Two Hundred Years of Practice Makes Perfect at a Bed and Breakfast Near You!

Benefit from the long-held tradition of innkeeping while staying at one of America’s oldest continuously operated country inns and bed and breakfasts dating back to 1757. American Historic Inns and ILoveInns.com acknowledge the determination, commitment and sheer tenacity it takes. We applaud the innkeepers who practice the art of hospitality which has made these lodgings perfect places to stay.

Joan Chandon, owner of The Fairfield Inn in Fairfield, Pennsylvania claims, “The inn is one of only five in America that can boast continuous operation since the 1700s.” Originally it was a stagecoach stop in 1757 for tired travelers and in 1786 it became an officially licensed tavern. Since that time many important people have stayed and dined here from Confederate Generals during the Civil War to the President and his wife Mamie during the Eisenhower Administration. The inn is excited to announce its 250th anniversary celebration. To commemorate such a wonderful milestone a year-long give-a-way promotion will be held each month with a grand prize drawing at the end of 2007.

Known as “The Beek” to locals, Beekman Arms has been the center of civic and social life since 1766. Sitting in the center of the village of Rhinebeck, New York, this stone building was originally made to withstand possible Indian attacks. In the American Revolution the 4th Regiment of the Continental Army drilled on the front lawn. While the British burned the state capital of Kingston the townsfolk took refuge at the inn. Between the Civil War and World War I many prominent families and wealthy politicians built estates nearby in the historic and scenic Hudson Valley. The inn’s restaurant and Colonial Tap Room boasts several dining rooms and a garden greenhouse. Each bed & breakfast guest bedroom features a decanter of sherry.

Gracing our nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine, in sunny Florida, the St. Francis Inn was built 1791 during the city’s Second Spanish Colonial Period and it embraces the rich history and culture. Since that time the bed and breakfast has had many names and many owners from military men and their offspring to literary figures and educators. Brigadier General Melville A. Cochran, in his book of Civil War remembrances described the St. Francis as “one of the best in St. Augustine.” In 1888 philanthropist John L. Wilson bought the inn and made extensive renovations. Today the inn offers outstanding amenities that include bikes to tour the city, complimentary admission to the lighthouse and museum as well as discounts on gift shop purchases and other attractions.

Guests weary from the riverboat ride looked forward to the famous hospitality of The Southern Hotel in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. Built in the 1790s, it has run continuously since 1805 and is known as the “oldest longest operating hotel or lodging establishment in the US West of the Mississippi.” The innkeepers love to share stories about the guest bedrooms and put a ball and clawfoot tub in each room. 

One of California’s oldest continuously operated B&Bs offers ”romantic elegance in the California Gold Country.” The 1859 Historic National Hotel in Jamestown survived two damaging fires in the 1900s and restoration, as well as upgrades like plumbing have been made since then. During Prohibition government agents raided the place several times looking for liquor. Today, you can legally enjoy local wines in The National’s award-winning restaurant and Gold Rush Saloon.

Lawnmere Inn has been a quiet refuge since 1897 on Townsend Gut, which connects Boothbay Harbor with Sheepscot River on the eastern end of Southport Island in Maine. Opened as a summer hotel, expectant guests arrived by boat from the Eastern Steamship Company. The inn features modernization and renovated deluxe suites. Facilities in the main inn and annex buildings are perfect for special functions. Considered the area’s popular dining destination, the inn’s dining room and Groggy Lobster Pub are open to the public with reservations recommended.

Many of the properties listed above are also in the best-selling bed and breakfast guidebook Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns with Buy-One-Night-Get-One-Night-Free Certificate. To learn more about the guidebook as well as additional Inns of interest, go to www.iloveinns.com.

About American Historic Inns and iLoveInns.com
American Historic Inns, Inc. (www.iloveinns.com), founded in 1981, is the leading publisher of bed & breakfast guidebooks, with more than 2.5 million bed & breakfast guidebooks sold, and runs iLoveInns.com, a top bed & breakfast and country inns directory listing 19,500 properties. Also, AHI is the industry leader in consumers' goods sampling and promotions programs to bed & breakfasts and country inns.

Note: For photos or interviews, please contact Barbara Naylon at 949-497-2232, ext. 305.