Case Study
Troutbeck

Re-establishing an American institution

Troutbeck is a 250-acre estate hotel located in Upstate New York’s idyllic Hudson Valley. Since the 1700s, Troutbeck has been a favoured retreat for artists, naturalists, authors, and civil rights activists. To name just a few of Troutbeck’s distinguished guests, the hotel has hosted Thoreau, Roosevelt, and Burroughs in its time.

Troutbeck today is a tranquil escape from the bustle of New York City, which is located just two hours to its south. The property over time has developed a feeling of quiet luxury, where needs are met before they're even realized. The goal of the new website was to reflect that feeling of ease that guests experience once they arrive at the property.

Specifically, the website redesign aimed to:

Improve the path to booking
Showcase Troutbeck's stunning design and architecture
Communicate the differences between the property’s various buildings and room types
Promote the range of amenities and activities available on the property

Strolling through the booking process

The user experience of the previous Troutbeck website was very basic. Although there was a couple of room booking CTAs throughout the website, the path to booking felt quite prescribed. Now the website functions in a way that’s very similar to the property itself. Users can meander through various amenities and rooms. And whether they’re just daydreaming or browsing with purpose, the website is ready to meet them on their path to booking with a stickied booking CTA at the top of the page and prominent “check availability” buttons on room detail pages.

Much of Troutbeck’s charm lies in the variety of rooms and suites on offer at the property

For an intimate family gathering, the entire Benton Cottage might be rented out. For lovers looking for a clandestine escape, they might choose one of the Manor House’s one-bed suites, with its four-poster bed, original hardwood floors, recessed bookshelves, and a roaring fireplace. The beauty of the redesigned website is that it allows users to easily compare room types based on their needs. A comprehensive room amenities list provides guests with their room’s features at a glance, and a “similar rooms” CTA at the bottom of the page allows them to compare other room types with similar attributes.

Little details worth obsessing over

It is the subtle details and careful flourishes that elevate the guest experience at Troutbeck, and we took the same approach with the website. Literature runs through the heart of the resort, and taking a page out of Troutbeck’s book (pun intended), we opted to design the site with a literary-inspired font that pays homage to the property’s history.

The navigation features a delightfully visual menuing system that allows users to scroll horizontally through some of the key sections of the Troutbeck site, with links allowing them to go deeper where they wish to explore more.

Services

Customized Services

Highly custom services for a highly customized experience.

Strategy: Go to Market; Membership engagement; Content Strategy; Bounce rate & e-commerce optimization
Creative & Design: Wireframing; Information Architecture; Creative design & direction; Custom UI & interaction design
Technology: Web development; Custom theme development; CRM Integration; Booking system integration
Growth: Search engine optimization; Search engine marketing; Social marketing; Data & analytics configuration; Performance reporting

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