Give your guests a taste of bed and breakfast hospitality during their visit. Use these four innkeeper tricks of the trade to recreate a little country inn ambiance in your house.
At the Casa Laguna Inn & Spa is seaside Laguna Beach, California, the innkeepers fill their rooms with plenty of amenities. Guests enjoy fluffy robes, CD and DVD players, and beds topped with soft, hypoallergenic linens and bed coverings. Create your own cozy guest room with room with a beautifully made bed and a basket of thoughtful toiletries. Add some interesting books, CDs and a selection of DVDs and your guests are sure to feel right at home. Fresh flowers or lightly scented potpourri are another welcoming touch.
While you might not be able to afford placing a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, such as they do at several rooms at Beazley House in Napa, California, you can provide soft fluffy towels and luxurious bath products. The innkeepers at this historic Napa inn also keep the bathroom stocked with good quality shampoos and conditioners, as well as a hairdryer. In addition to these ideas, keep extra toilet paper and Kleenex in a pretty basket. Frame a few vintage postcards and add a little charm to your bathroom walls.
Breakfast, is of course, the center of any good B&B stay. You don't have to train at the Cordon Bleu to impress your guests. At Fairthorne B&B in Cape May, New Jersey, the innkeepers set the table with fine linens and china to create a special atmosphere. Freshly squeezed juice and homemade breads and muffins are an easy first course, and can even be purchased and heated in a warm oven. At Fairthorne, in addition to the home-baked goodies, guests are treated to a special daily entre. You can do the same by preparing pancakes or a breakfast casserole. A buffet with fresh fruit, toasting breads and muffins, served along with coffee, tea and juices is another option.
If you really want to impress your guests, consider the opulent addition of an afternoon tea. At the Captain's House Inn in Chatham, Massachusetts, inn guests are treated to a cream tea either in the dining room or on the patio. The special afternoon teas at this Cape Cod inn include a selection of gourmet teas, as well as freshly baked scones, cookies and cakes. For your in-home tea, consider using china and offering several kinds of loose teas. If time is a consideration, purchase some goodies from a local bakery. Other easy options include offering some freshly baked cookies with iced tea or lemonade or perhaps some wine and snacks in the early evenings.
More ideas and some great innkeeper recipes are available at iLoveInns.com, the premier source for all things bed and breakfast. This detailed website includes listings for more than 19,000 country inns, B&Bs and boutique hotels. The site also offers printable gift certificates, a quick, easy and thoughtful gift option.