The Newly Opened Liberty Inn Is a Countryside Ode to Canada

Travelling with young kids isn’t for the faint of heart, and after Jacqui Liberty and Bruno Roldan’s twin daughters were born, they experienced first-hand how frustrating it can be. “We had tried going away a few times, and it was just very, very hard,” Roldan says. “There weren’t a lot of places that could accommodate us.” The couple found themselves torn between their love of travel and not wanting to go to all the extra work just to sit in a bland and boring hotel room.

The desire to create a family-friendly retreat informed a new venture for the couple: The Liberty Inn, which opened in Caledon at the beginning of February. The boutique retreat’s five suites were designed with holing up in mind. Each offers some special experience—such as a steam shower or sauna—plus red and blue light therapy masks and a kitchen stocked with breakfast items. And the on-site outdoor Nordic spa, with its cedar hot tub, Finnish sauna, and cold plunge, is booked privately so guests can enjoy an hour of solo relaxation without leaving the property.

The couple had admired the historic 1850s property for many years, and when it came up for sale during COVID, they decided to go for it. “We knew that we had the right team that could do it, so that was a big part of the reason why we thought, why not?” Liberty says. “It’s also a bit of a lifestyle decision,” Roldan adds. “We live on the same road. My sister and my brother-in-law, who help at the inn, also live on the same road. We’re just down the street. So we thought it would be just really nice if we could just go down the street to work.”

Leveraging Liberty’s creative prowess from running a nearby pottery studio, Soft Fire Ceramics, and Roldan’s business acumen from years in the tech world, the duo created an elegant and sumptuous countryside retreat that makes for the perfect weekend escape, conveniently located near Folks of the Credit Provincial Park, golf courses, and numerous wedding venues.

Beyond her artistic skills, Liberty also tapped into her research background. “A lot of the small details that you see throughout the inn, they didn’t happen by accident,” she says. “It was hundreds of hours of me searching and finding and learning about all of these different things.” Indeed, the meticulous care is evident in every nook and cranny—from the inn’s original 1891 limestone fish tank, now repurposed as a fountain, to curated in-room vinyl collections and local artwork. It’s a nod to a fundamental tenet that was important to Liberty and Roldan from the start: supporting small businesses and Canadian makers whenever possible, even if it means jumping through a few extra hoops.

More than a few in some areas—Liberty spent two years hand-making 10,000 tiles for the inn’s floors and walls, along with numerous plates and bowls for the suites. “It takes so much time, but I think that’s one of the things that just makes it so special,” she says. “Nobody would ever do that now because it’s so time-consuming, and you can buy tile for $1 a square foot. And why would you ever do that? But it’s special, and they’re each unique, and they add just this character that you wouldn’t get otherwise.”

For Roldan, the property’s long-standing history in the community—from a post office in 1855 to a general store with a speakeasy above it to multiple inns—is another reason to support local. “They all have their stories,” Roldan says of the slew of different businesses that have occupied the space. “It’s very much anchored to Canada, because Canada as we know it today happened after 1855. So these Canadian businesses come with Canadian stories. And I think that’s important, because the history of the inn is a story of different Canadian entrepreneurs over the years.” And in each carefully crafted tile or locally sourced hair product filling the inn, Roldan and Liberty honour its past, present, and future.

Now, as the snow gives way to signs of spring, a new layer to the Liberty Inn is set to unfold: the gardens. “We are using every square inch of this acre, so where it’s not the building or the parking, it’s garden,” Liberty says, noting they’ve planted 5,000 bulbs and many native perennials.

Around the back of the property, a grove of beech hedges will one day grow high and enclose the gardens in a private wall of green. “When we do the tours, I talk about it, but it doesn’t really seem so impressive,” Roldan says. “I think that’s going to be my favourite feature. It is right now. In 20 years, it’s going to be lovely.” His words speak to another lesson the founders live by at the Liberty Inn: good things are worth waiting for.

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