The next time you go on a trip, hold off on booking that hotel. Instead, give a bed & breakfast a try. You might find yourself becoming a fan and opting for B&Bs at every opportunity.
Hearing the term “bed & breakfast” brings to mind quaint, old-fashioned images: lush, ivyed houses abounding with leaf awnings and candy-cane wallpaper, owned by a stay-at-home host. And every morning, a group of traveling strangers gather in the dining room to break bread and converse over coffee and orange juice.
Well, that’s certainly a 1950s TV moment. Images change with time and needs, and so has the B&B. The modern B&B establishment comes in a variety of layouts and styles, with owners just as diverse. There are gardened bungalows with wooden swingsets and a sunroom, and there are compact urban apartments right in the hotspot of the city. Owner-hosts range from entrepreneural grandparents to young working couples. They still provide a good meal and a personal touch, but more often than not, they’re busy with day-jobs and hectic appointments, and morning may be the only time you see them.
A bed & breakfast is a good accommodation alternative because it’s good value for your money. Far more inexpensive than a three-star hotel, it provides the same quality comfort, as well as includes breakfast (well, yes, naturally. That’s the point). There is friendly interaction and intimacy between you and the host, and between you and other guests. But better still—and I happen to find this a key factor in its favor, thank you very much—you don’t have to put up with ugly hotel wallpaper when you go to bed at night!
If you’re a first-time visitor, staying at a B&B gives you an inside look at your new location. Your host, being a local, can often be relied on for restaurant guides, tips on area attractions (for instance, visiting La Samaritaine if you want to avoid Mr. Eiffel’s little tower), and even bus routes and schedules.
It’s not just for first-timers or leisure vacations, either. There is a subtle, rising number of business travelers who choose to spend their stay at a B&B. The homey environment is soothing to the constant jetsetter, better than a stale hotel environment. Try venturing the suggestion of a B&B to your employer sometime—they might give you the vote of approval, once they see how the nightly rate compares with the usual stay at a hotel.
Depending on the size of the establishment, you may or may not have companions joining you in the morning. In an apartment-sized B&B, you will likely be the only guest, but in a five-bedroom house, there will be people coming in and out to grab a bite to eat. Part of the fun of a B&B is the opportunity to meet and chat with a myriad of strangers over fruit and buttered rolls. In Seattle, we were gleefully told where to find the Anthropologie store by the owner of a Portland dress shop, who had come down to check out a weekend costume fair. We smiled as the cook attempted a mixed verbal-and-sign-language communication with a Japanese woman whose two sons were sleepily drooping over their eggs. These moments become part of the experience.
And hey, being the only guest isn’t lacking anything, either. In Paris, I had my maps and itinerary spread all over the table, where I could plan the day’s event while digging into the jam. My host got me fresh pain au chocolat from the boulangerie every morning, and after learning I was a big Tintin fan, she set out my orange juice in a Tintin glass every morning. In the evenings, I spent time with my hosts’ pet rabbit, who insistently demanded to be scratched.
Of course, it’s up to you to make conversation with fellow guests at the table. Whether they’re shy or being polite, most people won’t say anything unless you make the first move move, so go ahead, move! I often break the ice by asking where they’re from and what they’re doing in town, which is a great opening anytime. It helps create a lively table, and you get to know new people. There have only been a couple of occasions where we didn’t know each other’s languages, so the silence usually winds up with wry smiles and a translatable “hi”/”bye” at the beginning and ending of each meal.
A B&B may not be your thing, so be aware of its shortcomings before you decide. For one thing, you have to get out of bed in the morning. Breakfast being a key part of the experience, it would seem kind of silly to choose to sleep in and skip the entire meal. But you may have to skip it if you rise too late, because more often than not, breakfast time is at the hosts’ convenience. Remember, they’re usually working people who have to get to their day-jobs, so you don’t have the option of hotel room service.
Still, this depends on whether the host has an established system that they are used to. Some hosts have the table set and ready for you before they leave the house, or have a tray waiting outside your door. In such cases, you can sup whenever you decide to leave those cozy covers. Other hosts either like to make things fresh, or prefer to clear the table first before they go to work, and so have an estimated time period in which they expect their guests.
I remember one lazy Brussels morning when a friend was too exhausted to rise, and I told her I’d bring back something from the breakfast table for her. It was a little funny attempting to explain to our confused host that no, she wasn’t sick, she just wanted to snooze.
The host will usually ask your preference once you arrive, though, and whatever system they’re using, there’s usually room for compromise. Oh, also, do settle up when you arrive. Unlike hotels, where you pay the bill after the fact, B&B households would much rather you do it on arrival. Some hosts may be embarrassed to ask, so take the initiative and settle upfront.
Also, keep in mind that it is another person’s home that you’re living in, so refrain from bringing back overnight guests or creating excessive din during late hours. This doesn’t mean you should patter about like a mouse, though. A little buzz during the day to make your presence known can be a good thing, especially if you want to avoid accidentally encountering an astonished host in red underwear (ah, you only think I’m kidding).
Be aware that there are some small hotels which try to take advantage of the B&B by purporting to one themselves. Stay away from these! They don’t provide the real B&B experience, and if they don’t, hey, what’s the use of putting up with them?
Research your bed & breakfast options. Find a B&B through a reliable source. This source can be a family member or a friend, or, commonly, it can be an establishment that evaluates a selection of B&Bs and only lists the reputable. Alcôve & Agapes is one such establishment. This gets a thumb’s up from Let’s Go: Paris, so how’s that for being trusted? Check out room pictures and reviews by previous guests in the site’s guestbook. Françoise Foret, who is behind Alcôve & Agapes, interviewed and chose a variety of hosts and households to be part of her B&B roster. Note: You’ll likely need access to a fax machine, as she asks for confirmation details to be faxed to her.
Bed & Brussels is another option. It is a note of relief when you find this site approved and linked to by the Belgian tourism board. The site can be a little tricky to navigate, but it lets you e-mail prospective rooms to yourselves so that you can compile your own list without constant bookmarks. Its “search” feature has handy filters such as the number of beds wanted, the kind of neighborhood preferred, and how hands-on you’d like your hosts to be.
Herman and Alea Foster used to run the splendid Amaranth Inn, a gorgeous B&B in Seattle (the sunroom! The jacuzzi bath! Oh my). It was an ultra-short bus-ride away from downtown, and perfect for both business and holiday travelers. They had a housekeeper and cook to oversee Amaranth Inn, but Herman did drop by our first morning to make sure everything was to our liking. Unfortunately, they have since moved on to other locations, but it’s worth checking out what they’re up to.
Is there a B&B you’ve stayed in that you’d like to recommend? Rave about it to us!
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