The rooms vary greatly, ranging from a tiny single room without bath at $89 to a roomy triple room with bath at $189. We stayed in Room 6 (The Rough Rider Room), which lists at $169. It was spacious and clean, with a very comfortable queen-size bed, it had its own bath, and was complete with ceiling fan, air conditioner, chest of drawers, one chair, radio alarm, and bottled water. The bathroom had a full set of towels, soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, and Q-tips. There was no closet (there were hooks on the wall with hangers), no phone, no hair dryer, and no TV. One disadvantage: this room was on the 3rd floor, and no elevator. The other rooms are on the 2nd and on the 3rd floor.

The entry door to the B&B is locked and you will be supplied with a code number which you have to enter on the lock to gain access. You also will be given a parking permit so that you can park on the street in the neighborhood. Either the manager or the housekeeper is on the premises from 7am to noon. If you arrive later, there will be an envelope waiting for you, complete with room key and instructions which are comprehensive and helpful in locating services, using the phone, etc.

On the first floor there is a comfortable living room with arm chairs, newspapers, magazines and books, many of which include useful information on Washington. There is a dining room and a kitchen (you have full use of the kitchen), and a closet where you can store your luggage before or after checkout, if you wish. The dining room also has a telephone from which you can make local calls at no charge (!), and long-distance calls using a credit card.

The breakfast, included in the price of the room, is help-yourself in the dining room and includes coffee, tea, orange juice, coffee cake, bread, cheese, prosciutto (!), butter, jam, honey, several cold cereals, and fruit. Throughout the day, coffee is available as are cookies, candy and nuts on the shelf--these goodies convey a feeling of generosity of spirit in the hearts of the management.

The location is fairly central. It is a 15-minute walk (8 blocks) to the nearest Metro station which is Capitol South, a bit longer to the one at Union Station. The Mall is within walking distance, requiring about 30 minutes to the museums, the Washington Monument, etc.

We were given the Sequoia room on the second floor, and we scampered up the steep flight of stairs to find a comfortable room (with a private bathroom) situated in the corner turret of the Victorian house. The bed was a queen-sized iron sleigh bed, and it was placed in the turret in such a way that it was surrounded by the windows. There was also a full-sized day bed in the room. There was one issue with the beds, but I'll get to that at the end.

The inn's theme is centered around Teddy Roosevelt, but the owners have used it with tasteful moderation. For example, the rooms are named after significant events, people, and things in TR's life and administration, but guests are not haunted with his portraint or bust at every turn. On the contrary, the decor is handsome and warm. The hardwood floors are worn, but well preserved, and the furnishings and decorations complement the floor's soft glow with rich green and brown themes.

In addition to the tasteful atmosphere, the breakfast is excellent. The innkeeper, Elizabeth, is very warm and talkative. She lives nearby on the Hill, and impressed us with her knowledge of the city. We were presented with fresh-from-the-oven muffins and banana bread, as well as bagels, hard-boiled eggs, fruit salad, strong fresh coffee, juice, and 3 or 4 cereals. As my wife had a deadline to meet that day for work, she left shortly after breakfast. I, on the other hand, had no such obligations, and spent the rest of the morning reading the Times, the Post, and the Wall Street Journal in the parlor until it was time to check out.

The were only two negative marks against the place. First, our sheets were not clean (both beds!). We were pretty astounded given the inn's attention to every other detail. Second, the inn and especially our room was not that well air conditioned. DC gets very hot in the summer, and guests bothered by the heat, may find the temperature in the inn to be uncomfortable.

The Bull Moose Bed and Breakfast sits on a nicely-landscaped corner lot. We had the good fortune to come on a lovely late spring day, with the earliest flush of summer blooms, including a lovely oakleaf hydrangea near the B&B’s gate.

Upon entering, we found an envelope containing a welcome letter and the key to our room, "Kermit on Safari." Perhaps a word of explanation is in order here. The ten rooms in the Bull Moose are named after and decorated with Rooseveltian themes, such as the "Rough Rider Room," "The Square Deal," and "The Sequoia."

Okay, I admit it. I’m a sucker for a themed anything. The notion of Roosevelt-themed rooms – if they were well done - intrigued me. I was not disappointed. "Kermit on Safari" was a cozy room with masculine, rustic-looking furnishings. A queen bed decked out with a leopard-pattern throw and zebra-stripe cushions had pride of place, with antique steamer trunks, a distressed wardrobe, a manly leather chair, a simple desk, wooden shutters, and wicker lamps completing the furnishings. Various pictures of T.R. and his son Kermit on safari in Africa accented the room. I was especially happy to find the room had a large, quiet ceiling fan, for nothing makes me sleep better than a gentle breeze.

Everything was meticulously clean in the room and its small bath, and thoughtful touches – bottles of spring water, Q-tips in a bathroom canister – made us feel at home.

However, I was torn between taking a nap on the comfortable bed and going downstairs to sit in a capacious armchair and read one of the newspapers laid out on the coffee table. So I did both. The Bull Moose is quiet, especially given that it’s in the city, with a relaxed, almost contemplative atmosphere. Light filtered through trees streamed through the paneled windows, setting off the warm russet tones of the elaborate antique oak fireplace, detailed molding, and oversized plush armchairs. Lovingly restored houses have a special quality that no modern luxury hotel can match.

I must put in a good word for the young woman – I neglected to learn her name – who was our hostess at breakfast the next morning. She showed a genuine concern for the guests, arranging a taxi for one, advising metro routes to another, and going online to find information for us. Her warm hospitality was matched only by the excellent breakfast of fresh fruit, assorted cereals and baked goods, juice, and delicious coffee. We lingered over breakfast, taking cups of coffee into the lounge with us, and sat happily reading the morning paper before setting out to explore Washington.