Fictional Dwight Schrute B&B Thrives on Travel Site

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Remember when Dwight adapted his infamous beet farm into an agrotourism hot spot on 'The Office'? So do visitors to TripAdvisor.com, who keep the myth of Schrute Farms alive and well -- the fictional Pennsylvanian bed and breakfast boasts more than 600 reviews and a recommendation rating of 82 percent.

The site's chief marketing officer, Christine Petersen, told the New York Times, "We don't have a big marketing budget and don't do TV ads. This was the big time."

The TripAdvisor listing appeared in the fall of 2007 in conjunction with an episode titled 'Money.' The Times also spoke to 'Office' writer Paul Lieberstein, who plays Toby Flenderson on the show and made his directing debut with the Schrute Farms episode. Lieberstein told the Times the idea "would be fun, but then we didn't think about it anymore."


After the jump, the five best Schrute Farms "reviews."

My husband and I decided to take a second honeymoon at Schrute Farms. We thought -- "What could be more romantic than a beet farm?" Well, unfortunately, Schrute Farms was booked to capacity on this particular weekend. There must have been a miscommunication with Mose, the booking agent we worked with. After our two-hour drive through the Pennsylvania backwoods, we were asked to leave by the proprietor, Dwight Schrute. I think his exact words were, "We are booked to capacity. Leave immediately." My husband managed to remain calm in the face of Mr. Schrute's blatant social awkwardness and tried to work something out with him. After a lengthy conversation with him (which included a discussion of various medieval weapons, as well as whether a bear or a puma was the superior animal), Mr. Schrute decided to accommodate us... in the barn. In the morning, some beets were tossed at us by Mose. I guess that was supposed to be breakfast.
• Liked: Mose howled at the moon
• Disliked: Everything else

I would stay again, but only when they renovate/put lavatory inside the house. Also, online booking would be better... I kept being transferred to a paper company when I rang up.
• Liked: Fresh beets
• Disliked: Mose

While we had heard great things about Schrute Farms, there were a few issues which plagued our trip. First, we requested the Irrigation Room, but were unpleasantly awoken on our first night when an overhead pipe sprung a leak. While the concierge Mose helped us move to the America Room right away, most of our luggage was already soaked. We were unable to dry any of these articles due to the lack of electricity in the building. The next morning we decided to take a class on beet farming led by the owner/operator Dwight. While he began pleasantly enough, he quickly became irritated with our unwillingness to work through lunch. I resented the implication that I would "starve to death if left to my own devices for more than a day." The optional bedtime story package is well-worth the extra charge.
• Liked: Table-making demonstration
• Disliked: Squeaky beds in owner's room

You're instantly transported to a time when life was much simpler. We decided to try out the new paintball field and opted for lessons. Paintball lessons from an expert with experience like this are easily worth like two grand. My only complaint about our stay was the lack of indoor plumbing and the outhouse door would not stay latched. All in all this is the best trip of my life.
• Liked: Paintball lessons from an expert
• Disliked: The beet salad

I never imagined it could be so much fun waking up at 5 a.m. to harvest nature's finest root vegetable, the beet. After that we watched the proprietor's cousin Mose make one of the nicest tables I have ever seen and then proceeded to stain the wood a lovely shade of red using, what else? Pickled beets. We settled down for the night in our nicely appointed room with an irrigation theme. The pipes bolted to the wall brought back fond memories of being a sewer worker.
• Liked: Air is redolent with the scent of beets and manure
• Disliked: Bathroom is under the front porch, outhouse door slams in the breeze

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