Day at the Point

Point of Honor, home of Dr. George Cabell who was Patrick Henry’s personal physician, recently celebrated its annual Day at the Point where the historical home is open to the public free of charge.

This year’s event drew hundreds of people to see the home and experience life as it would have been in the early 1800’s. There was a blacksmith and trapper, explaining their life in the early 19^th century. Also on hand were people in period garb, cooking demonstrations, period music and much more.

If you missed this year’s day at the point it will return again next year, but if you are in the area on December 6^th from 12:00-4:00pm you won’t want to miss Christmas at Point of Honor. This is your opportunity to see how the home would have been decorated for Christmas in the early 1800’s. Admission is free.

If you are traveling to the area and will be in Lynchburg on 6 December, The Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast is just two blocks from Point of Honor and would be the ideal place to spend the evening before continuing your travels.

Meeting and Event Center Opens

It was a day years in the making, but the Meeting and Event Center in the old Carriage House at the Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast in historic Daniels Hill in downtown Lynchburg finally took place. Mayor Joan Foster and Vice Mayor Bert Dodson assisted innkeepers Kathy and Michael Bedsworth with the ribbon cutting officially opening Lynchburg’s newest event venue on 27 October 2009.

The Meeting and Event Center encompasses the lower level of the carriage house and totals about 1300 square feet. The largest meeting room in the new facility is where the carriages and later automobiles were housed. The old stables were converted into a lobby and smaller conference room or breakout room. The old coal storage area and tack rooms now house the refreshment/beverage center, powder rooms and caterer’s kitchen.

During the construction process, the main focus on the final product was to create a multi-purpose space while keeping the integrity and character of the building. To that extent, the original tongue and grove ceiling in the meeting areas was preserved, antique lighting fixtures were installed and wood salvaged from the stables was used as wainscoting in the smaller conference/breakout room. Electrical outlets are spaced ever three to four and 15 data points were installed in the space. A 55 inch LCD screen allows speakers or trainers to show their presentations in brilliant color.

The main room can be set up theater style, classroom style, banquet style or U shaped depending on the nature of the event. This is the ideal space for local businesses to have meetings training sessions or conduct budget or strategic planning meetings. Likewise the community could use the space for bridal or baby showers, small weddings, birthday or anniversary parties. In the future wine and beer tastings, chocolate tastings and a host of other events will also be held here. Small weddings, elopement ceremonies, recommitment ceremonies and civil unions can also be held in this space.

Real value in a bed and breakfast

Kathy and I just returned from Atlanta where we attended the Professional Association of International Innkeepers (PAII) conference. We stayed at the downtown Hyatt on Peachtree Street. It is a beautiful hotel with a 23 story atrium and all rooms in the hotel open onto the atrium. On our way home we started to compare the costs/value of such a fine hotel to our Bed and Breakfast, The Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived at our room was the $6.00 bottle of water. This generic brand of water is filtered water not some exotic water being shipped to the States from a spring in the Alps. At our Bed and Breakfast we provide our guests free bottled water. If you wanted a can of Coke (sorry Pepsi, Coke has a strong hold on the Atlanta area) that would also cost you a $2.75 at a bar or restaurant or a little less at one of the vending machines on each level. Again soda is complementary at our establishment. There was no refrigerator in the room but the hotel would be happy to put one in your room for a one time charge of $25.00. Our guests have access to one of our refrigerators at no charge. When it came time to check email I connected to their server and was greeted with a message offering to sign me up for their service. The least expensive (slowest) service was $12.95 per day with a discount for signing up for more days. Again, using our computer is free as is the wi-fi connection in our facility.

Breakfast in one of their onsite dining establishments could easily run $20.00 per person and more than likely it would be closer to $25.00 per day or $50.00 for the both of us. Our legendary three course breakfast is included in our room rate. A glass of wine in the afternoon was cheerfully provided along with a charge of $7.00 per glass. By now, you guessed it; a glass of wine is complementary at The Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast. I almost forgot to mention the cost of parking your car at the Hyatt was $27.00 per day! Of course there were no complementary slippers or bath robes for us to use while staying there and there was no turn-down service or chocolate on our pillow at night. I didn’t check into charges for faxing, copying, scanning, or making long distance calls (we don’t charge for these) but I am confident there is a charge for utilizing those services, something many business people may need to do while staying at the hotel. The Hyatt charges $.75 for local calls and they are complementary at our Bed and Breakfast

The room was comfortable and somewhat clean although Kathy found a 6” hair on the bathroom floor and there was mold or mildew growing under the caulk surrounding the bath tub and under the soap holder in the tub, but my experience is that is somewhat normal in hotels. I do applaud the Hyatt for being green (as we are) and we did take advantage of them not changing our towels and sheets every day so that we could do our part to help the environment.

The conference was fantastic and I took away a lot of great ideas. I can’t say I wouldn’t stay there again, but next time I travel to Atlanta I might look at staying at a bed and breakfast instead. Even if the room rates are the same, one could easily save $75.00 or more per day with the add on charges that many hotels are now charging to make up for lower occupancy rates or perhaps just to increase their bottom line.

As you can see, staying at a Bed and Breakfast is a great value. Even if the room rate is a little higher you get so much more and the cost could end up being a lot less than a hotel. The experience of staying in a bed and breakfast and interacting with the innkeepers gives the guest so much more insight on the area. Many bed and breakfasts are in historical properties, as is ours, and you just don’t get the same ambiance out of a modern hotel room. Next time you travel I would recommend checking out a bed and breakfast and if you are traveling to Lynchburg, Virginia please book your room with us at: www.TheCarriageHouseInnBandB.com.