[BlogEntry] The Joys of the Bed and Breakfast

Kerry and I managed to disappear for a night up to a B&B in Maine this weekend. Back in November I'd promised to take her away for her birthday and made the arrangements, but it wasn't until now that we could find the time to make it happen. The fun thing about going to a bed and breakfast is that each one is unique, right down to your choice of rooms. Do you want the suite, or the one with a television? Queen or king bed? Jacuzzi tub, or fireplace? Finding the right combination is tricky, especially once you factor in your own budget and time considerations.

We found a nice place that had two large rooms to choose from that met my requirements – both had a king bed, and both had a fireplace. Interestingly, neither had a television. The other rooms that had televisions all had queen beds. One room had a "soaking tub" separate from the two-headed shower and, this was the final tipping point, a "pass through fireplace" that could be seen both from the bed / sitting area as well as from the bathroom. In other words you could relax in the tub and enjoy the fire. That sounded perfect.

It's interesting how you picture something in your head, isn't it? We got there, and it really is quite a nice place. Our room was indeed the best one they had. And oh look, there's the fireplace, a gas-insert type of thing built right into the wall so it can be seen from both sides. I've seen similar things in hotel lobbies. Cool. Then I notice that while yes, you can see the fireplace from the bathtub (if the door is closed), the tub is facing the wrong way. You can't actually lay down in the tub and still see it. Interesting how that detail slipped by. Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that it was phrased as "you can see the fireplace from the tub", not necessarily that you could enjoy both at the same time. Sneaky.

And then came the second realization. A pass through fireplace, you see, is really another way of saying "A little window into the bathroom." Sure enough if you're out in the main room in just the right spot, you've got a straight through line of sight to the other person doing their business. I'm not really sure that's the sort of thing that you should mention on the marketing brochure, though. Never know what sort of clientèle that will attract.

The next morning at breakfast we met a couple who said they'd stayed in our room the night before, but moved to a different room. I wondered why, silently – something wrong with ours that they weren't telling us? Later I looked at the descriptions of the other rooms and realized that they'd switched to one with a jacuzzi tub. And a queen bed. To each their own, I guess.