1876, grains for baking and the country's only source of granola was purchased for patrons.