With more than 30 years of experience, Joseph Polito is a seasoned Hotelier and Restaurateur. Joseph has created, opened, and managed many luxury hotels, restaurants, and spas all over the globe in many countries.

We think of the South Shire as a Grand Residence on a small intimate scale. We hope to deliver the same breadth of services and efficacy expected in large luxury hotels yet in a more humane, personalized setting. Ours is a guest experience built on the long-lost style of service and our ambition is that guests will check out with enduring memories and the desire to return. In a frenetic world, the South Shire Inn is the perfect escape, even if only for just a short time. Relax and enjoy the romance of days gone by in our turn-of-the-century, 1887 Victorian Inn located in the Southern Vermont village of Bennington. The estate, formerly the private residence of Louis A. Graves, was the creation of architect, William C. Bull who designed many of the stately Victorian structures in the Shires of Vermont. Ten-foot ceilings, the mahogany-paneled library with ornately carved fireplace, leaded glass pocket door and bookcases, and the raised plaster moldings of the Dining Room make the South Shire Inn a showpiece in Southern Vermont Victorian Era. Nine spacious and individually decorated guest rooms. each with private bath, air conditioning, wireless internet access and working fireplaces

The South Shire Inn provides the perfect starting point for your day, whether traveling for business or pleasure. A short stroll to the village of Bennington. Explore historic Old Bennington with the Old First Church, the Burial Ground of Robert Frost, and Old Bennington’s many splendid examples of Colonial architecture. The Bennington Museum features exhibits of Bennington Pottery and a gallery devoted to the work of Grandma Moses. Browse through the many antique and craft shops as well as the Camelot Village Antique Center located nearby. Tour the Green Mountain countryside with its quiet charm and many covered bridges. Take a ride to the Vermont Country Store. Enjoy all Vermont has to offer the winter enthusiasts with 12 ski areas and many fine cross-country skiing trails within an hour’s drive here in the Green Mountains. When touring is done, sit back and enjoy a performance by the Oldcastle Theatre Company or nearby at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York City Opera, and the New York City Ballet Company.