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Richard Johnston Inn Bed & Breakfast

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  • 711 Caroline St.
     Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
    (540) 899-7606Website
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zabelle
zabelle
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
19
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Editor Pick

Richard Johnston Inn

  • March 26, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by zabelle from Portland, Connecticut
Richard Johnston Inn

A lucky coincidence found Bonnie, the innkeeper, on the back porch as we pulled into the parking lot. If there is a bed-and-breakfast anywhere with a better location than the Richard Johnston Inn, I will be very surprised. The visitor center is right across the street, and Caroline Street is the center of historic Fredericksburg.

Our room was on the second floor. Entering through the backdoor involves climbing a set a stairs onto the porch from the parking lot, so if stairs are an issue, this isn’t the right place for you. I fell in love with this inn as soon as we walked through the dining room and parlor into Bonnie’s little office below the staircase. The inn is beautifully decorated, but it is also warm and welcoming. It could have been the glass jar filled with chocolate chip cookies from Bonnie's special recipe (she has written a cookbook) that won me over, or maybe it was the little bowls filled with candy bars and chocolate treats. A woman after my own heart!

All this was confirmed by our warm welcome. We were taken on a tour of the house and led us up to our room. It was gorgeous, with a huge canopy bed; two sets of steps (one on each side of the bed) helped us climb in. All the furniture was antique: marble-top tables, converted gas lamps, etc. Again, the small touches were there: a decanter of brandy on the night stand, a trinket box with Ghirardelli chocolates on the dressing table, and two cozy robes hanging on the door. This was home away from home, if you have a beautiful antique-filled historic home, that is. The inn reportedly has a resident ghost, so be sure to ask about it.

The modern conveniences haven’t been forgotten, either. We had a small TV in our armoire, wi-fi is available, and our bathroom had plenty of thick towels and good shower pressure; it was located across the hall from our room, and I knew the configuration when I booked the room.
Breakfast is served between 7:30 and 9am. Coffee, however, is available earlier. During the week, breakfast is an extended continental with cereal, yogurt, a fantastic fruit bowl, coffee cake, juice, and coffee. On the weekend, all the stops are pulled out, and one day we had a cheese souffle and the other we had pancakes, with or without pecans, served with a praline sauce. On Saturday, we had the best bacon I have ever had with the souffle, and on Sunday, we had sausage balls, which are one of Bonnie's specialties.

What we loved about this inn was the warm atmosphere created by the furnishings and the innkeeper. We also appreciated the family atmosphere created by sharing a table with other guests at breakfast. One morning that meant that Al and I had the head and the foot of the table, which forced us to meet other people.

From journal Fredericksburg—Where History Never Gets Old

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