It's an hour until you have to be at that holiday party and you still don't have a proper gift for your hostess. Well, don't worry - simply go online to iLoveInns.com and purchase a gift certificate for a stay at a bed and breakfast inn. The certificates and good at thousands of inns throughout the United States and Canada and are the easiest gift of the season. Simply purchase and print it out ... and voila, you have the gift of a vacation right in your hand!



The certificates can be purchased for as little as $50, but go up in increments of $50 to as much as $1,000. So you pay for part of a stay, a night away or even several days of travel, whatever you choose. There are no blackout dates and the certificate has no expiration date, so your loved ones have plenty of time to pick a perfect bed and breakfast. The certificate becomes valid seven days after you purchase it, and this date will appear on the certificate. Best of all, there's no rushing around crowded stores and fighting traffic, you just purchase, print and watch faces light up as friends open their certificate. The following inns are just a small sample of the thousand of ILoveInns.com properties that will accept the certificates:

Graycote Inn, a historic Bar Harbor bed and breakfast, is so charming you may decide to spend the rest of your days luxuriating here on Maine's scenic coast. The guest rooms of this 1881 farmhouse are decorated in period style with fine fabrics and canopy beds. Several rooms include a clawfoot tub and one has a wood-burning fireplace. During the warmer months, scrumptious morning meals are served on tables in the sunny breakfast room, which looks out to the garden. Fresh fruit, homemade breads and a daily entree complete this multi-course affair, which will prepare you for a happy day of site seeing.

Enjoy country comforts at the Corner Oak Manor, located a half mile from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The grounds are dotted with pine, maple and oak trees, creating peace and privacy. The guest rooms feature country dcor with quilt-topped beds, antiques and hand-made crafts. The innkeepers also offer a cottage with a bedroom, bathroom, small kitchen and living area. Breakfasts feature an ever-changing menu with specialties created by innkeeper Karen Spradley, who is a culinary school graduate.

For beach lovers, the Casa Tropicana in San Clemente, California provides the perfect seaside location. Directly across the street from the beach and San Clemente pier, this eight-room boutique inn is decorated in a romantic, luxurious style and most of the rooms offer an ocean view. Some have a fireplace or whirlpool tub. The Casablanca suite, which covers the entire fifth floor, has its own private deck with an outdoor Jacuzzi. Stroll across the street to the beach or walk around the corner and up the street to the shops and restaurants along Avenida Del Mar. This Southern California inn is located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego.

You'll get plenty of other helpful information at iLoveInns.com, which is the internet's premier source for bed and breakfast information. In addition to providing detailed listings for more than 19,000 country inns, B&Bs and boutique hotels, the website includes helpful travel articles and even innkeeper recipes. They also offer another great gift option; their guidebook, "Bed and Breakfasts and Country Inns," available for $24.95, includes a buy-one-night-get-one-night-free certificate. The certificate can be used to receive one night free off a two-night stay at any one of the 1,400 properties listed in the guidebook, and the average savings is more than $140.