Getting Breakfast with Your Bed

By Jeanne Mozier

The leap from tourist homes to elegant bed and breakfasts in historic houses took place in Berkeley Springs in the '80s. More than a decade later, there are nearly a dozen small inns that count custom-cooked breakfast as only one of their services. Today's visitor to the historic spa town and its surrounding countryside has a wide choice in lodging.

Highlawn Inn, one of the first B&Bs in town, offers eleven rooms - three with private whirlpool tubs - in three adjacent buildings. Perched above the town, Sandra Kauffman's Highlawn is a Victorian bride's house with a wrap-around porch. Just down the walk is Aunt Pearl's, a turn-of-the-century family cottage transformed by Kauffman into four unique Victorian rooms. Her latest additions include a large room on the top floor of Highlawn's original Carriage House, customized with a rustic garden flavor, and The Bathkeeper's Quarters, summer residence of local inventor, builder, and keeper of the Springs, Henry Harrison "Tip" Hunter.

The breakfast part of the menu is served buffet-style in a sun-flooded dining room. The breakfast features Kauffman's handmade breads, jams, dishes flavored by herbs grown in her garden, and custom-blended coffee. Silver service dinners are available Saturday evenings during the season and holiday weekends year 'round.

The Manor Inn, just up the hill from the springs, was built for the town mayor in 1878. Listed on the National Historic Register, the house delights guests with a dramatic central staircase and an appealing veranda where breakfast is served in summer. The Victorian era house with four guest rooms is furnished with antique quilts, vintage linens and handcrafted dolls.

The Trask's change their breakfast menu daily. The berry French toast always brings calls for the recipe. Breakfast is served as guests are ready in The Manor's formal dining room.

Aaron's Acre is a restored, highly polished farmhouse, an easy walk from the center of town. The main house has two guest rooms with private baths including a new, front-of-the-house suite with a queen-size bed and sitting room. There are two rooms in the carriage house, each with a private entrance, bath and queen-sized bed. The Pine Room also has a small kitchen. The tongue-in-groove pine boards that give the room its name create the feel of a small cabin - a feel enhanced by the private deck with a view south along Warm Springs Ridge.

The homey feeling of Aaron's Acre is highlighted at breakfast when guests linger with their hosts over a hearty meal in the comfortable dining room. Regular favorites include waffles, pancakes and stuffed French toast.

Guests turn into a winding, oak-lined driveway that leads them through a luxurious rock-strewn and wooded setting to the pristine Tudor house named Folkestone, the area's first B&B. Just outside the town limits, Folkstone offers two rooms with private baths for guests, most of whom return again and again. Owner Hettie Hawvermale provides a four-course breakfast including homemade breads and muffins served on the screened porch, weather permitting. The indoor dining room is set with family china and silver, while the wood-paneled room is filled with books and memorabilia from around the world.

Although most B&Bs are restricted to adult guests, there are several in Morgan County that welcome children and pets, including two owned and operated by the Perry family. Maria's Garden is an in-town place to bring the family and dog. A pair of vintage town houses two blocks from the springs have been transformed into suites and rooms with shared and private baths. The TV room, well-stocked with films and a VCR, provides a family entertainment center.

A full country breakfast is served in the Italian family restaurant that is part of the inn. The bright rose dining room opens onto a unique devotional garden lovingly created by Maria's owner, Peg Perry.

The Perry family have also turned an 8-unit roadside motel across from Cacapon State Park into the Cacapon Bed & Breakfast, a family-friendly collection of rooms that come with a special homemade breakfast.

Children and pets are also welcome at River House, one of the area's newest B&Bs. Overlooking the scenic Cacapon River outside Great Cacapon, just over the mountain from Berkeley Springs, River House offers access to canoeing, tubing, biking and fishing. The restored country bungalow with gleaming wood floors has several special outdoor spots-an attached gazebo and back deck-that provide an ideal setting for the hearty and healthful breakfasts favored by owners Kit and Connie Patten. Herbs and vegetables used in River House breakfasts are mostly grown on the property. Reflecting the artistic bent of its owners, the local literati meet there monthly and guests may sit in on the readings.

The wildest mountains and largest man-made structure on C & O Canal are prime attractions for visitors to Paw Paw, an old railroad town along the western boundary of Morgan County. Whether biking the Paw Paw Tunnel or just sightseeing, there is only one place to stay-the Paw Paw Patch. Noticing the lack of public lodging in town, Kay and Bill Miller opened their home in 1989 to provide three guest rooms for vistors and their children. Breakfast at the Patch is an experience in country living with plentiful helpings of sausage, bacon, breakfast casseroles and pancakes. An exciting new addition to lodging in Paw Paw is the Heritage Trail Bed & Breakfast owned by J.D. Gross. Gross also has plans to open a youth hostel in the summer of 2000, giving guests an inexpensive place to stay while they explore the Potomac River and C & O Canal.

For information about the area lodging in resorts, country inns, motels and cabins, call Travel Berkeley Springs at 1-800-447-8797 or 258-9147