Jim Cox of Oak Brook and his wife, Amy, work 50 to 60 hours a week at their sales jobs while raising their 7-month-old daughter. To unwind, they plan occasional weekend getaways at bed and breakfasts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. Their latest discovery is the Millhurst Inn Bed & Breakfast in Plano, a 117-year-old structure run by a couple who share the Coxes’ passion for antiques.
“We went to the Millhurst in March for our anniversary and then were back again for a weekend in June,” says Jim. “We spent the days antiquing and exploring the area and the evenings just relaxing at the inn with no pressure or deadlines.”
Cox says they prefer the ambience of B&Bs to that of chain hotels, which they frequent during the week. “At a bed and breakfast you don’t get that sterile hotel feeling. It’s more inviting, more homey, and the owners are more caring,” he says.
No wonder one B&B owner, Marcia Nelson of Marcia’s Bed and Breakfast in Ottawa, says one of her regular customers is an international manager of a major hotel chain.
As rat-race refugees, the Coxes are typical B&B guests, say many Chicago area innkeepers. Other B&B fans include business travelers who dislike the sameness of hotels, honeymooning couples and old friends who are reuniting.
Add full-time parents craving a good night’s sleep, says Jerry Lynch, owner of Yorkville’s Silver Key Bed and Breakfast. “One local couple who comes here gives their babysitter a sealed envelope with my phone number in it. They tell the sitter to open it only in case of emergency,” he says.
The common thread among B&B guests, says Carol Mayer, owner of Ottawa’s Prairie Rivers Bed and Breakfast, is “they all arrive exhausted and leave relaxed.” Because one guest’s idea of relaxing is hiking 20 miles, and another’s is lounging in a hammock, the innkeepers tend to choose tranquil settings near recreational centers.
The state of Illinois defines a B&B as an owner-occupied home with up to 15 rooms for rent, says La Verne Waldbusser, administrator of the Port Byron, Ill.-based Illinois Bed and Breakfast Association. “Beyond that, it is considered a hotel,” she explains.
Other than the 15-room-limit, the B&Bs have little in common. “That’s what people like about them–each is unique and offers a different type of experience,” Waldbusser says. The association has 129 member B&Bs, plus another 20 “apprentice B&Bs” that have not yet opened. That’s up from 100 five years ago. Waldbusser encourages travelers to check her list of members because they are inspected and approved by the association.
There are about 20,000 B&Bs nationwide that are members of the Richmond, Va.-based American Bed and Breakfast Association, according to Sarah Sonke, president of the association. Sonke notes the greatest increase in numbers of B&Bs in the 1990s has been in the Midwest.
Few of the B&Bs allow small children because many of their guests are parents seeking a child-free weekend. Although only a few allow pets, animal-lovers do find resident pets at many of the B&Bs. Smoking is almost always a no-no.
Most of the innkeepers listed below suggest you book at least several weeks ahead. Weekends are busier–and sometimes more costly–than weekdays.
DUPAGE COUNTY
Harrison House guests can walk or ride bicycles to Naperville’s shops, restaurants, Centennial Beach, Naper Settlement (living history museum) and Riverwalk path.
– In Naperville’s old section is the Harrison House, a 1904 traditional-style home converted into a B&B by owner Lynn Harrison. Its five rooms have private baths; one is a honeymoon suite with a hot tub. They run $118 to $158 and include the choice of continental or full breakfast at no extra charge. Business travelers appreciate the hair dryers, robes, irons and toiletries provided. Rock away the evening on the front-porch rockers or borrow the Harrison’s bicycles for a spin around Naperville. Children are welcome and favor the Teddy Bear room, filled with bears of all sizes. No pets are allowed. Harrison House, 26 N. Eagle, Naperville, Ill. 60540. Telephone: 630-420-1117.
KANE COUNTY
Guests at the Villa Batavia and Oscar Swan Country Inn have their choice of dozens of restaurants and shops in the area. Recreational activities include fishing and boating on the Fox River and bicycling, hiking and in-line skating on the Fox River Trail.
– Although it is now bordered by subdivisions and an apartment complex, the eight-acre estate in Geneva called the Oscar Swan Country Inn remains intact, a reminder of gentler days. Built as a country home by Chicagoan Oscar Swan in 1902, this Colonial Revival home was converted to a B&B in 1986 by owners Nina and Hans Heymann.
No wonder this is popular for small weddings; the front and back yards are idyllic gardens, shaded by century-old silver maples. Rooms range from $88 to $139 a night and have private baths. Prices include a full breakfast with such specialties as fritattas and French toast made from homemade, cinnamon-raisin bread. Children are welcome. Pets are OK under some circumstances. The Oscar Swan Country Inn, 1800 W. State St., Geneva, Ill. 60134. Telephone: 630-232-0173.
– History buffs love Batavia’s Villa Batavia, the former Holmes family farm dating to 1844. Innkeeper Dick Palmer, a former schoolteacher who co-owns the B&B with teacher Fran Steiner, learned much of the property’s history from Civil War-era diaries he found in the barn loft while renovating the seven-acre spread in 1992. Described by Palmer as Neo-Grecian Italianate, the home has 1700s and 1800s French marble fireplaces in the living room and dining room and hand-blocked wallpaper panels in the dining room that were made in France in 1833.
The B&B has two guest rooms with baths, one of which is actually a four-room suite. They run $90 and $100 on weekdays and $135 and $150 on Friday and Saturday nights. Prices include Palmer’s breakfast specialties such as ham and cheese strata or baked French toast.
Children ages 12 and older are welcome, but pets are not. Villa Batavia, 1430 S. Batavia Ave., Batavia, Ill. 60510. Telephone: 630-406-8182.
LASALLE COUNTY
Marcia’s Bed and Breakfast, Lord Stockings Bed and Breakfast, Prairie Rivers Bed and Breakfast, Landers House and Brightwood Inn are near plenty of activities. Included are Starved Rock, Matthiessen and Buffalo Rock State Parks, golf courses, canoe/bicycle/jet ski rentals, the I&M Canal State Trail, a sky-diving facility, antiques shops and plenty of restaurants.
– The Bozics’ favorite getaway, Marcia’s, is run by Nelson, a former schoolteacher and current camp director who still finds time to be a world traveler. The decor of the late 1800s farmhouse reflects Nelson’s travels and interest in Native American cultures. Nelson offers three rooms, one with a private bath. They run $55 to $75 and include a full breakfast. Her specialty: a Norwegian pancake she likens to a crepe. Children and pets are allowed under certain circumstances. Sample the area restaurants or grill your own dinner here on the lawn. Regulars remember to pack some carrots for Nelson’s horses. Marcia’s Bed and Breakfast, 3003 N. Illinois Highway 71, Ottawa, Ill. 61350. Telephone: 815-434-5217.
– British-born Lee Stockings was nicknamed Lord Stockings long ago, so the name seemed a natural when he and his wife, Pat, opened Lord Stockings Bed and Breakfast in Mendota in 1988. The three-story Victorian home, built in 1901, has five guest rooms on the second floor, all with shared baths, for $50 a night. A third-floor suite with a private bath runs $100 a night. Prices include a “continental-plus” breakfast with baked goods and fresh fruit. Children ages 10 and older are welcome; pets are not. Stroll Stockings’ English cottage gardens or relax in wicker chairs on the wrap-around porch. In December, every room has a decorated Christmas tree. Lord Stockings Bed and Breakfast, 803 3rd Ave., Mendota, Ill. 61342. Telephone: 815-539-7905.
– A former saleswoman, Carol Mayer preferred B&Bs when she traveled in the United States and abroad. Now retired from the rat race, she and her husband, Edward, a retired insurance executive, run their own B&B–the Prairie Rivers Bed and Breakfast in Ottawa. They renovated the 1890 Queen Anne, built by a Mr. Strawn on the site that Ft. Johnston occupied during the Blackhawk War. The three bedrooms with baths, which Carol describes as “bright and cheery, not Victorian” run $80 to $120 with full breakfast included. Children are allowed; pets are not. Prairie Rivers Bed and Breakfast, 121 E. Prospect Ave., Ottawa, Ill. 61350. Telephone: 815-434-3226.
– If thank-you note mentions count, one of the highlights of the Landers House in Utica is Jake, an unflappable, retired racing greyhound that greets guests. The Landers House is actually two neighboring Queen Anne homes dating to the late 1800s. One was built by the Landers family, who owned the general store; the other has since been dubbed the Landers Lodge and given lodge-like decor. Owned by Dorelle Denman, a Chicago native who bought them in 1996, they include seven rooms, six with private baths. Rates are $69 to $125 and include a choice of a continental or full breakfast at no extra charge. Children ages 10 and older are welcome; pets are not. Landers House, 115 E. Church St., Utica, Ill. 61373. Telephone: 815-667-5170.
– The cookie jar in the library is bottomless, says Jo Ryan, who owns the Brightwood Inn in Oglesby with her husband, John. One of the newer B&Bs in the area, this one was built in 1996 in a style reminiscent of a turn-of-the-century farmhouse. It includes seven guest rooms with baths and fireplaces. Five have two-person hot tubs. They range from $85 to $165 and include a complete breakfast. Sit on the rocking chairs in the veranda and watch deer wander by from Matthiessen State Park. Children ages 10 and older are welcome; pets are not. Brightwood Inn, 2407 N. Illinois Highway 178, Oglesby, Ill. 61348. Telephone: 815-667-4600.
KENDALL COUNTY
Guests of the Millhurst Inn Bed & Breakfast, Fox and Hounds Bed and Breakfast, Gilbert Gaylord House and Silver Key Bed and Breakfast can explore local antiques shops or the monthly Sandwich Antiques Market, or tour architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. Bring your own equipment for hiking, fishing, skating, cross-country skiing and canoeing at the Silver Springs State Park.
– If only the walls could talk at the Millhurst Inn Bed & Breakfast in Plano. The four-foot-thick exterior walls, some left exposed inside, date to 1870, when Brownell Wing built this flour mill with rock carved from nearby limestone bluffs. It never was used as a mill, though; Wing was forced to abandon it when the railroad rerouted the track that was to serve it. The would-be mill became a private residence, then a resort in the 1890s, a speakeasy in the 1920s, a YWCA camp in the 1930s and a nursing home in the 1960s. Gutted by a fire in 1979, it was an empty ruin for years until Ken and Arlene Koehler, who lived nearby, began a three-year renovation in 1993.
The Koehlers, with the help of a Plano woodworker, built six guest rooms, each with a hot tub, surrounding an atrium. Their oversized, European antiques complement the extensive woodwork, including a cherry and walnut staircase and hackberry flooring milled on site. Check out the koi pond in the main-floor bathroom.
Rates are $150 to $220, including breakfast entrees such as Italian omelets. No children or pets, please. But animal-lovers may enjoy chatting with the inn’s mascot, a macaw named Tuddy.
Millhurst Inn Bed & Breakfast, 15426 Millhurst Rd., Plano, Ill. 60545. Telephone: 630-552-8117.
– Bruce Best, who owns the Fox and Hounds Bed and Breakfast in Yorkville with his wife, Joyce, is a fourth-generation B&B owner. The name of the Bests’ B&B reflects his family’s native England, and the decor is English-country. This 1900 Victorian home has three guest rooms, all with private baths. They run $75 to $85 a night, including a continental breakfast on weekdays and full breakfast on weekends. They welcome children ages 14 and older but don’t allow pets. Fox and Hounds Bed and Breakfast, 201 E. Jackson St., Yorkville, Ill. 60560. Telephone: 630-553-1369.
– Candice Hadley and her husband, Bob Johnson, used to live in Chicago and escape to B&Bs. Now they run their own B&B in Oswego–the Gilbert Gaylord House, an Italianate brick home named for the man who built it in 1865. Built on the site of a former stagecoach stop, it has two guest rooms with private baths for $80 and $90 a night. Pick your own raspberries for the “deluxe continental” breakfast with homemade bread, served on the screened porch when weather permits. Unlike most B&B owners, Hadley encourages guests to bring their children. Dogs are OK, too, if they don’t mind staying in the outdoor kennel. Gilbert Gaylord House, 1542 Plainfield Rd., Oswego, Ill. 60543. Telephone: 630-554-1865.
– When Judge Clarence Williams built his Greek Revival house in Yorkville in 1901 for his bride, Mary Etta Budd, he presented her with a silver key to the home. Today that key still opens the front door at the Silver Key Bed and Breakfast, owned by retired air traffic controller Lynch. Champagne on ice awaits guests in two bedrooms, which share a bath. Lynch charges $75 per room or $109 for the two rooms and bath; a continental breakfast is included. Relax on the front porch in the evening and watch red foxes and deer wander by. Children are welcome; pets are not. Silver Key Bed and Breakfast, 507 W. Ridge, Yorkville, Ill. 60560. Telephone: 800-246-3384.
KANKAKEE COUNTY
Guests of the Wikstrom Manor and Norma’s Bed and Breakfast have their choice of plenty of restaurants and stores, including antiques shops. Activities include fishing and boating on the Kankakee River and bicycling, hiking and cross-country skiing on the trails at the Kankakee River State Park and Perry Farm.
– Running a B&B is a piece of coffeecake compared to raising nine children, says Evalyn Surprenant, who runs the Wikstrom Manor in Momence with her husband, Tony. They raised their brood there in their three-story, red-brick home before converting it to a B&B in 1989. The home was built in 1892 by Alex Wikstrom to accommodate visiting dignitaries from his native Sweden for Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
The Wikstrom’s three guest rooms, one with a private bath, range from $55 to $65 a night. Tony serves a continental breakfast before 8 a.m. and a full breakfast after 8. Relax in the flower garden or in a wicker rocker on the wrap-around porch. Children ages 7 and older are OK, but pets aren’t. The Surprenants recommend booking months ahead for the annual Momence Gladiolus Festival in August. Wikstrom Manor, 304 W. 2nd St., Momence, Ill. 60954. Telephone: 815-472-3156.
– Somewhere in the Kankakee River is a fish tagged by Norma’s Bed and Breakfast in Kankakee. Catch it during the local fishing derby, and you win a two-week stay at Norma’s. Otherwise, you can pay $40 a night for one of four rooms (one with a private bath) in this 1906 brick home. The price includes a continental breakfast. Gather on the front porch to chat with owner Norma Gall, a cemetery buff, after exploring the old cemetery at the Kankakee River State Park. No children or pets. Norma’s Bed and Breakfast, 429 S. 4th Ave., Kankakee, Ill. 60901. Telephone: 815-937-1533.
