Just how romantic is the Eastern Shore's Brampton Bed and Breakfast Inn?
American Historic Inns and its companion Web site, iLoveInns.com, ranked the Chestertown B&B as one of the top 10 romantic inns in the country and as "the ultimate in romantic travel."
My husband and I spent the night at the Brampton recently. Our first impression?
The Greek Italianate Revival manor house is a stunning - and massive - antebellum dwelling. Everything about it is writ large: the wraparound porch and, inside, a carved three-story staircase flanked by an enormous parlor and a dining area set with individual tables. And that was before I saw the rooms: huge.
Now, I am not a fan of bed-and-breakfast inns. I prefer anonymity, not forced intimacy with other guests. I like a phone and a TV. And too many B&B rooms, overly precious and small, have left me feeling stifled and claustrophobic.
But the feeling was different at Brampton.
"People feel you can stay in the room; you don't have to leave," says innkeeper Danielle Hanscom, when asked why she thinks guests find the inn so romantic. "It's the size of the rooms."
Not only are the rooms a good size, but the porch and parlor are set up with individual groupings of seats. You can choose to sit alone - or with other guests. The same applies to the dining room.
"Those B&Bs that force people to interact with each other? Oh, we're not into that," says Hanscom, who is Swiss.
Danielle and her husband, Michael, bought the Brampton, then a private residence, in 1987 with the intention of opening a B&B. By the end of that year, they unveiled their first two guest rooms. Today, there are 10 luxurious rooms, furnished with antiques and reproductions. All but one room has a wood-burning fireplace.
From the beginning, the Hanscoms - she's 55, he's 57 - have played on the Brampton's spaciousness.
As Michael Hanscom puts it: "We're not as cold as a boutique hotel and not as warm as a small B&B."
Brampton, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, sits on 25 wooded acres. There are red buds, flowering crab apples, holly trees, dogwoods, poplars, loblolly pines and, most thrilling of all, 1,800 exotic paulownias, a Chinese tree with large - what else? - heart-shaped leaves and violet flowers.
Guests are invited to explore the walking trails on the property. "It's a little on the wild side," says Danielle Hanscom, a former flight attendant. "This place wasn't meant to be totally manicured."
Not surprisingly, most of the Brampton's guests are couples, primarily from Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Increasingly, business people are finding their way to the inn - the chief reason Brampton recently added Internet wireless access. Coming soon: in-room flat-screen TVs and DVD players.
Hanscom doesn't much care for the "don't do this, don't do that" notes that appear in so many B&B rooms so she tries to keep her own to a minimum. When she does write them, they are pretty funny: "You can find designated wash cloths, make-up remover and shoe mitts on the amenities tray in the bathroom," she says in one. "If you need to wash your car or clean your gun, let us know. We will be happy to share our old rags."
She also pushes luxury: 600-count sheets; imported toiletries; whirlpool baths and body-jet showers; rich-feeling bathrobes; and a fridge with complimentary wine, beer, soda and water.
There's also a three-course breakfast and afternoon tea. Our breakfast started with an enormous homemade muffin, progressed to a fruit cup and ended with custom-ordered egg dishes - though we could have had pancakes with fresh blueberries. Let's just say I couldn't finish mine, and that's saying something.
Also recently, the Hanscoms finished restoring their belvedere - sort of a widow's walk with windows - that's been transformed into a "Proposal Room."
They have also preserved some of the inn's history. Many of the children who have lived at Brampton since the 1800s wrote their names on the walls going up the stairwell to the belvedere, and, thank goodness, the Hanscoms saw that their signatures were left intact.
Before booking our reservation, I studied the Brampton's easy-to-navigate and super-detailed Web site. There, I was impressed with the special concierge services Brampton offers for a fee: a cheese and fruit tray, a nature-lover's picnic, roses, chocolates, a "pampering basket" with bath crystals and body lotions and even an in-room massage.
The section on the perfectly photographed gourmet breakfasts, which change daily, was also appealing. But what really whetted my appetite was Russell's Cottage: a converted smokehouse featuring a wood-burning stove, high ceilings with exposed beams, large windows and a private entrance. I booked it online immediately.
The cottage was wonderful - and yes, romantic. But don't take my word for it. In a guest book in the cottage are heartfelt testimonials from previous guests.
