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a retreat for all seasonsABOVE: The Big House, built in 1929 by C.G. Dorn, is thecenterpiece of The Lodge at Glendorn containing diningrooms, the bar/billiards room and several suites. RIGHT:

Boasting 7.5 miles of private streams and three lakes, Glendorn was selected by Orvis as their 2016 Fly-FishingLodge of the Year. MIDDLE: The Skipper Lake School House is used as a base for fishing and a warming hut in winter.FAR RIGHT: Built in 1927, Miller Cabin was the first structureat Glendorn and is now a guest cottage.

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written by m a ry ly n n u r i cc h i o

an award-winning nature resort

N A PRISTINE WINTER MORNING AFTERthe season’s first snowfall, determined anglers casttheir flies into streams not yet frozen. Eightinches of snow blanketed the landscape, butinside the Big House a fire crackled as guestsenjoyed a hearty breakfast and the viewthrough giant windows. Or they could look theother way at the stunning Hetzels, part of anextensive collection of important Pennsylvania

landscape paintings that line the walls. Welcome to The Lodge at Glendorn, a luxury

nature resort that was once a great family camp, andstill is. Despite having all the amenities of a five-starhotel, it feels wonderfully nostalgic and personal.

Nestled in the woods of northwesternPennsylvania, the 1,500-acre retreat is just minutesfrom Bradford, an hour from Erie or Buffalo, and athree-hour drive from Cleveland and Pittsburghalong sleepy, scenic highways that border theAllegheny National Forest. When you arrive, it’salmost as if you’ve driven back in time. The bucolicforest setting remains virtually unchanged since

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Clayton Glenville (C.G.) Dorn bought the property and built the firstcabin there in 1929.

Of course, back then, much of the land was clear cut of its splen-did timber, a fate that may well have struck a second time if CliffForrest had not intervened. The Pittsburgh businessman boughtGlendorn at auction in 2009, a purchase made more with his heartthan his head.

“I’ve been out West to some great resorts, but I never saw any-thing like Glendorn,” Forrest says. “For years I was looking for a placefor business where I could have a retreat, and I wanted a trout stream.This was the dream of dreams. The ambiance of Glendorn—I don’tthink there’s a place I’ve ever been that touches it.”

Eighty years of protected custody have enabled the trees to flour-ish, the streams to run clean and wildlife to abound. Hundreds ofmiles of trails are available for hiking, biking and snowmobiling on theproperty and nearby in the Allegheny National Forest.

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country comfortsThe spacious dining room at Glendorn is infused witha relaxed elegance that is echoed in the gourmet mealsserved there. A well-stocked cellar featuring WineSpectator’s award-winning wine list makes it possibleto find the perfect complement to a four-course meal.


The variety of outdoor pursuitsthat first attracted the Dorn familynow include trap, skeet and sportingclays, guided and upland bird hunting,kayaking and canoeing, cross-countryskiing, sledding, snowshoeing and 7.5miles of privately managed troutangling and lakes. Skilled, friendly guides are on hand to teach or assist. A pool, tenniscourts, croquet lawn, billiards room and other activities ensure that guests of all ages, inall seasons, will not lack for diversion.

Yet what has made Glendorn legendary is something far more difficult to achieve:peace and quiet. One of only several dozen Relais & Chateaux luxury properties inAmerica (there are 546 in 62 countries on five continents), Glendorn embodies this pres-tigious association’s criteria: courtesy, charm, character, calm and cuisine. And it is thefirst Relais & Chateaux endorsed by Orvis, which acclaimed it as the Orvis Fly-FishingLodge of the Year in 2016—the first east of the Mississippi.

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peace & pamperingTOP: A cozy bedroom in The Roost, one of themany charming original cabins—all of whichhave wood-burning fireplaces. ABOVE: The full-service Forest Spa features an assortmentof beauty and body treatments, including asignature Tuscan wine therapy treatment.

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lazy daysThe hickory furniture on the porchof John’s Cabin is the perfect perchto view bucolic Skipper Lake.OPPOSITE: The 90-year old MillerCabin is accessible by a footbridgeover cascading Fuller Brook.

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Much like Blackberry Farm in theSmoky Mountains, or The Pointin the Adirondacks, Glendornoffers luxury in the guise of sim-plicity. There’s nothing flashy oreven all that modern about theresort, and its appeal will be loston those who require multi-jetshowers and cutting-edge design.What it does have is history,beauty, superb dining, all thecomforts of home—and the feel-ing of being one of the family.

It helps tremendously thatGlendorn is relatively small—ithas 16 uniquely designed accom-modations, most of which areprivate guest cottages. But thereare also several suites and guestrooms in the main lodge, whichis called the Big House. This wasthe first structure built by thefamily patriarch, who was affec-tionately known by his six chil-

dren and many grandchildren asBondieu.

C.G. Dorn made his fortunein oil using a technique he devel-oped called back-flooding to reviveexhausted oil fields. Forest Oilthrived during the Depression,and Dorn wanted a place where hisfamily could gather on the week-end and during the summers. Astaff kept the Big House at theready, with a chef, maids, guidesand other employees present toensure a relaxed visit. But as thefamily grew, the Big House wasn’tbig enough. The children began tobuild their own cottages on theproperty—small cabins scatteredhere and there within easy reach ofthe main lodge, but more private.Their names and belongings stillgrace the cottages, which featurevintage furnishings and numerousfamily mementos.

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Eighty years of protected custody haveenabled the trees to flourish, the streams

to run clean and wildlife to abound.

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“You can’t create character, you can’t buy history. AndGlendorn has such great history,” says Forrest. “What’sremarkable is they left everything, the photographs, thebooks, the monogrammed lighters from Zippo. They left allthese knives that [Dorn’s son] Forest collected that date backto the ’30s and ’40s. It was going on the fifth generation of thefamily.”

Each cabin is unique, and they range in size from one anda half to five bedrooms. All the things a guest would expect tobe fresh are, including the crisp, monogrammed sheets, thicktowels and good mattresses. But family photographs and oldprints decorate the walls, the chairs testify to many hoursspent resting by the 43 working fireplaces, and a hodgepodgeof worn books offer charming companionship.

With the passage of time, the Dorn family and Bondieu’s140 heirs spread across the country. They were reluctant toinvest, even when they opened the property to the public in1995. By the time Forrest came aboard, Glendorn requiredconsiderable updating and a sizable investment. Under hisownership, extensive repairs and upgrades have been made,and more are planned. Interior designer Gil Walsh, whoseprojects include the Duquesne Club, was brought in two yearsago to update several of the cabins and the Big House withher signature blend of relaxed elegance. More than $500,000

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was spent on turning the old playhouse into asmall conference and fitness center, andRichard’s Cabin has been designed to accom-modate corporate retreats.

One of the most popular additions toGlendorn is the Forest Spa in the former poolhouse. The full-service facility offers numer-ous services designed to promote health,wellness and relaxation. Run by JenniferHerzog, the spa offers a variety of massages(Swedish, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone,Pregnancy) as well as beauty and body treat-ments. A signature Wine Lovers BodyTreatment uses crushed grape seeds to exfoli-ate, a wine and honey mask to draw outtoxins, and olive oil and grapeseed extractto moisturize.

For those who would rather drink theirwine, an ample cellar is part of the fine diningexperience at Glendorn. Executive ChefKatelyn Steffan, formerly of Lake PlacidLodge, favors seasonal ingredients and localproducts for the resort’s exceptional dining.A four-course dinner might feature butternutsquash soup, pesto gnudi, a veal, venison ormonkfish entree, and an apple caramel souf-flé. Guests gather for cocktails by the fire inthe Billiards Room or may request diningelsewhere on the property. Breakfast, whichis included, and lunch are served on the stoneporch with its rustic hickory chairs.

Forrest plans to install a vegetable gardenthis year that can be used by the kitchen, anda perennial garden to enhance the landscap-ing. He spends as much time at Glendorn ashe can with his family, shooting skeet or walk-ing to the trout hatchery, and he hopes tobuild his own home there in keeping with theresort’s vernacular. “I want to maintain thatfeeling that it’s a different era.”

Five years ago, Forrest’s goal was to makeGlendorn “one of the greatest retreats inthe Northeast.” Last year, Travel+LeisureMagazine chose Glendorn as the No. 1Resort Hotel in the continental U.S. andNo. 6 in its list of best hotels in the world.pq

Marylynn Uricchio is the former film critic andSeen editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Sheis now writing fiction.

an angler’s dreamLEFT: Fishing is complimentary at Glendorn,and the charming full-line fly shop hasrods, flies, clothing and anything else aguest would need—including knowledge-able guides.


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