PRESIDENTIAL PACKAGES FOR PRESIDENT’S WEEK

With all the hoopla surrounding Obama’s first 100 days in office, traveling educators might be very interested in spending the upcoming President’s Week visiting B&Bs with a presidential heritage. BedandBreakfast.com -- the leading B&B directory -- is turning its focus to presidential heritage packages. Each of the packages described below, listed in alpha-order by state, combines a taste of presidential history with a distinctive and value-filled getaway. Unless otherwise specified, rates are per couple (double occupancy) and include a full breakfast daily for each person traveling, but not taxes or gratuities.  

Swann House Historic Dupont Circle Inn, Washington, DC: Offered throughout 2009, the Perfectly Presidential Package starts with the perfect location just one mile from the White House. This package features a city tour fit for a head of state, the chauffeur-driven day will start with a visit to George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Tour the home and estate of our first president, set on the picturesque Potomac River. The next destination is the newly restored Summer Cottage of Abraham Lincoln, found at the Old Soldiers Home in Washington. Here, you’ll be given an intimate look at President Lincoln’s personal life during the Civil War years. Next, it’s a stop at the White House Visitors Center where you’ll learn the history of the Executive Mansion and shop for presidential souvenirs. Your last stop brings you back to Dupont Circle and the home of our 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, perfectly preserved just as it was while Wilson lived there after his White House years. The day ends back at Swann House with its own presidential legacy as President Taft attended a wedding here in 1912. The Perfectly Presidential Package is subject to availability and includes private car service with driver for one day, admission to Mount Vernon, Lincoln’s Summer Cottage, and the Woodrow Wilson House, taxes and gratuities for $195 per person, plus room costs ranging from  $175-$395 per night. Why not splurge and spend the week where so much Presidential history lives?

Market Street Inn, Taylorville, IL: Make this your headquarters for Looking for Lincoln at one of the former president’s stops for the trials in the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Illinois. The courthouse where Abe Lincoln practiced law in the mid-1800s is preserved by the Historic Society, and is just a few minutes from the new Lincoln Library Museum, Lincoln’s home, burial site and more. Stay three nights through September, 2009 for the price of two, or stay two nights and get the second night for half price when you mention the Looking for Lincoln package on BedandBreakfast.com.  Nightly rates range from $125-$235. This is the year for Lincoln travel with so much focus on the historic President. 

Inn of the Patriots, Grover, NC: Stay at the Inn of the Patriots and enjoy a rare chance to reminisce with a former White House Executive Presidential Chef.  With an overnight stay through 2009, you’re treated to a private guided tour of this 1879 mansion, including the servants’ quarters underground. Through the myriad of glass showcases and displays collected by this former Executive Chef to the President and now innkeeper, you will see such memorabilia as photos of Amy Carter lighting her pumpkin birthday cake, Ronald Reagan eating lunch with the King of Saudi Arabia, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George Bush, Sr., plus Presidential M & M's, Lifesavers, Whitman's chocolates and the famed Korbel Champagne of the Millennium. Additionally, view recipes and cookbooks of many famous White House and Camp David Chefs like Walter Scheib, Jon Villaneuva, François Rysavy, René Verdon and many more. Best of all, enjoy plenty of insight into White House life from Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and 21-year U.S. Navy veteran Marti Mongiello, his Navy veteran wife Stormy and chef son, JT.  Nightly rates, including the tour and breakfast are $75-$175, making this a very affordable and memorable getaway. 

Mayhurst Inn, Orange, VA: Stay in a fully restored 1859 Plantation Manor House built by John Willis, the great nephew of President James Madison. The unique Italianate Victorian architecture, original Italian marble fireplaces, and the extensive history here will set the tone for your trip back in time. Tour three nearby presidential mansions: James Madison’s Montpelier, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and James Monroe’s Ashlawn. The Presidential Package includes two nights’ accommodations, breakfast each morning, champagne and strawberries in your room and two tickets to James Madison's Montpelier, and two Presidential Passes for Jefferson's Monticello, Monroe's Ashlawn and the historic Mitchie Tavern, a 10 percent discount at the Montpelier Gift Shop, plus complimentary wine, cheese and snacks each evening for $466 weekdays and $509 weekends, including taxes. Seven days advance notice is required, so be sure to mention this package by name when booking.

To learn more about these and nearly 7,000 other perfect choices for your next B&B getaway visit BedandBreakfast.com, the leading online bed and breakfast directory and reservation network worldwide. A variety of search functions and extensive maps enable inngoers to find the perfect B&B. Travelers can make reservations online, purchase The Getaway Gift Card from BedandBreakfast.com, welcomed at over 4,000 B&Bs in the U.S. and Canada, read up-to-date trip reports on The BedandBreakfast.com Blog, read and write independent reviews, and post questions on expert-hosted message boards.

Additionally, for information on a range of independently owned distinctive lodging, visit BedandBreakfast.com's sister site, Inns.com.

Marti Mayne is the Bed and Breakfast Editor for Wandering Educators.