THE HOMESTEAD—A Place to Unwind In Madison

THE HOMESTEAD—A PLACE TO UNWIND IN MADISON

By Brian Scott Lipton

One of the joys of being in Connecticut is discovering its charming small towns– and the even more charming treasures found within them. This adage applies doubly to Madison–a coastal town in New Haven County with lovely beaches and a lively, pedestrian-friendly downtown–as well as the Homestead, the 12-room bed-and-breakfast run by the Guardiano family.
Connecticut Voice recently spoke to The Homestead’s owner, Ralph Guardiano–a filmmaker and owner and co-owner of the multi-faceted Option A Group–about the past, present and future of this great getaway property.

CV: So, how did you become the owner–and creator–of The Homestead?

RG: The property has been part of our family for nearly 40 years. My parents, both Italian immigrants, moved here from Glen Cove, New York many decades ago. One day, my mother met this man who had who had a shoe store in Madison; his mother was in the Homestead, which was then a senior residence, and he asked my mom to be a sort of an aide to her. When the place needed to be sold, my mother bought it, but then realized she didn’t know how to run a senior facility. Except she ran it successfully for 25 years; we had a huge waiting list of people wanting to get in. It became like a family business, I was the repairman and walked the ladies to their cars; while my young daughter, Nikki–who now helps run the Homestead–delivered mail to the rooms and even read Harry Potter books to these women.

CV: What happened next?

RG: About 10 years ago, my mother couldn’t run the business anymore, so I bought it. I thought about selling the place, but my mom still lived here, and I didn’t want to uproot her. I also realized I had to hire seven people to replace her, and that wasn’t going to work. So, then I thought about turning it into a B&B, even though I was the guy who traveled all over the world for decades and hated B&Bs. Anyway, I put a listing on Airbnb and we immediately sold rooms three times in one day. Shortly after that, someone called to make a reservation for all 12 rooms. Suddenly, I realized people needed a place like this in Madison–the only other hotel is a 33-room Hilton–since they needed a place to stay for weddings, not to mention weekend vacations. Plus, we have this great downtown less than a mile away and these wonderful beaches nearby. So, I met with the town, and even though I thought I would get lot of push back, everyone loved the idea. Even the Hilton owner offered to help me!

CV: What were your first steps in transforming the property?

RG: We had to get rid of anything that made it look like an assisted living facility, which included narrowing the doorways and making some bathrooms smaller. Because I am a filmmaker; I thought of dressing every room as a set, but one that was also comfortable. I had done a lot of work over the years with Sol Kerzner (a South African magnate and famous hotelier), and he was always so into the details. I remember him arguing for hours about the thread count of sheets. Ultimately, I applied what I learned from him.

CV: Is that one reason you have a record player in every room?

RG: We all live in this digital world, but I realized having a record player allows you to slow down. You hear this hiss, the record starts, and suddenly you don’t want to turn on the TV or check your phone. We have this enormous record library, so on the day that guests are ready to check in, we call or text them and ask about their musical tastes, so they have the records they want in their rooms when they get here. Before they even set foot on the property, they’re already excited to come. We always have a lot of new vinyl; and we’ll buy more if we get specific requests. And people sometimes bring their own records and donate them to our library before they leave. Actually, we have way too many records right now!

CV: Tell me about some of your other amenities?

RG: I put in these shower heads with Vitamin A, B, and C. I found them on Amazon; I joke that I singlehandedly put Jeff Bezos into space. The result is this super-soft water that women really love for their hair. I put in heated bidets, as well–and I stress-tested all the toilet seats to make sure how well they work. I also put in heated towel-warmers, which I had never thought about, but now I couldn’t live without them! People are expecting this grandmotherly experience, but it’s not.

CV: You’re leaving out one special “amenity.” Right?

RG: Yes, there’s our house dog Hartman–he’s a snorkie (a schnauzer and Yorkshire terrier mix) –and everyone loves him. All guests can bring their dogs. We technically have a 35-pound limit, but I won’t fight with customers who bring bigger ones. You can even take your dog to one of the nearby beaches at certain times. I have to note that some of the beaches are technically for residents only, but we buy beach passes for all our guests, which is another plus!

CV: Let’s discuss the breakfast part of The Homestead.

RG: First, we have a window of time for breakfast, and instead of one big table, people can sit in various rooms and outdoor spaces. And we know there are also people who come who want to eat in their room while they work–especially writers –so each room has a table and chairs. As for the food, there’s a local farm, Bishop, and they make these amazing quiches that we found our customers love. We also use great bakeries and other locally sourced farms for breakfast foods. But we have discovered that some of our guests who stay for more than two or three days, especially the Europeans, want more variety. So, we’re trying to start cooking breakfast as well on some days.

CV: Tell me about some other upcoming changes?

RG: Last year, we had this elderly German couple come and we helped them create this huge Oktoberfest in our backyard. It was this big party, and we invited our guests and our neighbors. Honestly, it was so fun we might have to do it every year.I want to do a kitchen expansion–not only inside but one that could flow to an outdoor kitchen, so we could do cooking classes, wine tastings, and pizza making. I’d love to do book signings. For example, the chef Jacques Pepin, who I worked with right out of college, is one of our neighbors.
Finally, I want to produce a murder-mystery weekend, perhaps combined with a scavenger hunt in town, which would help promote Madison. I think making things experiential is a big key to our future success.