How I Became A Bed And Breakfast Convert, Plus My 7 Favorites - TravelAwaits

For most of our travels, we stay at hotels. Having worked in the hospitality industry for a hotel company, my wife and I took advantage of the employee discounts when we traveled. Disneyland. Disney World. St. Louis. Chicago. All over. Then, those jobs went away during the Great Recession of 2008. So, we were faced with finding nice hotels at affordable rates. My wife decided on one of our trips that we should stay at a bed and breakfast. What? I had become a hotel snob. I’ve stayed at some of the best Hyatts, Sheratons, Westins, Fairmonts in the world. Why would I want to crash at a hostel (my view of bed and breakfasts at the time)?

Well, my wife convinced me to try a bed and breakfast. I told her I didn’t want to stay at one if it meant having to share a bathroom (again, I viewed all bed and breakfasts as hostels). We decided to try a bed and breakfast in Milwaukee. One hitch: We’d have to share a bathroom with another room. “Ugh,” I thought. Well, I checked out the place online. It looked interesting. An old mansion, not far from Marquette University. The neighborhood was older and quaint. I reluctantly agreed. Much to my shock, I loved it! Our stay at the Schuster Mansion was a success. The owners were fabulous people. The breakfasts were amazing. Our room was outstanding. Oh, the bathroom thing? We never saw our “partners” until our last night at the mansion, as we were coming in for the night and they were leaving. After that, I told Lisa that when she booked places, have fun with it, though I preferred our own bathroom.

Since that trip seven years ago, we have enjoyed several stays at bed and breakfast inns around the country, as well as Airbnbs. Between personal travels and hosted stays, I’ve gone from a hotel snob to a bed and breakfast convert and would love to share with you a few of the outstanding bed and breakfasts where we’ve had the pleasure of staying.