Jane Lovett used to buy old houses, make some repairs, and then flip the renovated homes for a profit. That all changed when she and her husband toured a big brick Georgian Revival mansion on Gay Street.
“We simply fell in love with the house,” Lovett said.
Lovett knew immediately that she wanted to live in the mansion. But, with an entrepreneurial knack for turning homes into business opportunity, she also decided to open the place to the public and operate the stately manor as a downtown bed and breakfast. Today, her inn Peaches is one of the older and more popular B&Bs in the area.
Grand Rapids continues to build some of the most luxurious hotels that money can buy. But the handful of historic homes in the city that operate as bed and breakfasts provide business travelers, tourists, and even local residents seeking a romantic getaway with a refreshing alternative to the ordinary lodging scene. The remarkable mansions also offer guests the chance to experience a taste of the grand living enjoyed by the city’s early pioneers.
A Sense of Place
Peaches Bed and Breakfast is located in a grand country-style home originally built in 1916 for Chester Idema, a local entrepreneur who dabbled in farm equipment and marketing before retiring from his post as vice-president at Old Kent Bank. But the name “Peaches” goes back to Lovett’s maternal grandfather, John Shilling, a South Haven peach farmer. The original sign from the Shilling peach farm, sweet in its simplicity, now hangs in the foyer of the B&B.
The clientele at Peaches, located at 29 Gay Street between Fulton and Washington streets, is more than half business travelers. Lovett refers to them as “road warriors.” She says of them: “They’re visiting as many as nine cities a week, seeing the insides of airports, going to meetings and coming back exhausted to sleep. At a hotel, everything looks the same as it did in the last city. Some tell me they have literally called the front desk to find out where they are.”
Peaches exists in high contrast to that dreary scenario. The house is spacious and beautiful, the atmosphere is home-like (chocolate chip cookies were actually baking in the oven when I visited) and the owners recognize their regular guests.
In addition, the Lovetts own two friendly but calm dalmatians, DaChien and Dickens. The two canines allow travelers to give and receive some pet attention away from home. Pets are known to have a soothing effect and these dogs are favorites.
“Some of our guests come here partially to get their ‘dog fix,’” Lovett said.
Businessmen sometimes take a while to warm up to the idea of staying at a B&B, according to Lovett. But once they try it, they never go back. “At first, they’re afraid they’ll wind up at Aunt Mamie’s house–with too many rules, too much conversation, too many flowery objects around. But they find out it’s not like that around here at all,” Lovett said.
Instead, guests at Peaches can use high-speed wireless Internet, work in his or her room, or invite colleagues over for meetings. The original ballroom has been converted into a game room, providing plenty of opportunity to relax and unwind. The place also offers a library and extensive outdoor gardens.
“People are just more comfortable here than in a hotel,” Lovett said. “And they say they tend to sleep better than in a hotel, sometimes even better than they sleep at home.”
Italianate Elegance
Fountain Hill Bed & Breakfast is located in Heritage Hill, near the corner of Fountain and Lafayette just east of Grand Rapids Community College. The home has served as a bed and breakfast for twenty years. But Grand Rapids-natives Carol and Tom Dubridge have owned it the past six.
The house is Italianate, built in 1874, and presents a wonderful blend of old and new. Large rooms with high ceilings, old family pictures on the walls, and an elegant curved staircase combine with high-speed Internet service, private baths with Jacuzzis, and central air. Fountain Hill’s clientele consists mainly of business people, university guests and speakers, and professionals relocating to Grand Rapids.
Outside, there is a large front porch for sitting and in the backyard there are outdoor tables and chairs set up so guests can enjoy the beautifully tended gardens. The location next to the arts and entertainment in Center City is a plus and only adds to the inn’s popularity, according to Carol Dubridge.
“Before the trees leaf out you can see all of downtown from the upstairs windows,” said Durbridge, who managed Fountain Hill for five years before taking it over.
Scrapbookin' and other Projects
Lasting Impressions, located at 433 Madison, north of Wealthy Street, is a relative new-comer to Grand Rapids’ B&B scene. Opened in October 2005 by Gerry and Karen Ruis (pronounced rice), Lasting Impressions is a product of Karen’s love for her hobby, scrapbooking. She once owned a scrapbooking store in Wisconsin. But when the couple decided to relocate in Grand Rapids to join children and grandchildren living in the area, Ruis decided she didn’t want to open another store. But she did to remain active in the community.
“We’ve always been hospitable people,” Ruis said. “We love to entertain and so it seemed natural to think about a bed and breakfast.”
Lasting Impressions is a 6,000 square foot, three-story Queen Anne-style home built in the 1880s, later turned into apartments, but fully restored in the 1980s. The rooms are large with gorgeous oak molding. The wide front porch is unique, Karen says, because of its size and grandeur. The grand entrance is a 30-foot quarter-sawn hallway. Interestingly, unlike the other B&Bs featured here, the Ruises do not market their inn as a romantic get-away, although it certainly could be.
Rather, the Ruises market specifically to people working on projects. In fact, there is one large room specially reserved for projects. This room includes many small tables that can combine to make one large table, lots of comfortable swivel chairs, and individual work lamps. Although Lasting Impressions targets scrapbookers, this arrangement is ideal for any group whose members desire space in order to spread out, roll up their sleeves, and dig into their work.
A Romantic Dream
I rented a tiny cottage on Lake Huron for several summers. The little house was on the same property as much larger 1850’s era home operating as a bed and breakfast. This inn was slightly run-down. But the owners were great people and I loved the place. Living for those summers next to the inn made me entertain the idea of running a B & B myself. It’s a romantic idea that many people have considered.
Unlike the Lovettes, the Dubridges, and the Ruises, I never put my idea into action. Running a B&B is demanding, but the special people who become innkeepers seem to love it even though the business can be an up-and-down economic venture.
After 13 years, Jane Lovett admits there is absolutely no pattern to when the business will be high or low. And Carol Dubridge says that two or three good B&Bs have closed in the past few years as Michigan's economy struggles.
“They simply couldn't wait out the tough period,” Dubridge said. “And in this business, there certainly are some."
Still, the innkeepers in Grand Rapids don’t really compete with each. They cooperate. They recommend each other and refer back and forth with one another as business ebbs and flows.
"Goodness,” Dubridge said, “we don't want people to have to stay in a hotel."
Photographs by Brian Kelly - All rights reserved
Images top to bottom:
The spacious grounds of Peaches Bed and Breakfast.
Peaches Bed and Breakfast
A seductive statue at Fountain Hill Bed and Breakfast.
The dining room at Fountain Hill Bed and Breakfast.
Elegance from the 1800's - Fountain Hill Bed and Breakfast.
The staircase at Fountain Hill Bed and Breakfast.