Our journey to our Allegan Bed and Breakfast began in November 1990 when we moved from Holland, MI, and purchased the Victorian mansion nicknamed “The Castle.” The property was built as a summer home by John H. and Caroline Wurtz in 1906 and was designed by a well-known architect from the area. Even with serious neglect, the beauty of natural hardwoods, original tiled fireplaces, and quartersawn oak trim shone through the decades of dust and clutter. We were thrilled to be the sixth owners of this diamond in the rough and determined to open it as a Bed and Breakfast within our home.
We named the business Castle in the Country and, in July 1992, opened with four rooms, offering comfortable Victorian Bed and Breakfast accommodations. Herb continued his career in the corporate world and supported all four of us and the home, which we affectionately called the “money pit.” Ruth dissolved her consulting business to market and run the bed and breakfast business. After about five years, with an expansion to the back section of the building, our Allegan, Michigan, bed, and breakfast became a five-room bed and breakfast with three jetted tub/fireplace suites and two classic private bathrooms, all on 5 acres of lawns and gardens.
In July of 2002, Herb left his corporate position outside of the business and joined Ruth as a full-time innkeeper. Entirely self-taught, Herb’s focus and passion is cooking and baking for our guests. He loves the science behind good food, and with his background in inventory control and materials management, he enjoys the challenge of producing great meals for our guests daily. He chooses only the best ingredients gathered from local farmer’s markets, bakes his own homemade sourdough bread, and grows fresh herbs in order to make breakfast an amazing experience for our guests every morning.
In November 2004, we expanded our business yet again by acquiring the adjacent property, “The Inn at Froggy’s Pond.” This property was the original acreage that John and Caroline Wurtz had owned and used as their summer home estate.
Our Michigan Inn and Spa is a collection of two magnificent buildings, the original Victorian Castle and the Castle Keep. This modern farmhouse houses five guest rooms/suites as well as a commercial kitchen, dining room, sitting areas, a spa area, a book nook, and a gift shop. All the accommodations at our Southwest Michigan Bed and Breakfast have private baths, and most have jetted tubs and fireplaces. Both buildings are surrounded by 65 beautiful acres of manicured lawns, gardens, and natural woodland settings. A gazebo in the woods borders a five-acre water-lily pond, and a screened porch and dock provide access to a private 80-acre lake.
