Hi! We're Marty and Stefan
ABOUT US
We’re both from small towns in southern Ontario but met while living in downtown Toronto.
Growing up we both admired grand old houses from afar and wanted to live in one at some point: Stefan loved the interior spaces while Marty loved the gardens and landscaping.
After a few years of being together, we wanted an adventure. Both of us had friends who travelled to the east coast regularly, which of course led to a Realtor.ca rabbit hole.
We saw dozens of stunning properties and decided to seriously think about moving to the east coast.
Marty is a registered nurse, so we needed to be near hospital systems. Stefan is an entrepreneur in the tech and freelancing space, so we wanted to be near a city. And of course we wanted to be near an airport so we could continue to travel, both to see our families and for pleasure.
That ultimately led us to Windsor and to Geldert House!
The house itself was built in 1898 for a local socialite and has been a B&B since the 1980s, so we wanted to continue the tradition of welcoming people as guests in the home.
ABOUT THE NAME: GELDERT
The Geldert Family was a prominent family in Windsor throughout the 1800s. They even founded one of Canada’s first department stores, Gelderts on Water Street (though sadly that building has since been torn down and replaced).
Our property was one of many owned by the Geldert family during the late 1800s. However, we found an old map from 1871 that names this property as Geldert Stable.
We wanted to honour that historic name for the future.
ABOUT THE HOUSE
The original house on this plot burned down, like most other houses, in the Great Windsor Fire of 1897.
At the time, the property was owned by Sophie Forsyth, whose husband Alexander Forsyth—a prominent Halifax merchant—died in 1896.
As a widow, she rebuilt on the same foundation in 1898, erecting the large and pleasant Victorian home that still stands today.
The house eventually became apartments after the second world war and remained that way until it was converted back to a single family home and reopened as the Meander Inn in the 1980s.
Meander Inn remained open under two owners until 2021 when we bought the house. We closed it over the winter and spring of 2021 for renovation and re-opened as Geldert Guest House, respecting the historic title of the property, in 2022.
The house (luckily) still has original features like a grand wooden staircase, fireplace surrounds, and crown moulding.
ABOUT THE TOWN
Land of the Mi'kmaq Indigenous people, the area that became known as the town of Windsor was settled by the British in the 1700s.
In the next century, Windsor became a prominent town in the wooden shipbuilding heyday of the mid-1800s. Ships built in Windsor sailed all over the world, turning this town into an international site of privilege and wealth.
As a result of shipbuilding wealth—and the other industries like finance and law that came with it—Windsor was a wealthy town.
It’s natural position—surrounded by rolling hills and in a microclimate that claims to be the sunniest in all Nova Scotia—Windsor also became a popular resort town for wealthy Haligonians (people from Halifax) who owned second homes and gave lavish balls.
Unfortunately, the fall of wooden shipbuilding and then the two world wars took its toll on Windsor, which fell into hard times for a generation.
Now, it’s coming back to life as the commute to Halifax is easier (only 45 minutes to the heart of downtown, even in traffic).
As a result, the town is dotted with historical charm but also modern amenities like restaurants, cafes, museums, and shops.
It’s also the home to two historic firsts: the first game of hockey played on the Long Pond and Kings Edgehill School (KES), originally the first university founded in Canada (though that portion has moved to Dalhousie University and now KES is a high school).
ALL ARE WELCOME
If you're coming through Windsor, you're welcome at Geldert Guest House regardless of race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and every other legally protected identity (plus we subscribe to the no a**hole rule, so it goes beyond the legal minimums). While our big old Victorian is not 100% accessible at this time, we'll do our best to accommodate-just let us know what you need and we'll see what we can do.