THE WILLIAM SAUNTRY MANSION

My husband, Les, and I love to stay at old Inns but never had been to a Bed and Breakfast. I don't know why we had never been to a B&B before. Guess we were rather reluctant to have breakfast with strangers. Anyway, we decided to try it this summer and stayed at The William Sauntry Mansion in Stillwater, Mn. Stillwater is known for its many antique shops, Inns, and B&Bs and it's one of our favorite places to visit.

The Sauntry Mansion was a lovely and grand old mansion, elaborately decorated in period furnishings.  Upon arriving we were warmly greeted by Innkeepers,Tom and Sandy Lynum. Tom gave us a quick tour of the Inn and then directed us to our room which was upstairs. Our room, The Joseph, was decorated in indigo blue and butter yellow with an elaborate carved fireplace and a walnut queen bed. There were no TVs ( another reason why my husband was reluctant to stay at a B&B ). The oversized bath was finished in cherry wood and black granite with a double whirlpool tub and a Swedish steam shower which had  eucalyptus steam, 18" Sunflower shower, 8 hydro massage jets, and cascading waterfall.

After dropping off our bags and checking out our room, we went downstairs to one of the Parlors where we were treated to lemonade, cheese and crackers and other goodies. We took our treats out to the veranda and enjoyed a relaxing time just unwinding and enjoying the refreshments.

Tom and Sandy provided a basket full of menus from local restaurants along with their own personal recommendations of where to have dinner. We chose Sandy's own personal favorite restaurant and were delighted with our meals. After dinner we checked out the local antique shops and bought some fudge at a candy store to take back to our room.We tried out all the spa treats in our bathroom which felt like going to a real spa.

In the morning we ventured down to the veranda to have breakfast with strangers.  We sat down next to a couple about our age and soon another younger couple joined us. We found out that this was the first stay at a B&B for all of us. That broke the ice and from there we had fun conversations along with a delicious breakfast. The younger couple left first and we stayed and had more coffee with Tom and Sandy joining us older folk after serving everybody. We had a wonderful time visiting! All in all our first B&B experience proved delightful and we'll definitely do it again!

If you would like to learn more about The William Sauntry Mansion go to their link here.