The Wellesley Hotel is a welcomed family retreat from all things modern and technological. Built in 1903 in Thousand Islands Park, New York on Wellesley Island the hotel commands glorious views of the St. Lawrence River. We docked our boat at the Thousand Island Park Marina. The hotel supplied us with an official permit. Stepping into the hotel is like stepping into George M. Cohan’s play The Tavern of the early 1900’s: a front desk with a brass bell, an ultra-wide wooden staircase graciously leading to the suites and antique shops. Even more gracious was the married couple running it. David Gilberg the chef, went the extra mile carrying our bags to our room. We stayed with our golden-doodle puppy, Matisse for or two nights in early August.

The corridors leading to the suites are wide as those of New York City’s Plaza Hotel when it was first built in 1907.Each suite has two simple bedrooms joined by a full bathroom. Our large queen size bed was very comfortable. Suites have ceiling fans, which help create a breeze on hot summer nights. Those sensitive to the heat will enjoy visiting in the cooler months of early summer or fall, as the hotel does not have air conditioning. The porches off the second floor are magnificent and provide plenty of refreshing breezes from the great river.

The wrap-around porch, on the first floor is where lunch and dinner are served. Guests can also choose to dine inside. The food is what makes the Wellesley Hotel memorable. It is for those who have an adventurous palate and desire to try a creative take on a well-known dish. We recommend the shrimp cocktail and the New York style strip sirloin steak fit for a king. Henry the VIII, would most likely be pleased at it was thick and juicy. Their pasta is house made and also delicious. Vegetarian options are available. The spectacular dining views, down the emerald lawn to the sparkling American channel of the St. Lawrence are magical. Be sure to visit the flower filled gardens behind the hotel and shops at the end of the porch. A favorite purchase was fine jewelry designed by The Golden Cleat, with a nautical inspiration. Also special is The River Dog Gallery which celebrates all things Thousand Islands, including beautiful photos by artist Bob Cook. River Dog Gallery is run by a friendly husband and wife team Bob and Debi Cook.

The highly respected chef, David Gilberg and hotel manager Carla Goncalves are a married couple team. David also manages the newly rebuilt restaurant across the street called The Guzzel, a casual restaurant and ice cream parlor. The Guzzle serves the best hamburgers east of Kansas, generous fresh Caesar salads were a favorite. And their morning muffins literally melt in your mouth. All the food we had there was excellent.

The Wellesley is a retreat from the 20^th century as well as from our own life on a nearby small island and life in New York City. Still, it offers wifi to guests and luggage service by golf cart back to your boat. Those who drive to the hotel have the convenience of parking right in front. Originally, Thousand Islands Park was a Methodist family summer camp. You will still feel a purity and peace in this place. The loudest noise was a child riding a bike or laughing. As we walked down Coast Avenue West lined with historic Victorian homes, it felt like we stepped into L.M. Montgomery’s, Anne of Green Gables. Perhaps Anne’s just left the TI Park Library and can be found reading in the gazebo. No, it’s not Nova Scotia but it has such a feeling of history that it could be if you closed your eyes to the beauty of the St. Lawrence and dreamed.

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The Rosemont Inn at 1423 Genesee Street in Utica, New York is a restored Victorian mansion built in 1866. We stayed at this stylish Bed and Breakfast while traveling back to New York City along with our new puppy. Yes, they are pet friendly!

Upon arriving (we arrived earlier than expected) Rita Sleys, the owner and innkeeper who has run the Rosemont for 13 years, instantly welcomed us to our room on the second floor. It was a little workout moving in our bags and puppy up the grandest flight of stairs we’ve ever seen in a B & B.  How women did it in victorian dress is beyond us. It was worth the climb. The Chantilly room was lovely and spacious with it’s own marble fire place, great windows draped in lace curtains, a comfortable King size bed, sitting area, mini frig and oversized private bath with a clawfoot tub and shower.   The Rosemont has seven beautifully decorated rooms on the first and second floors all decorated in the post Civil War Victorian style.

The Italiante Victorian B & B comes with an incredible four-course gourmet breakfast. We had the french toast that was out of this world. Rita’s daughter brought a pretty glass goblet of fresh pineapple topped with a spot of whipped crème and fresh mint sprinkled in from Rita’s garden. Sipping coffee from period teacups and looking at the antique wall mirror garnished with roses and a string of pearls takes one back in time.

“Being an innkeeper here at the Rosemont allows me to enjoy other things all at the same time,” says Rita. “I love gardening and plants of every variety. Our herbs here at the Rosemont Inn are growing in a small corner outside our back kitchen door.” Her porch adds to the warm atmosphere. It’s filled with flowers, greenery and has comfortable rocking chairs. Her friendly two sons and daughters help with the Inn.

Only a few blocks away is the historic Stanley Theater. It was once a baroque movie palace and now a theatre for Broadway touring companies. Also special is the Munson-Williams Proctor Museum of Art. With all the rich history, travelers need not leave technology behind as wifi Internet access, fax and copy services are available to all of the Rosemont’s guests.

One unique feature of the Rosemont is the massage service offered. They have a wide selection of treatments to enhance and rejuvenate your stay.

Rita is jubilant in talking about Utica’s immigrant heritage, “They give so much to the city,” she says. Built in the industrial hay-day of Utica, the Rosemont Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Homes. We were glad to have stayed in this relaxed elegant landmark. For reservations call: 315.797.9033 stay@rosemontinnbb.com www.rosemontinnbb.com

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Cobblescote may just be one of my favorite Inns in America. Overlooking picturesque Lake Otsego (also called Glimmerglass), in Cooperstown, New York, Cobblescote’s interior charm, cuisine and the hospitality of its owner, Peter Bissell, is equal to its beauteous setting. Mr. Bissell is a consummate chef serving eggs, waffles, pancakes, fresh fruit other breakfast items.

Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was the home of novelist James Fennimore Cooper who immortalized this Upstate New York region in his timeless romantic “Leather Stocking” indian tales.

At Cobblescote, centuries magically seem to recede and your adventure begins. Canoeing, water-skiing or just sitting by a roaring fire and reading or dreaming, Cobblescote has it all. At 6515 NY-80 only a few miles from downtown Cooperstown, the Dutch Colonial-style inn has pristine warm comfortable rooms, including some with genuine antiques.

One guest posted on Trip Advisor that Cobblescote on the Lake is an “Amazing Getaway.” Nearby attractions include the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, the Fenimore Art Museum and the Fly Creek Cider Mill.

“I love to cook and delight patrons at the Inn with my creations,” says innkeeper Peter Bissell. Included are complimentary breakfast, free WIFI and even free laundry room access. By phone, contact the inn at 607-437- 1146 or see website: www.cobblescote.com. If you spend three nights during Thanksgiving Day weekend, the inn will give you a complimentary Thanksgiving dinner.

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Call it Love, with a capital “L.”

I have never felt as looked after as I have at the Maple Leaf Cottage Inn in Elsah, Illinois.

Steps from one of the most picturesque parts of the Mississippi River, the five-bedroom Maple Leaf Bed and Breakfast is designed with comfort and beauty in mind at every point.

Our bed was as or even more comfortable than any my wife and I had slept in from The Waldorf-Astoria in New York to the Millennium Chelsea Harbour in London.

The windows of the Maple Leaf Cottage are graced with stained glass; The “garden room,” where my wife and I stayed when my son graduated from Principia College, overlooked rose and other gardens and was wonderfully and conveniently located next to the inn’s dining room.

The college is located on the bluffs overlooking historic Elsah, Illinois and the Mississippi. The area abounds with biking, hiking and jogging trails.

To say breakfast is included in our $150 room rate is a serious understatement as our country breakfasts were feasts indeed.

Selected as one of the top 25 “Best Romantic Getaways in Illinois” by Lonely Planet Guidebook, “Imagine sitting under the stars by firelight surrounded by peaceful nature,” says a Maple Leaf Cottage brochure.

In 1949, The Attic Room was the inn’s first guest room with antique items dating back 150 years. A room called The Maples features two queen beds. The Garden Room has one queen bed. Other charming rooms that offer comfortable accommodations are The Wash House and The Gables. See their website for photos of each country room: www.mapleleafcottageinn.com

For reservations call 618-374- 1684.

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“We did very well [financially] — and we brought back a lot of the prestige of The Ball by bringing it back to The Breakers!” Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the American Red Cross and former U.S. Ambassador to Finland, told me during the magical dancing in the Venetian Ballroom of The Breakers.

“Everyone here is engaged in giving and everyone should,”  Jean Shafiroff, who attended the ball with husband Martin Shafiroff, told me.

At the pre-Ball reception in the hotel’s flower-festooned Mediterranean Ballroom, Mary M. Ourisman, Ball chairwoman former U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, greeted six visiting ambassadors from Singapore, Iceland, Indonesia, Morocco, Portugal and the Netherlands along with many of the Who’s Who of American society, business and the arts. Mary was accompanied by husband Mandell “Mandy” Ourisman, chairman of Ourisman Automotive with auto dealerships in metropolitan Washington, D.C.

And former film star Dina Merrill — whose mother, Marjorie Merriweather Post, was the founding chairwoman of the Red Ball back in 1956 — looked regal and radiant in a black gown and black pearls, especially when she received a hug and kiss from her jazz singer grandson Cole Rumbough. She was accompanied by husband Ted Hartley, CEO of RKO Pictures and co-producer with Stewart F. Lane of the Irving Berlin musical Top Hat in London.

And from start to finish this year’s 56th edition of the International Red Cross Ball had a most engaging air of freshness. And there’s just no getting around it: The Red Ball at the glittery Breakers was as opulent and joyous occasion as any event in the time-honored tradition of one of the greatest and most beautiful hotels in the world.

Among the more than 400 guests were Francis Hayward, Jean and Martin Shafiroff,  Jon L. Heinemann and his beautiful wife, artist Michelle Marie Heinemann  Trish Donnelley, Paula Butler, Amanda Schumacher, Audrey and Marty Gruss, Kathryn Vecellio and Rhonda Wilkins (co-chairwomen for the Red Ball), Mary Mochary, and Beverly White-Yeager, Wilbur and Hilary Ross, Tom Quick, Chris and Grace Meigher, Wally and Betsy Turner, Anita McBride, former chief of staff for Barbara Bush; California Congressman Ed Royce and his wife Maria; former U.S. Senators Mel Martinez, Norm Coleman and Fred Thompson.

One of the highlights of the Red Ball was Peter Duchin and his orchestra serenading Dina Merrill with If I Could Live Again, a song written for her half a century ago about the time she was co-starring in the movie Desk Set with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. If I Could Live Again was sung by grandson Cole Rumbough.

Special Thanks to Mary and Mandell Ourisman who were among the biggest supporters of The Red Cross Ball.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.pbtcredcross.org or join our blog at www.pbtcredcross.org/blog.

- See more at: http://blacktiemagazine.com/Palm_Beach_Society/The_56th_International_Red_Cross_Ball.htm#sthash.v1etXD6X.dpuf

First published in BlackTie Magazine on February 8, 2013

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These impressions are wholly apart from the wonderful, once-in-a-life time experience that incredibly posh hotels offer each and every guest each and every visit.

Here are three five-star hotels I recommend for a special one-night stay, for afternoon tea, drinks or dinner.

The Lanesborough

Located at the corner of Hyde Park, this 95-room hotel (43 are suites) was originally an 1820s hospital built of Portland stone. Now this stunning landmark, like a lavish country palace, is a favorite of Jim Carrey, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna.

Rooms are decorated with lush fabrics and Regency period antiques; windows are triple- glazed, cutting out all traffic noises. The hotel, which derives its name from Viscount Lanesborough, who built his country home on this spot in 1719, is part of the St. Regis Hotel group and has the highest ratio of staff to rooms of any hotel in Europe, with 270 full-time employees. There’s even a motion detector computer which tells housekeeping when you’ve left your room so you won’t be disturbed needlessly.

Surprising savings:

Complimentary land line phone calls anywhere in the world
butler service (packing, unpacking, clothes pressing, restaurant and theatre reservations)
bowl of flowers
bottled water
Internet access
unlimited movies
shoeshine
personalized stationery and business cards
a mobile phone for use anywhere in the hotel
Afternoon Tea ($55), served from 3:30 to 6 in the Conservatory, is so bounteous that you may not need dinner!

TIP: Rent the royal suite and you’ll have access to a chauffeur driven Bentley 24/7, so you can save on bus and taxi fares!

Geoffrey Gelardi, the general manager of the Lanesborough, is a third generation hotelier. His beloved late father was a top executive with Truse House Forte and his grandfather was manager of the Savoy Hotel in London and the Waldorf Towers in New York.

Said Mr. Gelardi, “When one travels a lot, it’s very annoying that every time you want to go on the Internet, you have to fill in your name and your room number and ‘I agree to this’ and ‘I agree to that.’ And then the hotel charges you anything from 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds! So our whole philosophy at the Lanesborough is based not on ‘nickel-and-diming’ people — but on giving great value.”

Rates:
Singles from $580/night
Doubles from $780/ night

Walk to: Apsley House, Harrods, Sloan Street
Tube: Hyde Park Corner

The Milestone Hotel

The Milestone is another wonderful, over-the-top hotel with Kensington to its left and Knightsbridge to its right. Overlooking Kensington Palace and Gardens, it occupies two mansions of architectural significance that date back to the 1880s.

Part of the Red Carnation hotel group, The Milestone, both pet and child friendly, has a staff of 100+. Its 57 rooms (12 suites) are not only luxurious but full of character, decorated in styles ranging from African safari to traditional Tudor. There are also six long-stay apartments.

Surprising savings:

Complimentary glass of champagne (or green tea) upon arrival
Bose MP3 Players and docking stations in all rooms and suites
Guests in suites receive canapés every evening
The Milestone periodically runs a special that for every 2 nights you stay in a suite, the 3rd night is free. Its “Showtime Package,” which includes full English breakfast, dinner and 2 tickets to a theater of your choice, starts at $680/double.

Afternoon Tea, served from 3 to 6 pm in the Park Lounge and the Conservatory, is $20 for tea and scones and $40 for tea, scones, finger sandwiches and pastries.

Rates:
Singles & Doubles from $330/night.

Walk to: Hyde Park, Harrods, Victoria & Albert Museum
Tube: High Street or Kensington

The May Fair

The 406-room, 12-suite May Fair, a favorite of Penelope Cruz and Jess Metcalfe — and going way back, Frank Sinatra — is between Berkeley Square and Stratton Street. The hotel’s 1927 stone exterior stands in wonderful contrast to the state-of-the-art rooms, each of which is equipped with Bang & Olufsen entertainment systems.

TIP: Ask for a room on the back facing Berkeley Square, one of London’s most beautiful squares. At night it turns into a mini-fairyland when the old-fashioned street lamps are lit.

Surprising savings:

periodically offers an “Advance Purchase Program” which must be paid for 10 days prior to arrival, and includes a 20% discount; no cancellations
it intermittently has a 2-for-1 lunch or dinner deal at the hotel’s delightful Amba Bar & Grill
Afternoon Tea, served from 3 to 6 pm in the hotel’s Amba restaurant, is $17 for tea and scones and $32 for tea, scones, finger sandwiches and pastries.

Rates: Singles & Doubles from $360
Walk to: Green Park, Buckingham Palace, National Gallery
Tube: Green Park

The Lanesborough
Hyde Park Corner
800- 999-1828
www.lanesborough.com

The Milestone Hotel
1 Kensington Court
877-955-1515
www.milestonehotel.com

The May Fair
Stratton Street
800-333- 3333
www.themayfairhotel.co.uk

To order Ward Morehouse’s book, Life at the Top: New York’s Grand Hotels, go to: www.TravelSmartNewsletter.com and click on “Books” in the left-hand menu

Life at the Top: London‛s Grand Hotels, by TravelSmart’s “Checking In” columnist Ward Morehouse III, will be published later this year.

First published on www.filmfestivaltraveler.com on July 24, 2011.

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In the Grand Central Terminal vicinity such as Annie Moore’s or even T.G. I. Fridays (part of the chain), both on 43rd St. between Madison and Vanderbilt Aves, just west of the Terminal. The space was leased in 1923 by John Campbell from William K. Vanderbilt II, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt the original owner of the New York Central railroad. At 30 feet wide and 60 feet long it was believed to be one of the largest ground floor spaces in New York at this time.

Perhaps the best place to pick up food to eat at the many tables and chairs on the Lower Level of Grand Central is the Grand Central Food Market, which is on the main level of Grand Central. You can get everything from sushi to fresh-cut fruit to crab cakes to cheeses of every variety. Open Mon – Fri 7 am – 9 pm and Sat. 10am-7pm. Then take the stairs just to the west of the Food Market for vacant seats on the Lower Level. Or use the escalator on the western side of the main concourse. You can get larger, or smaller, portions to take home or lunch or dinner-sized ones to eat in the station or on commuter trains.

You can reach the GCM (Grand Central Market) from Lexington Avenue and 43rd St and well as from Grand Central itself.

Some my favorites in the Grand Central Market:

* Wild Edibles. Purveyors to some of the city’s finest restaurants, try individual portions of fresh tuna or salmon at under $10. Don’t forget to ask for your “side,” either rice or a dish of fresh vegetables (T) 212 687- 4255.

* Murray’s Cheese. Celebrating its 63rd anniversary — but not at the GCM Market! — Murray’s offers everything from delicious blue cheese to Swiss in small or large “half-a-wheel” quantities. (T) 212-9221540

* Dishes at Home. Here’s where you can take away an entire sumptuous high-protein evening meal complete with whole grain rice or fresh vegetables. (T) 212-370-5511

Just downstairs from the Market, via stairs or escalator, are several dozen eateries. Some, like Grand Cental Zocalo, after table service. With others you sit at first-come-first-serve tables and chairs. Zocalo is the sister (or brother, if you prefer!) of Manhattan’s popular upscale (without the upscale prices) Mexican-themed restaurant. GC Zocalo is literally around the corner from the Oyster Bar, also on the Lower level, and has the advantage of being open on Sundays which the OB is not. (T) 212-687-5666.

Junior’s is another of my favorites — if you’re in the mood for real New York deli-style food. Aside from its 10-once steakburgers, it boasts pastrami and other overstuffed deli-sandwiches, cheesecake and so-called “skyscrapter desserts” which are dishes with mounds of ice cream, whip cream, etc. etc!  (T) 212-983-5257

Here are some of my favorities eateries around Grand Central Terminal.

* Annie Moore’s 50 E 43rd St between Madison Ave & Vanderbilt Ave), Located on what I call “pub row” –  43rd St. between Madison and Vanbderbilt Aves — Annie Moore’s is a delightful, wood-panneled resonably-priced pub with friendly service and good food. I suggest asking for a table near the front of the restaurant so you can “people watch” as well as dine. Singles will be confortable eating at its long wooden bar. No reservations are needed as there’s a constant turnover. But expect a slight wait, usually no more than five minutes, between noon and 1:00 PM. (T) 212-986-7826, www.anniemooresnyc.com

* Patrick Conways Restaurant 40 E. 43rd St.  This is another fine pub, with good hamburgers, club and other santwiches and an inviting bar single men or women can feel comfotable at. (T) 212-286-1873  www.patrrickconways.com

* Pershing Square 90 E. 42nd St. Owned by famed New York restaurateur Michael “Buzzy” O’Keefe, who also owns River Cafe, in Brooklyn, literally in the shadow of the Broklyn Bridge, Pershing Square is itself literally under the Grand Central “viaduct” which juts from GCT to what used to be Pershing Square. I like Pershing Square especially for breakfast and if you’re in a hurry to eat and run to work I suggest eating in one of the several dozen “up front” tables nearest 42nd St. You can seat yourselves. If you want a booth for 4 with its comfotable plush seats you will have to wait in what may well be a long lind for breakfast or dinner. I also suggest Pershing Square as an alternative to other area restaurants which tend to be patronized by local residents and not computers.

* Cucina Express, 200 Park Avenue in the Met Life, formerly the Pam Am, Building. Quick, good fare at reasonable prices. I worked in the Met Life Building for 4 years and would eat here regularly. It’s lox and assorted fresh fruit are popular for breakfast (T) 212-682-2211

*  Naples Restaurante, Also at 200 Park Ave in the Met Life Building, this dining spot has an entrance facing 45th St. Ditto Tropica, which like Naples has warm friendly service and good, reasonably priced food. Keep inmind that many in the towering Met L:ife building office workers pour in these places at lunchtime so they tend to be crowded then. Tip: arrive at 11:45 to try and beat the rush. The great thing about the Naples here is one can just have coffee with or without a bagel, English muffin of  broche and the staff won’t look at you as if you’re from the moon! 212-972-7001

* The Wheeltrapper at The Fitzpatrick Hotel Grand Central,141 East 44th Street at Lexington Ave NY, NY (T) 212 351 6800 www.fitzpatrickhotels.com. It’s called
The Wheeltapper for a good reason with its delightful and distinctive what I call train “dining car” atmosphere, complete with real-life train memorbilia such as signal lights.

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It was near dinner time. The fire crackled and flames leaped high in the great brick fireplace in the Red Lion Inn. Guests and townspeople came in from the cold winter night, and stood in front of the blazing fire for a few moments before going into the formal dining room or the more rustic Widow Bingham’s Tavern. Later that night, there would be no room at the inn for more guests; most of the 50 rooms open in the winter had been booked months in advance.

About 75 miles to the southeast, guests at the Old Drovers Inn in Dover Plains, N.Y., ordered shrimp rarebit, curry or turkey, and fresh key lime pie in the rough-beamed candle-lit dining room. Again, the inn’s three bedrooms were filled, and advance reservations were stacked up for months.

At the Beekman Arms Inn in nearby Rhinebeck, N.Y. – which along with Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Mass., claims to be the oldest continuously operated inn in the nation – friends gathered before the fire in the large entrance hall swapping yarns. History has it that George Washington once slept directly overhead, and from the charming surroundings, it’s not too hard to imagine Washington himself walking in any moment. Even he would have had trouble getting a room tonight, though.

Americans are turning ”inn-ward” as never before, and not only in the Northeast.

At Rancho Encatado in Sante Fe, N.M., occupancy is up substantially from several years ago. At the Lafitte Guest House in New Orleans, business ”has doubled in the past two years in the summer off-season alone” says manager Steve Guyton. And at Virginia’s Williamsburg Inn (which some hospitality experts consider more of a hotel than an inn despite its ”early American” atmosphere), business is booming.

To understand why staying at a country inn has grown as popular as hot apple pie for many Americans, it’s necessary to travel back to Stockbridge, Mass., and to Norman T. Simpson, often simply called ”Mr. Country Inn.”

For Simpson, with his warm, easy manner and broad smile, has probably been to more country inns in the United States, Britain, Ireland, and Europe than any man alive. Yankee magazine calls him the ”recognized authority on today’s country inns.” He is always either coming from or going to one inn or another, and thousands of people on both sides of the Atlantic follow the recommendations in his many books.

His most popular book, ”Country Inns and Back Roads,” is now in its 17th printing. It profiles 210 inns across the United States from the Red Lion Inn in Simpson’s own hometown to ones with equally inviting and intriguing names such as the Nu-Wray Inn in Burnsville, N.C., to the Captain Whidbey Inn in Coupeville , Wash.

Seventeen years ago the book started out with just 16 pages. Since then it has grown to nearly 500 pages, reflecting the growth in inn-going. ”The book came about as a result of my enthusiasm for staying in inns and a friend who was always kidding me about it,” said Simpson as we chatted before a roaring fire in his Stockbrige home. ”My friend would always say, ‘Where have you been recently?’ so I sat down one day and typed out an answer. Then the idea of doing a book really was a result of that little joke, you might say. We gave the book away that first time.”

When he first began selling his book, he said, ”we had to explain what a country inn was to people, and many people were not interested! Innkeepers were delighted to find someone who was interested in what they were doing.”

Finding real inns – as opposed to hotels or motels that called themselves inns – was also a problem. Although definitions of inns vary, Simpson and other experts agree there are several common ingredients. Besides a certain distinct ”atmosphere,” derived in part from its antiquity, an inn must ”draw people together” in camaraderie and friendship.

”You tend to find friendship replacing many of the amenities of a large hotel,” says Wayne Berens, president of Revere Travel Inc. ”The people who like to stay at country inns are also really looking for a kind of tranquility that they may not find in a large glass and steel hotel.”

Another reason for the upward trend in inn-going is ”value,” according Mr. Berens and other travel experts. While some of the best inns may be considered expensive, their prices fall far below those for many first-class hotels in major cities such as New York, Chicago, or Washington, D.C. The price of a room at the Waldorf-Astoria or Sheraton Center in New York or the Mayflower Hotel in Washington is nearly $100 a night. Some of the most luxurious inns do not come close to that.

But some of the best inns can be deceptively expensive once the cost of meals is added to the bill. And often, the ”best restaurant in town” is the local inn, so the choice is limited. For example, a couple spending one night at the Old Drovers Inn and having breakfast and dinner should plan on spending ”$75 to

On the other hand, the room and meal rates at some inns are bargains because some innkeepers try to keep their prices as low as possible for their customers.

One of these ”inns,” according to Simpson, is the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. Besides its ambiance (due partly to its having been the home of the famous ”Roundtable” of literary and artistic luminaries in the 1920s), this small hotel is family owned and operated.

Inns definitely aren’t for everyone, as Travis Harris will tell you with some amusement. Over the years, several guests have packed up and left in a huff no sooner than they had settled in because they had expected more pampering or hotel-chain amenities. Drovers itself, incidently, has been the favorite of many famous writers and celebrities. Sinclair Lewis, the late Nobel Prize-winning novelist, was a frequent and (at times) very demanding guest.

Through periodic gatherings of the Independent Innkeepers Association, Simpson keeps in touch with the owners of the inns described in his books. He also receives regularly what he jocularly calls ”Dear Norman” letters in which innkeepers give him their latest news on rooms and recipes. Since there is no substitute for firsthand knowledge, he visits these inns at every opportunity.

And which one does he like best?

”I refrain from choosing favorites,” he says. ”Aside from the fact it is not a very good idea, it is also a very difficult question to answer. It depends on your mood and I find in almost every case that where I am is the place I like best – whether it’s up in the Vermont woods or on the California coast.”

For him, finding the ideal country inn is ”a state of mind. If you bring that state of mind with you, you’re going to find the perfect inn.”

Of course, some of the same qualities that lure inn goers, lure prospective inn buyers – sometimes to their regret, Simpson and other experts warn. Those qualities don’t come cheap.

According to William Oats of the Country Business Services Inc. of Brattleboro, Vt., a real-estate brokerage firm, a ”good inn with an active business can cost from $20,000 to $30,000 a room.” Oats ought to know; he’s sold 38 inns, most of them in the Northeast. Norman Simpson says that the same inns which were selling for between $125,000 and $150,000 a decade ago are now priced at $350,000 and more.

Yet even at these prices, and ”in these days of high interest money, the enthusiasm about leaving the ‘rat race’ of the city and raising your kids in the country is something that appeals to a great, great many people,” Simpson says. ”And a lot of them make it. I’ve talked to them, tried to dissuade them. But they’ve gone on, gotten their inn, and I’ve put them in ‘Country Inns and Back Roads’ five years later.”

No one has an accurate count of the inns that fail each year, but indications are it is relatively few. Simpson says that he can recall only one inn in his book going bankrupt. Yet, he and others say, some innkeepers don’t hang their proprietorship shingles out for all that long either.

”While there is a lot of interest in owning country inns,” Oats declares, ”a lot of it is misdirected. Many people don’t know what they’re getting into. The inn is a very romantic idea . . . but you can also get into trouble if your not suited to it.”

One key ingredient for success, Oats has seen from years of observation, is tailoring your inn for a certain clientele and ”not trying to be all things to all people.” Thus, although good food is a drawing card for most inns, some inns specialize in gourmet fare; others boast fireplaces in every room; still others emphasize their location.

”But people who try to compete with the motel down the road are in trouble from the very start,” says Oats. In Vermont, he notes, ”the inns that tend to be the most successful also have the highest rates.”

First published in the Christian Science Monitor on January 7, 1982

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