As our road trip of Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park unfolded last month, I was researching…read morevarious places to stay in Rocky Harbour (where most people advised us to stay). I came across an article about two people who had put considerable time, sweat and money into restoration of some historical buildings in Woody Point. The article also described how they won an award for significant contribution to tourism in their area, and those two things combined lead me to look into the businesses. We are so glad we did - we only stayed one night but it was a memorable one night out of a whole 2 week visit across Newfoundland.
We stayed at Aunt Jane's B&B in Woody Point, and loved it. Roughly 30 mins off the highway (45-60 mins south of Rocky Harbour), a beautiful drive to get to Woody Point, which ended up being very close to hiking trails, the Gros Morne Discovery Centre, and of course, the infamous Tablelands. As you drive into Woody Point, you may not get the best signage, so just turn right when you get to Woody Point to head down to the water front and the main street (or do as we did, and ask someone, who gave us friendly directions to find it).
Mid-September, accommodation options were good but I imagine in high season we would have been less lucky without reservations. We signed up for one night at Aunt Jane's B&B, a beautiful and cozy old home, decorated with loving attention to the smallest of details; we loved our queen bed, in the cozy front room. For approx $90 we also got the private bath, with the claw foot tub (which we enjoyed after a big day of hiking). The B&B in Woody Point is very close to the Tablelands (which you must see if you are in this area). In fact, right out the front door is a spectacular view of the Tablelands and the mountains just over the water. Just down the road are two must-do hikes, up the Partridgeberry Hill lookout at the Discovery Centre and the Green Gardens hike down to the ocean. The B&B breakfast was delicious, toast and local jams (including partridgeberry jam), muffins, cereal, and fresh fruit salad. WiFi worked well, and everyone was so friendly and helpful, including advice on where to stay next, and where to find authentic gifts such as home-knitted mitts, hats etc to take home.
The same couple, Jenny and Stan, run the Merchant Warehouse Retro Café & Wine Bar, located on the waterfront of historic Woody Point. The night we were there, there wasn't music, but we could see they were set up for regular acoustic musicians and heard that they often held concerts upstairs, including The Once who were there in the summer! The food in the restaurant was bar-food, quite yum. The decor was all wood, very cozy and casual. The front of the business is a fun 50s theme diner atmosphere.
Overall we had a really great visit, loved chatting with the owners, and wished them continued great success and a well deserved holiday coming up!
Fun facts - we now can watch Sherman Downey's video of Blue, again, and can say 'we were there!' as the video unfolds on the streets of Woody Point! We loved Sherman and now we also love Woody Point!! See link below for the video for the fabulous Newfoundland and Labrador band, Sherman Downey and the Ambiguous Case, song & video "Blue" http://www.grosmorne.com/victorianmanor/index.htm
