The
Bed and Breakfast Experience
A
Bed and Breakfast experience can offer many of the features of a
quality hotel, with the added pleasure of making instant friends
within a homey atmosphere in a
new place.
What
are B&Bs?
A
B&B differs from a hotel in that the innkeeper generally owns the
property or at least resides there. A property with six guest
rooms is generally considered a maximum to be considered as a bed and
breakfast, rather than an Inn. Most often B&B's will have only two
or three guest rooms, and the the hosts are able to provide very personal attention
and a home-like atmosphere.
Some
large inns and even larger hotels offer breakfast and advertise as
themselves as a "B&B", but an authentic B&B
experience is one where you are guests in the owner/operators
home.
Successful B&Bs
each have many unique features, but all have one thing in common: the owners like people
and enjoy hosting travelers from around the world in their home.
Breakfasts
Most
B&Bs are allowed to serve only breakfast. Some serve a
"Continental" breakfast, which consists of coffee, juice and
a choice of breads and pastries. Most serve a full
breakfast, including fruits, cereals, eggs and/or meat, breads, juice,
and coffee. To ensure that a B&B matches your food preferences, it
is always best to look for details about the kind of breakfast served
on the website of any bed and breakfast at which you are planning to
stay.
Bed and Breakfasts:
choosing the right one
When
viewing a bed and breakfast's website look for previous guests' comments,
pictures of the B&B and it's rooms and information on their rates
and policies. Talk
to the B&B hosts before making reservations. Since you will be living in
their home it is important that you feel comfortable with the hosts from your
first telephone
contact.
Smoking, pets and
children are always something that must be confirmed in advance. As
most B&Bs are run solely by the owners, and do not have a 24 hour
staffed "check-in desk", it is important to be aware of the
check in and check out times. Operators need time to clean rooms, go
grocery shopping, do their bookkeeping, sewing, minor repairs, etc.
Avoid surprises for yourself and your innkeeper by determining
check-in times in advance.
V
