and Finally - Number 1 - Breakfast, of course!

I know you have all been waiting for the number 1 reason to stay at our B&B versus the big box hotels and that reason is BREAKFAST. Amy and Mark really outdo themselves, not just the food which is great, but the experience of breakfast. Sitting down at a table set with a white table cloth and cloth napkins, relaxing and treating yourself to something that does not happen in your everyday life. The experience really begins as the smell of our locally roasted coffee from Carpe Diem wafts up to your room. Coffee is ready in the dining room at 7:00 a.m. for all those guests who need that morning jolt or who want to get a cup and curl back up in bed for awhile. Since guests have picked their dining time, Amy and Mark prepare each breakfast to order. Not like at the large hotels where the eggs have been sitting in a warming dish for an hour! But before you even think of your hot entree, treat yourself to the buffet set up and ready for you in the dining room. Organic yogurt, our own granola made here at the Packard House, fresh fruit and the morning's baked good. Yes, we bake everything in house. Muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls, bagels, our famous Blueberry Gateau
and all the bread used with the breakfasts are baked right here - usually first thing in the morning! So add these wonderful smells to the coffee and you know even before you come down the stairs you are in for a treat. Now you are seated, have made your selections from the buffet and Mark appears to offer you a choice of 5 different juices to go with your breakfast. While you relax and look at the morning headlines or talk with other guests, Amy and Mark are busy in the kitchen cooking up the morning's entree.
These vary widely from French Toast made with our homemade cinnamon bread to crepes with strawberries and cream or maybe a savory filling of spinach, ricotta, mushrooms and a little feta cheese. Or how about our Poached on Toast with grilled homemade English Muffin Break topped with grilled ham, poached eggs, a little cheddar cheese and fresh herbs from our garden. We try very hard not to serve guests the same thing twice when they make their return visits but sometimes they loved it so much they make a request.
These are our top 5 reasons to stay at a bed and breakfast, especially our B&B, what are some of yours?

Number 2 - It Begins with a Warm Welcome

There is something special about the warmth and hospitality at our B&B and it begins when you are greeted at the door. Amy or Mark (and me, of course) are always there to greet you in person and show you to your room. Upon your arrival, they answer any questions and explain how breakfast is served at the Packard House - this is one of the most frequently asked questions along with how early can a guest get coffee. Each room has a breakfast card which guests fill out and put in the dining room. The card allows guests to pick from four different dining times, choose a full or continental breakfast, lets the innkeepers know their coffee/tea preference and detail any food allergies. It also reminds guests that coffee is always ready by 7:00 a.m. in the dining room along with the local paper and the New York Times. The wonderful hospitality continues once guests are settled with complimentary afternoon tea served in the warm months on the patio or in colder weather in front of a fire in the Gathering Room. Time for dinner and need a reservation or ideas? Menus of local restaurants are available to look at to help a guest choose and Amy and Mark will happily make reservations. Upon their return from dinner, guests find their beds have been turned down and a pitcher of ice water, glasses and chocolate covered blueberries awaiting them in their room.
Waking up to the intoxicating smell of locally roasted coffee in the morning, you are greeted in the dining room and breakfast is cooked and served by your innkeepers. Need to find that out of away hike, best lobster shack or special place to get local products? Amy and Mark are filled with information and will help you map out your day's adventure with local maps and brochures.
So whatever you are looking for in your vacation - the innkeepers at the Benjamin F. Packard House will welcome you and help you make your stay in Bath and midcoast Maine just what you want!

Number 3 - What Wonderful People!

Sorry for the delay in keeping up with my blog and the list of the Top 5 Reasons to Stay at a B&B, especially ours. I was a bit distracted waiting for an addition to the family - Amy and Mark's great nephew (my cousin) was born yesterday so now I can get back to my job - sleeping in the sun, blogging and greeting guests.
So the 3rd best reason to stay at a B&B - the people!!! Our guests come from all over the United States and the world, bringing a variety of experiences, languages and vacation ideas with them and this all comes together in the dining room at breakfast. Talking with each other, sharing plans and adventures that each has had while visiting Bath and midcoast Maine shapes each guests stay into a unique experience. Guests often find out that this is a very small world we live in. I remember we had one couple visiting from Germany and also a family staying with us from New York. While everyone was at breakfast and talking they discovered that the gentleman from New York had recently given a lecture at the law firm where the woman worked in Germany! Or the time the couple showed up from Essex, England and were staying 2 nights. The next night a couple comes to the door looking for a room also from Essex, England. Seated together the next morning for breakfast they discover they only lived about 20 minutes apart! I also enjoy when guests come back from a day out exploring the sights and share all their stories with each other over afternoon tea on the patio. I get to hear about what they did, how cold they think the ocean is even in the middle of the summer and where they found the best lobster. And lastly, it is not just the wonderful guests here at the Packard House but also the wonderful dog!

justBEcause

A break in my count down of the Top 5 Reasons to Stay at a B&B to tell you about something else that happened here at the Packard House. Amy and the justBEcause group got together this past Saturday for another project - this time decorating pots and planting pansies for a local nursing home. Before they go off to be delivered this afternoon, I took a couple pictures for you to enjoy.





















This group gets together at random times to do something for someone others "justBEcause". Since it is spring they decided to brighten up Winship Green nursing home with some pretty posies. I enjoyed having them all over on the patio on Saturday while they decorated and potted since I got lots of attention too!