Bed & Breakfast Getaways from Cleveland by Doris Larson | Cleveland Books | Gray & Company, Publishers | Guide and Gift Books about Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, and Ohio.

Description

Bed & Breakfasts make great destinations for overnight and weekend trips. Here are 80 B&Bs and small inns that Clevelanders (and Cleveland visitors) should know about, because they're perfect for a quick getaway—just a short drive from home.

Visit a quaint town filled with antique stores and homey restaurants, sample the nightlife in an exciting metropolitan area, or take some time away to do . . . nothing.

These B&Bs are organized by location, to make finding one easy if you already have travel plans taking you to some part of Ohio or neighboring states. Special chapters organize B&Bs by type of location—college towns, for example. Or use the Idea Index—it groups B&Bs by specialties, such as “Cozy Firesides” or “Outdoorsy Activities Nearby”—when you're not exactly sure what you're looking for yet.

Each inn is described in objective detail, so you'll know what to expect. (You probably don't want to bring the dog to a lace-filled Victorian—or spend your 1st anniversary at an inn where everyone else has brought their kids!) All the facts you'll need to plan your visit are included—price, directions, credit cards accepted, number and types of rooms, meal info, pets allowed, reservation requirements, and more.

Unlike some Bed & Breakfast guides, this one accepts NO advertising or payment for listings. These B&Bs were selected by travel writer Doris Larson solely based on their quality. She knows, because she visited them all in person.

Book Excerpt:

Barn Inn

While in Holmes Coun ty in late 1997, I noticed a new bed and breakfast, a red barn structure, just before the entrance to the Inn at Honey Run. I was curious because although the barn looked new, I could tell the foun dation had age. Innkeeper Loretta Coblentz welcomed me to the Barn Inn on that cold, dreary, late-November day with a cup of tea and some homemade cookies. We settled down in front of the slate fireplace and she described her search for a bed and breakfast property.

After living in Florida for 27 years, Hartville natives Loretta and Paul Coblentz decided to return to Ohio. They found this turn-of-the-century farmhouse and barn on County Road 203, between Berlin and Millersburg. As they were beginning to decide the decor of the guest rooms in the house, Loretta's mother came to visit, and when she saw the barn she suggested it would make a perfect bed and breakfast. The farm was once the Honey Run Dairy, site of a cheese-making company. Loretta and Paul had the vision to take this old barn and transform it into a Victorian inn.

From the time they started construction in January 1997 until they opened for business in September 1997, the Coblentzes, their family, and friends expended lots of elbow grease getting the place clean. They spent three weeks just scrubbing the original barn beams now visible in the interior of the barn. Loretta says folks asked how they did it. Her reply: oil soap, paring knives, razor blades, and toothbrushes. Once the barn was clean they encountered a problem typical of those faced when saving old farm buildings: sparrows had nested in the newly installed insulation. Since the windows were already in place, they had to figure . . . [ Read More Free Samples ]

Reviews

Takes all the tedium out of trying to get away. Believe me, you can drive all around this region and not find the gems Larson has uncovered in this book . . . This isn't a coffee-table book, but something to be well thumbed again and again. Don't leave home without it, or you'll be sleeping in the last room available in a college town on the eve of graduation, or worse, in your car. — Free Times

If you thought a trip to a bed and breakfast meant being out in the country and watching the kids around the antique furniture and knicknacks then take another look at the variety of offerings that Larson has compiled in this easy-to-use book. — Morning Journal

A handbook for finding the perfect B&B for every desire . . . An escape manual for the overstressed and overworked. — Record Publishing

An important tool for convincing hotel patrons to opt for something

different. — Daily Record

Larson shares in very descriptive fashion some unique, romantic, historical and fun places to stay while exploring all that Ohio and surrounding states have to offer. — Kent Alumni Magazine

[Larson] serves up great ideas for weekend getaways, along with a side of bacon and hash browns. — Parma Sun Post

A neat feature of the book is the chapter dedicated to theme inns, those that have an unusual decorating scheme or that serve a dual purpose. — The Plain Dealer

One of the best-compiled books of this kind I've seen. — WELW AM Radio

About Doris Larson

Doris Larson is a professional travel journalist who has written numerous articles on accommodations and destinations. Her work has appeared in Inn Traveler, Arrington's Bed & Breakfast Journal, Inns & Retreats, Ohio Magazine, Northern Ohio Live, Cleveland Magazine, Country Living, and many others. She served on the panel of guidebook writers and editors responsible for selecting the "54 Great American Inns" for the April 1999 National Geographic Traveler. She personally visited every inn reviewed in this book. She lives in Kent, Ohio. More About Doris Larson

Contains References to:

Amish Country, Barnyards, Cleveland Vacations, College Town Inns, Country Inn, Gambier House, Gardens, Inn at Dresden, Log Cabins, Ohio Road Trips, Romantic Vacations, Searly House, Southern-Style Bed and Breakfast, Victorian Bed and Breakfast, Vinyard Bed and Breakfast, Zelkova Country Manor