Reprinted Articles

WHO SLEPT HERE?: Stay where the famous have dined, danced and dreamt. For his honeymoon, Clark Gable and his beloved wife, Carole Lombard, stayed at the Gold Mountain Manor, a romantic inn tucked away in mountainous Big Bear, Calif. This retreat hosted many of the rich and famous.

History and hospitality are what sets bed and breakfast inns apart from the average cookie-cutter hotel or motel. That history often includes the many influential and important guests that have stayed at the inn. After all, many of us would be understandably in awe to have an innkeeper explain that presidents and award-winning writers stayed in the same rooms as we do today.

At the John Rutledge House Inn in Charleston, S.C., you could hardly find a more impressive guest list. The inn’s namesake not only signed the Declaration of Independence and helped write the Constitution, but served as South Carolina’s first governor and later a Supreme Court Justice. Even more impressive, first drafts of the Constitution were written in the gracious home. And, of course, George Washington was once guest. Add to that stunning, period dcor and a restaurant with a four-diamond rating, and it all adds up to an incredible historic getaway.

Some of the United States’ most influential writers were among the notable guests as the Vichy Hot Springs Resort & Inn in Ukiah, Calif. Samuel Clemens (a.k.a Mark Twain) and Jack London enjoyed a stay and a soak in the hot springs, as well as Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt. An illustrious guest list, to be sure, and you can still soak the same restoring waters as guests have been enjoying for more than a century and a half.

From famous writers to famous actors to young socialites, Hacienda del Sol has seen them all. The 1810 adobe home, guest casitas and surrounding acres have seen many uses throughout the years. In the 1920s, a college preparatory school catered to the young women from prestigious families, such as the Vanderbilts. A few years later, it would be host to writer D.H. Lawrence and artist Georgia O’Keefe. And in the late 1940s and 50s, actors such as Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn were frequent guests. In fact, today’s guests can still stay in Tracy’s favorite casita.

The Colonel Taylor Inn B&B and Gift Shop is named after Colonel Joseph D. Taylor, a four-term U.S. Congressman and Civil War veteran who built the house in 1878. Although he fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg against General Lee and his troops, he advised his superior, General Ambrose Burnside, against the attack, telling the General, “The carrying out of your plan will be murder, not warfare.” He became friends with President William McKinley, whose hometown of Niles, Ohio was in the 17th district that Colonel Taylor represented. McKinley has been verifed as a guest here; President Garfield and Hayes are said to have visted as well.

With its picturesque location and period dcor, history truly comes to life at The General Lewis, an 1834 Federal-style home now serving as a relaxing bed and breakfast. Among the notable guest book signers are Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. An authentic 19th-century stagecoach rests under an arbor, still looking as though it is ready to transport guests to hot springs on the James River.

Any of these historic bed and breakfasts stand alone on their hospitality, amenities and beauty, but it’s hard to deny the added ambiance of staying in a place where some of the most illustrious names of the past worked, relaxed, dined and slept.

Last 5 posts by Jane Leisteiner

• Los Angeles Bed and Breakfasts Provide Great Weekend Escapes - July 16th, 2008
• Savor American History This 4th of July at a Bed and Breakfast - July 1st, 2008
• West Coast Bed and Breakfasts Spark Romance - June 26th, 2008
• 11 Fantastic California Bed and Breakfast Inns - June 5th, 2008
• Escape Now to a Bed and Breakfast Ranch, Farm or Lodge - May 25th, 2008

Tags: Hotels