So much of life is all about timing. Wait another couple of weeks, to a time when late summer segues with early fall, and head to Wilmington, N.C. The right-sized coastal city is a superb place to kick back and find another saner, slower gear.
To help you discover that groove, the city is suffused with good bed-and-breakfasts, un-hotels where they know your name, where you feel wedded to the Wilmington around you.
Here are five such enclaves:
- Angie’s Bed and Breakfast is actually the 1917 Bluethenthal Mansion, an edifice decorated with authentic antiques and lovely reproductions.
- Blue Haven Bed & Breakfast is just a short, leisurely amble to the restaurants, boutiques and attractions that grace the city’s Riverwalk. The breakfasts are terrific.
- Graystone Inn is one of Wilmington’s most upscale inns. It’s a Select Registry property and an AAA Four Diamond inn as well. Elegant and engaging, it too is located in the Historic District.
- The Hoge-Wood House is a place to chillax, take your shoes off and settle in. It’s a lot like home, but with an accommodating twist. The rooms come with private baths, individually-keyed locks, in-room fridge with complimentary drinks and snacks, flat-screen TV and DVD player and iPod docking stations.
- The Verandas Bed & Breakfast is ensconced in an elegant 8,500-square-foot Victorian Italianate Mansion. It’s quite, and welcoming, all in the same instant. This too is a Select Registry property, as well as an AAA Four Diamond inn. The furniture is imported, the fabrics designer and the ambiance lovely.
(Image: Angie’s B&B)
