By Kay Frances

I know I’m weird, for so many reasons that I don’t have space to list here, but I often find myself “zigging” when everyone else is “zagging.”

Most — OK all — of my friends LOVE bed and breakfasts.

I don’t. There, I said it.

To me, the very concept is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

For those in favor, the arguments go something like this:

“You get up in the morning.”

OK, I’m going to stop them right there. If I’m on vacation, I may or may not WANT to get up in the morning. What is the point of being on vacation if I have to adhere to a schedule? In fact, I might not want to get up at all. Ever. Sometimes a week of solid sleep sounds absolutely heavenly.

“You get to stay in their house.”

Just kill me now. I have never been comfortable staying in other people’s houses. (I already stipulated to being weird, so don’t judge me.) In contrast to the anonymity of a hotel where you never really see the housekeeper, in a B&B, you will likely share breakfast with the people who are cleaning your room. It makes me want to do a serious pre-clean before they come in. Again, not the way I want to spend vacation.

“You get to have breakfast with people you don’t know.”

So, getting up early, eating whatever they serve you and making chit chat with complete strangers. This doesn’t sound like a vacation. It sounds like a prison sentence.

Some B&Bs even have shared bathrooms. Surely I don’t have to outline why this is extremely undesirable.

I was doing a speaking engagement in Hawaii and decided to add on a few days on my own. So, you can imagine my chagrin when the only thing I found that was both affordable and desirable was a B&B. I decided to keep an open mind and give it a try.

I can’t begin to tell you how amazing this place was. The owner wasn’t there, but left it in the hands of a charming young couple. They couldn’t have been nicer and offered as much or little interaction as I desired.

It was on Maui and was a block from the beach. They offered snorkel gear, towels — anything you would need for a day at the beach. There wasn’t a set breakfast time and they encouraged their guests to come and go as they pleased. It was fun to meet the other guests, but it was mostly as we were all headed somewhere. The rooms were immaculate, and get this: Each room had its own hot tub.

I’m not sure I’m completely “sold” on the idea of bed and breakfasts in general, but I was proud of myself for keeping an open mind. It exceeded my expectations and I would give the concept another chance. And, did I mention I even had my own bathroom? It truly is “the little things” that can make or break a vacation.

Salt Magazine

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