Tom and I were humbled this morning when we were notified that we were awarded for the 2nd year in a row with TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence. It is such an honor for us and we are always flattered when we receive a 5 out of 5 stars on a TripAdvisor review. Our guests are the reason we do this each and every day. We LOVE what we do and we LOVE the people we do this with. Thank you to each and every one of you that helped make this award a reality for us!!
Archive for the ‘lodging’ Category
Carriage House is Awarded TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence 2 Years in a Row
May 27th, 2011 by carriagehouse
Images from Pilgrimage and the Battle of Port Jefferson
May 10th, 2011 by carriagehouse
This past weekend was Jefferson’s 64th Annual Pilgrimage and Re-enactment of the Battle of Port Jefferson. Our Battle of Port Jefferson re-enactment is the largest Civil War re-enactment in the State of Texas. The weekend kicks off with four of our historic homes opening for tour. This year, we had a wonderful assortment of homes in different styles and architectures.
- The Angel Rose House
This was one of my favorite homes on tour and for a very unique reason. It is the sister house to the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast. I need to do much more research but I think these two historic homes must have a shared history. I walked through this house and marveled at how the layout matched my own house. I walked away with a ton of new ideas. The Angel Rose house was also built in 1920 and is a Craftsman kit house ordered out of the Sears and Roebuck catalog for $900. The home has had many additions added to it over it’s years and has been fully restored all the way to traditional Craftsman paint colors.
Twin Oaks Plantation
This amazing home is a beautiful example of a classic Southern Colonial Greek Revival home. This property sat empty for many years and was purchased last year and is in the process or being restored. Only the carriage house and the pool house were on tour this time since they are the only structures that have been completed. The main house is still very much a work in progress. These beautiful buildings sit on a large piece of land that used to be a cotton and pecan plantation.
The William Clark House
This home built in 1852 is one of the oldest homes in Jefferson and was built by one of the of the original founders of Jefferson, Allen Urquhart. The rest of the house (three front rooms) was added in 1855 by a local merchant by the name of William Clark (hence the name, William Clark House). I loved the sunny yellow paint that many of the rooms were painted in. It gave the entire house a cheerful feel to it.
The Culberson House
This is one of the grandest homes in Jefferson filled with amazing art and priceless antiques. This home was built by Col. David Browning Culberson who is famous for many things including defending Abe Rothschild at the Diamond Bessie Murder Trial. This house is another example of the traditional southern architecture of the time, Greek Revival, and was inspired by a Greek Temple.
Little Girls Holding Pet Chickens
The home tour was not the only thing going on in town this past weekend. The town was full of Civil War re-enactors trying to recreate life in 1864. Entire families were living in tents set up in various parks and lots throughout town. Not only did they dress in traditional Civil War garb, but they fully immersed themselves in the lifestyle of the time.
- Riverport Ambassadors at the Pilgrimage Parade
One of the fun events of the weekend is the annual Pilgrimage parade Saturday morning. Tom and I are members of a local tourism organization called the Riverport Ambassadors. We dress up in period dress and assist the tourists on weekends. We do step on bus tours, and educate the public on Jefferson’s colorful past. Like many local organizations, we participate in the Pilgrimage parade. You can’t see me real well, but that’s me in the middle in the sea foam green dress with the black parasol.
- Civil War Skirmish on Austin Street
The parade ends with a gun battle and a skirmish in our beautiful Historic Riverfront District before the Civil War heads out to the battlefield set up at Tuscumbia Ranch. In addition to all of these fun activities, we also have a quilt show, an heirloom plant sale, an art show, the Grande Hertiage Southern Ball, the Great Locomotive Chase, the Diamond Bessie Murder Trial play, and evening Twilight Garden Strolls.
A Better Way to Stay With Your Pets
April 20th, 2011 by carriagehouse
A few weeks ago, Tom and I broke away for a few days and went up to Hot Springs, AR. Hot Springs is one of my favorite places to visit and it is just a quick 2.5 hour drive away from here. How can you not love a place that calls itself Spa City? And yes, I do take one of their famous baths every time I go there.
Like so many people, I love to travel with my two dogs (Dixie and her sidekick, The Bug). Our first Golden Retriever, Samantha, hated riding in the car. Dixie tolerates it and The Bug hangs out the window giddy with excitement the whole time (she can tolerate speeds up to 40 mph). In fact, The Bug goes everywhere with me. She loves a trip to Walmart. She thinks hanging out in the Lowes parking lot is a blast and I will save the incident at the bank yesterday for another day. Hint: they were out of dog biscuits.
No matter where we stay, I try and learn something new about this crazy profession of innkeeping. There are lessons to be learned at every type of lodging establishment. Just because I run a B&B, doesn’t mean that hotels don’t have a few hints and tricks to show me.
This trip, we stayed at a famous hotel in downtown Hot Springs that claimed to be pet friendly. I say they claimed to be pet friendly because they were not that pet “friendly”. What I learned is that just because you accept your guest’s pets doesn’t mean you are pet friendly.
When we checked in, we received a list of dog rules that we had to sign and agree to for our visit. Some made sense such as you have to pick up after your pet. We have this very same rule here at the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast and try and help our guests by providing complimentary waste bags. I left Dixie’s and The Bug’s poop bags at home by mistake. It was like pulling teeth at the hotel to get them to let me have some trash bags to use. We ended up at a pet store and buying some to use during our stay.
Others seemed a little strict like you can not leave your pet in their room unattended for any amount of time. I understand this rule. We struggle with this at our B&B but feel our guests know their dogs better then we do. Our guests know what there dogs can endure and would not let their dogs or another guest get uncomfortable. In our case, we brought Dixie’s nest and The Bugs crate so that they had their beds with them in the room. We wanted the girls to be comfortable and feel secure in this strange place. This rule made it very hard for us to enjoy our vacation. How do we go out to dinner if we can not leave the girls alone in our hotel room?
In case you are not aware, our innkeeping trade organization, the Professional Association of Innkeepers or PAII (pronounced pie -how can you not love a group whose name is a dessert) has been running a marketing campaign this year called A Better Way to Stay. This campaign’s focus is to show the traveling public that there are places better than a hotel. That a Bed & Breakfast or Inn is often times the Better Way to Stay. One of the things that makes the Carriage House B&B a Better Way to Stay is that we don’t just accept pets. We are pet friendly.
Here at the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast, we want ALL of our guests to feel welcome. We have room packages that are designed to help our two legged guests unwind and get romantic such as the Naughty and Nice package and the Love and Devotion package. These two people packages help our two legged guests enhance their Carriage House B&B experience and make their visit at our Bed & Breakfast a Better Way to Stay. We also have a Pampered Pooch package to help our cold wet nose and four legged friends feel comfortable and have a Better Way to Stay. You love a massage. They love a massage. You love a day at the spa. They love a day at the spa. You unwind and decompress. They unwind and decompress. Like I said, it is a Better Way to Stay.
By the way, we did have a blast in Hot Springs! Dixie, The Bug, and I went hiking back in the National Park every day we were there. It was awesome. I have no idea how many miles we went each day but the girls were no problem in the evening. They were exhausted! Dixie, the Golden Retriever, is a bit like an over loaded 18 wheeler. She would have to kick it in low gear to get up the mountains but went into free fall on the way down. The Bug is more like a sports car. She only had one speed…90 mph.
Do You Have a Pain in the Gas?
April 18th, 2011 by carriagehouse
Do you have a pain in the gas? I do!
This morning on the news, one of the TV reporters for the morning show stated that gas had topped $4 a gallon now in 6 different states. With gas prices so high, we thought we would do our part to help.
So how about this for a swift kick in the gas. Our 2nd Quarter promotion is all about helping you pay for the gas out here to the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast. Here is the deal. The Carriage House B&B is offering a $25 gas card for a group of four adults traveling in one car and staying a minimum of two weekday nights in two rooms.
Because the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast is so close to all the downtown shops and attractions, you will be able to reduce your carbon footprint even further by being able to walk wherever you want to go. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Enjoy your “Kick in the Gas”
Pulpwood Queen’s Girlfriend Weekend
January 6th, 2010 by Skyla Grimes
Did you know that the largest book club in the world is based out of this fine town of Jefferson, Texas? It is true! The Pulpwood Queen’s Book Club is the brainchild of Kathy L. Patrick owner of the Beauty and the Book Salon located only two blocks from The Carriage House Bed and Breakfast.
When Kathy, a licensed cosmetologist turned publisher’s rep, lost her job due to industry cutbacks, she wasn’t deterred by this setback. Only a few months later, she opened Beauty and the Book, the world’s only combination beauty salon/bookstore. An instant hit with customers, who flocked to the store for her dual beauty/book tips, Kathy soon founded The Pulpwood Queens of East Texas. The group meets monthly in official Pulpwood Queens attire—anything that includes hot pink, leopard print, and the obligatory tiara—to eat, drink, and talk books.
The Pulpwood Queens motto is “where tiaras are mandatory and reading good books is the RULE”! This group’s mission is to promote literacy and help undiscovered authors get discovered in a great big way. The Pulpwood Queens now have clubs in over eight countries with 200+ chapters globally.
These fine ladies will be having their annual conference here in Jefferson from January 13th through the 17th. The schedule for this conference can be found on the club’s website by clicking here.
We still have a few rooms available for this conference. You may go to our website to make your reservation online or call us at (903) 665-9511.
Happy Reading!