B&B vs hotel? Answer these 3 questions

Take this short quiz to know if you should choose a hotel or a bed and breakfast for your next romantic getaway.

1) On a romantic getaway, do the two of you value your privacy at times, or do you require anonymity throughout your stay?

For all-day, all-night anonymity, choose a hotel. Nobody knows you. Nobody will remember you. Nobody cares.

For privacy in a romantic setting, choose a bed and breakfast. True, one of the common definitions of a B&B is “lodging in the home of the innkeeper.” So, yes, you’ll be staying in someone’s home.

But when 90 percent of our #MichBnB member innkeepers list their B&Bs as “suitable for romantic getaways,” do you think those innkeepers care if the two of you seldom leave your room? On the contrary. They want you to enjoy yourselves.

B&B innkeepers design their rooms, down to the smallest details, for your comfort, convenience, and delight. A bed and breakfast offers a more memorable romantic getaway yet plenty of privacy.

You have so many Michigan B&Bs to choose from. Pick a favorite city.

Choose a hotel or B&B. Two more questions

2) When you’re out in public, are you open to, and interested in, meeting and talking to new people? OR, even if you might be somewhat of an introvert, do you often realize that you’ve been energized by a conversation with total strangers?

Bed and breakfast fans don’t choose B&Bs so they can meet new people, but they do tend to be open to starting or joining a conversation. Regular B&B goers assume, based on past experience, that the folks they meet out on the patio or in the dining room will have interesting stories and experiences to share. The discovery is part of what’s special about B&Bs.

Many B&Bs offer in-room breakfast service as either an option or an everyday practice. Others have remodeled their dining rooms to bid adieu to the long dining table and to install multiple tables for two and four people.

If you’re not open to meeting new people and to being surprised by what you find in common — or, to be fair, perhaps you’re just not in the mood for that— choose a hotel.

You can stare at other people’s shoes while riding in the elevator.

3) For breakfast, how about some self-serve processed cereal?

If that sounds great to you, along with a couple of toaster waffles, by all means, choose a hotel. Or stay home.

A self-respecting B&B innkeeper, whether serving a full or continental breakfast, finds ways to surprise and tantalize your palate. You might even get flowers, soft music, cloth napkins, and candlelight.

As is done at many five-star rated bed and breakfasts, innkeepers Deb & Steve Koster take pride in serving scratch-made breakfasts at their Parsonage Inn B&B in Grand Rapids.

Find your next romantic or relaxing Michigan B&B getaway or your first. Click here.