The roadside motel or cottage court of the 1950’s and 60’s is a tribute to Americana. Merge nostalgia with modern guestroom amenities and what do you get? The Iris Inn’s newest lodging option, cabins designed just for a couple’s getaway. Innkeepers Dave and Heidi Lanford have created what they call a ‘contemporary adult tree house.’ The Iris’s Inn’s location overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia is the perfect spot for these luxury cabins. Imagine your personal hot tub in your personal screened porch, step through to the bathroom with heated floor and two person rain head shower. This ain’t your grandmother’s tourist lodge auto camp roadside cabin-cottage, that is for darn sure.

After all this relaxation and activity?! If you have the energy, you can walk up to the main lodge and have a glass of wine with ol’ sourpuss Dave. You can see from this photo that he just hates his job!

Heidi and Dave were inspired to add their luxury cabins by innkeeper friends Melissa and Ray Alexander, innkeepers of neighboring property Alpine Hideaway . Their luxury secluded cabins are perched atop the Blue Ridge overlooking  the Shenandoah Valley’s green fields and blue mountains. Perfect for a romantic cocooning getaway, as we all know Virginia is for Lovers.  Another inspiration was the fact that these units are very profitable for the Alexanders and will surely be for the Lanfords. Both couples are clients and seminar graduates of The B&B Team. Success, we love to see it, especially for such nice and smart innkeeper clients and friends.

Another trend is the growing number of “boutique motels”. Vintage motels in destination locations that have been transformed into unique properties. Take the example of the Orbit in Oasis, a trendy desert motel in Palm Springs CA. The mid century modern craze is alive and well at the Orbit with poolside breakfast, cruiser bikes and cocktails at 5. Soft jazzy Sinatra background music poolside and warm desert breezes complete the picture.

Searching for lodging properties with cabins, cottages, motel units? Look no further than The B&B Team Inns for Sale. We have some great properties in pristine condition as well as properties ready for a transformation. We can help you. Properties from the Pacific Northwest in Washington state, the Blood Mountain Cabins in Georgia, and Virginia to the mid-coast of Maine. Great destination locations.

The fact that the B&B experience can be offered in different style properties is exciting and offers guests options when choosing their lodging. The opportunity for innkeepers to add to their business by adding cottages or cabins or transforming a mid-century motel is also exciting. Whether deluxe or rustic, we all like options and the single unit cabin-cottage option is a great way to give your guests the choice to experience the intimate cocooning getaway. The boutique motel option may offer more of a communal experience but the accommodations can be personable and memorable even if a bit cozy. The opportunities are out there, take the plunge.

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf