Neighbors bothered by naturist B&B

by Sean McLachlan on

Neighbors of Domain Farm, a recently opened naturist Bed and Breakfast in Staffordshire, England, are complaining about seeing more than they want to of the guests.

The B&B is a converted farm and features a sun deck, hot tub, and barbeque area, and while it’s set in a rural landscape, it is within sight of other homes. This brings it into the ongoing controversy, not limited to naturism, of where to draw the line between individual liberty and consideration of others. The owners are busy planting trees and shrubs around the property, but their efforts aren’t quick enough for the locals.

Despite the weather, naturism or nudism is quite popular in the UK. British Naturism, the official naturist organization, reports a membership of more than 16,000. There are numerous clothing-optional beaches in places like Brighton, and naturists are encouraged by the fact that there is no law explicitly banning public nudity, only indecent exposure. What this breaks down to in reality is that if you bare all in front of Buckingham Palace, you’ll be hauled away. If you hike in the nude, you’ll probably be fine. In fact, British naturists say nude hiking is quite popular, although I’ve never seen any on my hikes.

I have, however, seen nude hikers at Seven Falls in the Catalina Mountains near Tucson, Arizona, where nudity is clearly not legal. The falls are several miles up a rugged canyon far away from public view, so the cops don’t bother doing anything about it. What with all the car thefts and meth labs in the city, they have better things to do.

So if you like to get your kit off, as the English say, don’t dismiss the UK as a travel destination. The Naturist UK Fact File has tons of information. It may get cold and rainy, but at least you won’t have to deal with the desert sun and cacti like those Arizona naturists!
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Photo courtesy of Peter Rivera from the Gadling flickr pool. These are statues in the Louvre, not pasty-skinned British nudists after a long winter.

Give the gift of travel for Veteran’s Day

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Innkeepers across the country are doing something important to me: they’re offering discounts, specials and free nights to the people whose sacrifices let us enjoy our freedom to move. Inns that are members of BedandBreakfast.com are taking care of military personnel and first responders who are taking breaks from their tough lives. The deals vary by inn, but it’s worth a look for anybody who puts his or her life on the line at home or abroad.

And, I’m happy to report, there’s more.

Veteran’s Day is coming up, and BedandBreakfast.com is celebrating the service of so many by supporting Fisher House Foundation, a private-public partnership that supports members of the military when they’re in need. To participate, pick up a Getaway Gift Card from BedandBreakfast.com, and use the promotional code FisherBB. This is a great gift for a holiday that most people seem to overlook. They come in values ranging from $25 to $2,000 and can be printed online or mailed to the recipient in foil-lined envelopes. Do the latter – it’s not often these sorts of thank you gestures arrive on November 11.

Even if you’re not planning to participate in this deal, e-mail, tweet or otherwise spread the word. Let’s all chip in and help a few people who put their lives on hold for years to keep us safe.

Bed and breakfast travelers spending more on travel, less on cigarettes and coffee

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Bed and breakfast guests aren’t cutting back as much as other travelers, according to a new survey by BedandBreakfast.com. Fewer respondents are spending less on travel – with the rate doing so dropping from 55 percent to 45 percent from the second quarter survey. The money spent on B&B travel, however, will come at the expense of other luxuries, with many saying they’d give up their morning takeout coffee in order to save some cash for use on travel. Ice cream, massages and manicures and even cigarettes are falling victim to a dedication to B&B spending.

BedandBreakfast.com notes: “Interesting that travel is more important than coffee, calories, or cigarettes to over 50 percent of respondents!”

Sandy Soule, Marketing VP at BedandBreakfast.com, notes, “Clearly, travel patterns changed in the last year, as travelers tightened their belts and stayed closer to home.” She continues, “Yet these patterns worked out well for inngoers, as B&Bs tend to be an easy one-tank trip from most metropolitan areas, and add so much extra value to a getaway.”

So, what else is on the B&B travelers mind as of the third quarter of this year? Find out after the jump.

Fall travel is more likely than summer for the B&B crowd, and they see the impact of the recession on travel spending to be declining. In the first quarter, 65% answered that the economic conditions influenced their B&B travel spending, with a slight decline to 61% in the second quarter. For the third quarter, this measure fell to 55 percent. Also, 84 percent of respondents are more likely to take at least as many trips as they did last year – up from 79 percent for the second quarter survey.

One of the ways B&B vacationers sought to maintain the number of trips they usually take is to spend less per day. Fifty-six percent had this in mind in the first quarter, which fell to 52 percent at the end of the second quarter and 45 percent for the third quarter. Respondents said they would spend fewer days on the road fell from 42 percent in Q1 to 43 percent in Q2 and 37 percent in Q3 of this year.

Don’t stay in a bad hotel – check Rentalo for alternatives

by Annie Scott on

It happens. Sometimes you’re searching for a hotel in some random area of the US or Canada (two words: wedding season) and you just can’t find what you’re looking for. The price is wrong, or you want to be able to cook for yourself … if only you had some insider information about other places you could stay!

Good news: Rentalo.com has it. Their search results include hotels, bed & breakfasts, and even vacation rentals like condos and cabins. Their results are impressively comprehensive — particularly the number of photos of each location. I recently booked a hotel in Stillwater, MN on Priceline.com, but didn’t find nearly this level of information about the one I chose. Turns out I chose well. Whew!

Currently, Rentalo is advertising a three bedroom house in the Poconos for $75 per night and a ski condo in Colorado for $99 per night. In addition to their alternative vacation rental results in the US and Canada, they have hotel results all over the world.

So, before you give up and stay at a bad hotel, check Rentalo for other options! Don’t end up at Hotel Carter.

Denver’s Queen Anne Bed and Breakfast is eco-chic

by Katie Hammel on

At Denver’s Queen Anne Bed and Breakfast, the mission statement is clear. Comfort, style and luxury can co-exist with sustainable, eco-friendly practices. And when it comes to green initiatives, Milan Doshi, the b&b’s owner, seems to have thought of everything. The bedding, the paint, the food, the labor – every aspect of the b&b was specifically chosen to be as green as possible.

According to the Denver Post, Doshi bought the hotel in summer of 2008 and immediately began a massive renovation. New floors, from Sustainable Floors in Boulder, were made of compressed leftover wood fibers and installed. Eco-friendly Keesta mattresses, made of recycled metal coils and memory foam infused with green tea extracts, were put in the bedrooms. The walls were covered in eco-friendly low VOC paints. And a heavy wooden table, made of a material called Italian ebony (also made of leftover wood fibers) was selected as the dining room centerpiece. It’s the place where Colorado Allegro coffee is served with a locally-sourced organic breakfast each day (many of the herbs and veggies are pulled from the b&b garden), and where Colorado wines and cheeses are served each evening at happy hour.

Doshi used local products whenever possible and even went so far as to make sure the labor he used was local too. All of the contractors and some of the suppliers he worked with were found within a 10-mile radius. Local craftsmen carved the oak platform beds, and small plastic bottles of toiletries have been replaced with bulk dispensers (which eliminate waste and reduce trash) from Colorado-based Jason Organics.

The green bonanza doesn’t stop there. The linens on the beds are organic cotton; all cleaning products used are 100% natural, biodegradable, and dye-free; paper products are recycled, biodegradable, unbleached and dye-free; only glass drinking cups are used; and the shower heads and toilets have had low-flow adapters installed. The b&b even requires the dry cleaners they work with to recycle their hangers and plastic, and provides free bikes for guest transportation.

Doshi hopes that in the near future, the Queen Anne Bed and Breakfast will be the nation’s first LEED certified bed and breakfast. He’d also like to see the b&b certified as “cradle-to-cradle”, meaning that it creates no pollution and nothing is wasted in its operation. To that end, he has big plans for additional green features, such as a system that could convert used sink water into toilet water.

So, all these green features are great, but if the property doesn’t stack up to it’s less-green counterparts, who would want to stay there? Well luckily, the Queen Anne does measure up. Of the 15 TripAdvisor reviews written since Doshi took over (there are an additional 45 written about the previous incarnation of the b&b), 14 rate it 5-stars. The other one knocked it down to 4-stars. Guests all agree that the staff are helpful and friendly, the rooms are beautiful and comfortable, and the food is fresh and delicious. The location, about a 10-minute walk from downtown, is ideal as well. It seems to me that you really can’t ask for more in a bed and breakfast.

Of course, for a frugal traveler, price is an important consideration too. Some of the more ornate or larger of the 14 rooms, which feature king beds, whirlpool tubs, log fireplaces or cathedral ceilings, go for $175 to $215 per night. But four rooms also cost $145 or $165, and the Oak Room, with it’s deep pedestal tub and original pull-chain commode, is just $135 a night. It’s good to know that you can go green, and still save a little green at the same time.