Carla Ellis's Homepage
Here are some of the places we've stayed and enjoyed, either because they satisfied our needs so well or because of something else special about them. I hope you find this list useful in locating that special inn that will work for your family vacation.
Alaska ||
Canada || California
|| Colorado ||
Hawaii || Minnesota ||
Montana || New Mexico ||
North Carolina || Tennessee
|| Texas || Virginia
|| Washington State ||
West Virginia || Wyoming
A massive log house with nesting eagles in the yard (at least in August 1993 they were there - we witnessed the babies' first flights). Innkeepers have a good supply of binoculars on hand. 10 minute drive from downtown Juneau. Great breakfasts.
I'm not sure if this is always available. It is an A-frame cabin with kitchen and loft for self-sufficient family vacations (you are definitely on your own for breakfasts). Free bikes (such as they were) for local transportation if you don't rent Gustavus's only rental car from Bud. This is a good base for visiting Glacier Bay National Park.
Chalets with private bedroom and sleeping loft for the kid. Wood stoves and kitchens. Wonderful restaurant. (12/98)
We found this one on the web! They have a whole range of choices from small cabins to 2 bedroom chalets. Ours was a 2 bedroom log duplex with a full kitchen, jacuzzi, and huge elk head on the wall. No phones in the rooms. They maintain groomed cross-country ski trails literally out your front door.
Sometimes you have to stay downtown in a big city like San Francisco. This isn't an inn or a bed-and-breakfast, but this downtown hotel is special! It's whimsical and incredible fun. My son discovered that the TV had nintendo available (for a fee - which was the part he didn't notice). It is at the gates of Chinatown.
Romantic! This is one for those trips when the kids don't come along. Our room had a swinging bed that hung by chains from the ceiling. On a subsequent visit we had a room with a spectacular window that framed a view of the continental divide. They will serve a private dinner by arrangement.
Chalets with sleeping lofts for the kids (choice of ladder or stairs to the loft). On the road up the volcano.
This is a treasure on the island of Oahu. It is located on a side street up by the University. It offers eace and quiet and an escape from the crowds I expected on Oahu. We had a massive 4 poster bed and other antiques in our room. A bit expensive for multiple rooms for the kids.
Family accomodations in the "Treehouse". This is a wonderful location on the North (rainy) shore of Kauai. It's a rather big house within walking distance of a beach which we had all to ourselves. It is set by a river with lots of birds flitting through the trees on the property. Wooden bridges on the trip to this location limit the crowds in the vicinity. The house comes complete with a fun Gecko population.
Cabins with separate bedrooms and full kitchen. Sauna. Full breakfasts provided. Cross country ski trails start literally out your front door. It appears things are changing there (12/99).
This has that old resort feel about it. It is about an hour north of the north entrance to Yellowstone Park. The main attraction is the naturally heated swimming pool...swim while looking up at snow on the mountains above. They also have a stables and mountain bike rentals. We got two neighboring rooms at the end of a hallway. We didn't have a private bath. However, there are rooms with private baths and chalets (if you call early enough to book them).
There is a suite with a separate bedroom and the kid can sleep in the living room. Adequate connections to the outside world: TV for the kids and phone jacks for web-surfing adults. Afternoon tea with chips and salsa and good brownies. Walking distance to downtown Santa Fe and restaurants.
This is a friendly inn south of Asheville. My son and I stayed here on the way to dropping him off at summer camp. We had two neighboring rooms on a hall furnished with sofas and reading lamps. There were also wonderful porches to sit on. Each room had a TV with varying numbers of channels (his TV brought in more than mine) and there's a Nintendo set in the living room downstairs. Lots of kids were in evidence on the days we were there. The breakfast was very good - with some choice, which is useful for picky eaters. We both had applesauce pancakes with fruit and pumpkin bread off the sideboard.
About halfway between Asheville and the Smoky Mountain National Park. This is a friendly place with exceptional food, especially if you like southern style cooking with an abundance of side dishes. There are rooms in the original inn and in a more motel-like add-on. When my son was younger, they let him ring the dinnerbell and they have a cat that sleeps on top of the computer. The innkeeper went to the University of Washington and pulled out his old yearbooks to compare with my experiences there in the 1970's. Stan has good stories to tell.
151 Everett Road
Pisqah Forest NC 28768
828-884-7559
This inn is near Brevard and Dupont Forest. It is situated on 35 acres and is a peaceful place to just sit on the front porch and annoy the hummingbirds trying to get to their feeder. There is a fishing pond and a hiking trail right on the property. The suite of two rooms has a day bed and trundle in the sitting room which will accomodate two kids and that room has a TV/VCR for their entertainment.
We had found this inn in a book entitled Romantic Inns and thought it would be appropriate for a ``just-the-two-of-us'' weekend. It was indeed wonderfully romantic, but that doesn't mean it was hostile to kids either. We saw lots of happy children there. In addition to the rooms in the main inn, they have the Pond House which has separate bedrooms and a kitchen. Rooms had VCRs and there was an extensive tape library. The family room had a pool table which was regularly in use. The high point, however, was the llama dinner. We walked out to a deck built over a mountain stream that serves as a picnic spot. The llamas raised at inn hauled the food and the hikers each got to lead a llama.
What a great location for an inn! This is near the Smokies, but not in the middle of the glitz of Gatlinburg. The inn has a couple rooms set up to accommodate children and there are cottages, as well. The inn has a VCR/TV room with a decent video library for kids (plus a resident teenager who seemed to enjoy life in an inn).
Abingdon is at the end of the Virginia Creeper Trail. This is a good place to stay if you bike from Whitetop or Damascus, want to spend the night (maybe go to a play at the Barter Theater), and then bike back up the next day (or take the shuttle). We had a suite with a big kitchen and two bedrooms, each with a TV. It was a bit pricey, possibly because we went at the height of "leaf season" in the fall. Breakfast was preprepared and left in the fridge, but it was very good. There were nice grounds to wander around in and a big, private porch for sitting outdoors (and bicycle parking).
On the road to the main gate of Mt. Rainier National Park. This inn has a great restaurant for dinners and, of course, breakfast. For kids, there is a choice for breakfast, which is somewhat unusual at B and B's. The common room upstairs is equipped with board games to play by the big fireplace. The fact that they had Chutes and Ladders suggested very young kids are welcome.
For a creative way to do a business trip to downtown Seattle if you can't bear the thought of another huge hotel, this inn, converted from a church, is just a bus and walk-on ferry ride from the waterfront. It's not a fast commute and the ferry doesn't always run on-time, but it's a peaceful retreat after working all day. We had the Ocean Suite which has a special sleeping alcove with a futon for children. The innkeeper is a harpist and plays for you at breakfast. (8/99)
12515 Avondale Rd
Redmond, WA 98052
425-881-5606e
E mail address: innkeepers@cottagecreekinn.com
This is a charming bed and breakfast out in the country (for a while longer I hope) near Redmond (home of Microsoft). They have a large suite that can accomodate families. Although my son did not come along on this trip, we did see older children staying there.
This was a very nice place in Seattle - right across the street from the zoo. The innkeeper was wonderful. Breakfasts were great - my son (a notoriously picky eater) even complemented the gingerbread pancakes! We had an L-shaped room with two double beds and a Japanese style screen that could provide a little privacy between them. The only problem was parking on the street.
This is an expensive downtown Seattle hotel, but kids love it because if you are on the "water side", you really are on the water. The hotel is built on a pier out into Puget Sound. Sea gulls catch bread thrown from your open window. There is all sorts of boat activity to watch going by your window all day and into the night. My son loves this place!
This is a suite over the innkeepers garage. It has a separate bedroom and the kid can sleep on the sofa bed in the living room and watch TV while the adults sleep in. Full kitchen (which is useful since only muffins and juice are provided as breakfast). The property is on the beachfront although the buildings are set back from the water. Whales were reported going by only the week before our visit in August 1994.
This is promoted as a romantic inn (featured in "Best Places to Kiss in the Pacific Northwest" book) and it undeniably is romantic and somewhat expensive. However, we went as a family (in 2 rooms) and my son enjoyed it immensely. The innkeepers, Sandy and Carl, are ex-park-rangers. Each morning they set out a light continential breakfast at 7:30am, then take everyone sea kayaking for a couple hours, then bring everyone back in for a full brunch. The sea kayaking is marvelous - we saw eagles and starfish and loons. My son went in Carl's kayak and got a full naturalist's tour. The other big hit for kids are the two dogs who carry tennis balls around all days hoping for someone to throw them. The setting is gorgeous and there is hiking, mountain biking, more kayaking, and whale watching available nearby. (6/98)
There are precious few places to stay strategically located between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. We think we've found one here - a single base for exploring both mountains. We had a cabin overlooking the Cowlitz River. It was the Peach Suite with a bedroom and a kitchen/sofabed room. Very private and quiet - we had no nearby neighbors. This isn't a Bed and Breakfast and, in fact, we never saw the innkeepers. Phones are only available in the common building.
A bit Northeast of Seattle, this is a fun inn for kids. The innkeeper has horses and is an avid rider. The inn is decorated with fox hunting decor. She also has a very talented dog who has been in movies and will do tricks for you (you really have no choice but to watch because he knows when he has a new audience). A family would require multiple rooms, but the animals would make it especially fun. (8/97)
There is a cabin, a very rustic cabin, but it includes separate bedrooms and a kitchen. The lodge has a great dining room for dinners. This place specializes in cross-country skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer.
This place was a hit with my son because of the innkeepers' dogs. No suites, but getting a separate room for the kids can work because they are not that expensive. Practically on the Greenbrier River Trail.
We stayed in a civil war-era log cabin with a separate bedroom and sleeping loft. The cabin had a kitchen and living room with a TV/VCR. (2/99)
We visited this log house again after several years. There is a brand new suite with a sitting room which has a sofa bed and a bedroom with windows looking out into an aspen grove. It is gorgeous and a wonderful addition for families. Ask for the Glacier Lily room. The full breakfasts were excellent and there is always cereal available for the picky eater. Treats appeared on the kitchen countertop in the afternoons. The climbing pitons embedded in the rock wall behind the wood stove in the living room are nice touches. Rooms have TVs and VCRs and wireless earphones are available for peace-and-quiet. Phone jacks are available in the rooms for your laptop's modem. A great place to go winter or summer. (updated 12/99)
This is a historic hotel in the park, rather than a Bed and Breakfast, but it's special (although not for the size of its rooms). Take the tour of the Inn to appreciate the details of the place and take time to hang out in the lobby and the balony reserved for registered guests (between eruptions of Old Faithful, of course). My son was 9 years old when we visited and he was intrigued by the tour and the stories of installing the sprinkler system prior to the big forest fires. Don't let the company that runs them confuse you with their other accomodations at Old Faithful - this is the Inn not the Lodge (the lodge has various kinds of cabins, if that's what you are looking for, but it lacks the history associated with the Inn)!
When a recent colloquium speaker at Duke asked for a Bed and Breakfast instead of a normal hotel to stay in, we found this for him. He seemed pretty happy about it. The innkeeper, Frank Pokrass, told him all about the Triangle area (they talked until 3am, I heard).
An 18th century plantation house that comes highly recommended from another Duke University visitor. Sounds so wonderful I wish I could visit here. Children are welcome and there is a cabin arrangement that sounds like it would work out nicely for families.
Comments: On the rim of the volcano in Hawaii; it's a bit funky, but the view is cool.
Comments: Run by the S.F. Zen Center ... It's 14 miles in on a dirt road and so calm, it's difficult to imagine. Rates vary depending on room, Stone Rooms are $120 pp (double occupancy) $130 on the weekend. Includes 3 meals a day (vegie of course). It is located on a steep dirt road so you may wish to take "the stage" at $35 per person round trip. Brake failure is not unknown.