I'm confused: b&btraveler has his/her undies in a bunch (knickers in a twist?) over "negative and uninformed comments".
Did I miss something? I've read opinions and personal experiences, but at no point did anyone advise anyone to avoid B&B's or even imply that their perception of or experience of one means they are all bad.
Honestly! Did you innkeepers miss the hundreds-post-long thread on horrible hotel experiences? How on earth are you in the hospitality business if you're so thin-skinned?

Thomas, my first post was before I realized that all the B&B owners would post or register in order to post here, taking umbrage at my answer to another posters question.
Nothing was personal, it was an answer to a question.
I did not say that Thomas has a crappy B&B...nor did I name that B&B.

If you ever read anything other than B&B threads on these forums, or those others who registered just to post.. have you noticed any hotel owners or managers taking offence at all the complaints that are posted about particular hotels..not hotels in general?

My smiley face was laughing at how negative I sounded..posted to a Fodorite who asked the question.

"" ME_Innkeeper
Date: 06/01/2008, 10:48 am
To Scarlett:
A couple of points...I don't think any innkeepers were trying to control the forum, unlike yourself, telling us not to... "

This was personal and insulting.. adding the smiley face was not laughing at herself, it was a smile at the end of an insult..passive/aggressive.

Now I realize since I was the first person to post, all the B&B owner feathers got ruffled and directed their attacks at me, but I think after all the Other Fodorites have also mentioned their dislike of B&Bs... you people can answer the other responses as well.
I am finished here.. it was not personal and anyone who took it that way, has a problem.

bnbtraveler: If you read my post carefully, I said that my experience was that it was only in some of the smaller B&Bs where there was not as much privacy due to lack of guest only common areas, and that has been true for me on a couple of occasions (mostly due to the size of the property). That is a realistic observation on my part & something that travelers should ask their hosts about if it's important to them. It certainly wouldn't be a good thing for some of the people on this forum to think that they would have guest only space at a B&B and that not to be the case. I know that you have plenty of common area space that is available to your guests

Scarlett: I am just discovering some of the other travel forums that are out there & was interested in this discussion both as a traveler and owner of an inn.

To AAFrequentFlyer:

Ah, the $100 B&B room. Mostly a thing of the past on the coasts. Still available in the midwest.

If I had 80% occupancy like the hotels do I could charge $100/night and do well. If I had 100+ rooms, I could give special travelers such as yourself, the kinds of perks you get.

As it is, I offer a 'Frequent Sleeper' discount to my repeat guests. And they sometimes find chocolates or other special treats in their rooms.

But, $100/night and I'd be broke. ,



that wasn't the question. The question was "what would anybody consider fair rate for a B&B room?

I gave you my opinion. Unless it was a very special B&B, with waterview, romantic, 2 person jacuzzi in the room or on a private deck, etc, etc, I would not consider one if I had to pay more than $100 per night.

It does not mean the whole world agrees with me, but if you charge more than that for a room in a house you will not have me as a guest.

You asked, I gave you my opinion.


btw, the following statement has me puzzled:

If I had 80% occupancy like the hotels do I could charge $100/night and do well

did you buy the house with the idea that you must make so much money a week from it?

or did you have a nice house and one day decided to start the inkeeper business?

As I understand, a true B&B owner did the job to supplement their income, not to actually have a business plan with profit margins...

Not that there is anything wrong with it


In my earlier post I talked about the apartment B&B in Christchurch, NZ. I don't think the owners had a profit need in their operation. They did it for extra income, they realized what the fair value is, and if they wanted me to be their guest, they priced it accordingly.

Hmmmm...
So B&Bs are offering more and more extras like hotels now?

I just may try one again.

I did forget one good stay in Coloma CA.
But the shower was Lilliputian and the room's ceiling fan came darn close to be able to wack my noggin'.

Excellent Gold Country setting tho.

We could sit in the back gazebo overlooking the pond and drink wine and eat cheese/meats/veggies all night long.
Oh wait...we did.

Scareltt,
"passive/aggressive" behavior on Fodor's???

I'll alert the media!

The question: How Do You Really Feel about B&B's.

The answer: Personally I prefer hotels. I have no interest in staying at a B&B.

Question asked and question answered.

Thomas, I did try the Harbor House, they did not have a room available. BTW, NOTL has very pricey rooms either B&B and Hotels..we are paying 206$ a night for the Best Western Colonel Butler Inn....ouch! I am glad this post has effected some kind of change BnBtraveler said she would state on her web site that she has separate tables for bkfst...yahoo, Fodors can change things!

Many times, I found wonderful places to stay in NOTL by filling out a form either on shawfest.com or niagaraonthelake.com, whereupon I would receive a list of possibilities. One of our favorites was a three room apartment (living room, kitchen, lovely loft bedroom) just off the main street within walking distance of town with a lovely private garden patio. The rate was far less than a B&B or hotel.

In recent years, however, we've really enjoyed the South Landing Inn in Queenston. We really like the location midway between The Falls and NOTL. The rooms are beautiful (country inn style) and comfortable. I book far enough ahead for one of the front rooms in the annex with private deck, wicker porch furniture, and view of the river. They have a nice breakfast room - breakfast is optional for $5.

If you wouldn't mind staying 20 minutes away in Niagara Falls, check out Sterling Inn & Spa, a 40 room boutique hotel. Also, check out cozycottages.net & click on Niagara, then Cameo Suites (this is an apt type of accomodation in NOTL).

mouse, that is a great site! Tahnksfor the info,,,,they are a good deal IMO. djkbooks, that condo frpm mouse looks like the one you talked about. BTW, thanks for the the info, I want to be within walking distance of Queen st.

Some observations:

- I have found that it is one's fellow guests that determine a breakfast experience. (Separate tables do not suffice to act as sound or privacy barriers if the occupants are loud.) I like communal breakfast tables - but then I speak with others only if I intuit that that is what they wish.

- I can also think of places where it wouldn't matter where you stayed, hotel, motel, or bandb, the village or town in question is so small that you hand in a certain amount of your privacy the minute you drive into the vicinity. As visitors, you are part of the village entertainment - get used to it.... (I can brag that I once stayed at the same place as Michael J. Fox. Apparently only one of us got any privacy at all, notwithstanding that the establishment was not a bandb.)