About
The Deer Park Inn is a country inn and restaurant in the Pennington Cottage at 65 Hotel Road in Deer Park, a Victorian mansion in the Allegheny Mountains near Deep Creek Lake that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Pascal and Nadine "Sandy" Fontaine have owned and run it since 1996, serving French dinners downstairs and keeping guest rooms upstairs for anyone who wants to make a night of it.
A Cottage From Deer Park's Resort Era
The cottage was built in 1889 as part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Deer Park Hotel complex, a resort that drew visitors from Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia. It was the summer home of Baltimore architect Josias Pennington, whose firm designed many B&O buildings, and it still has its Shingle Style look: a tall gambrel roof, shingled walls and a wraparound porch. Inside are carved woodwork, three first-floor fireplaces, and furnishings and a portrait of Josias Pennington that the family left behind.
French Cooking by Candlelight
Dinner is served in two first-floor rooms that were once the cottage's formal dining room and library. Chef Pascal Fontaine's French cooking draws on his travels abroad, and he has cooked for the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. The kitchen makes everything from scratch with seasonal ingredients and locally grown produce, without preservatives or MSG. A sample menu gives you the idea: corn chowder with applewood-smoked bacon and crabmeat, homemade ravioli with sage butter, sea bass wrapped in filo with champagne butter sauce, confit of duck with braised red cabbage, and profiteroles au chocolat.
Stay the Night or Plan an Event
Upstairs are three guest rooms, the Campbell, Faulkner and Pennington rooms, furnished with antiques, plus a shared living room with a fireplace. You can add a champagne or cheese-and-wine package, a three-course candlelight dinner in your room, or a picnic basket for a day in the local parks. The inn also hosts weddings and parties indoors, on the porch or under tents on the grounds, and caters off-site with menus from rustic American to formal French.
Call ahead to check the current menu and reserve a table or room.
Address
65 Hotel Rd, Deer Park, MD 21550