You may recall a recent “Friday Top 5 blog” we wrote a few weeks back about lifestyle properties where we included owning and operating an inn as one of the highly desirable lifestyles that people often fantasize about and some make a reality. Since we have several inns across the country that are currently for sale we decided to round up some our personal favorites so you can see how far your quoin (pronounced ‘coin’) will take you in different marketplaces if you current dream job is to be an innkeeper. Your dreams may not be that far from reality after all!
Inn at 202 Dover (Easton, MD)
I don’t want to come off as being partial since we now live in Easton, Maryland, but the Eastern Shore is one of the East Coast’s hidden secrets brimming with some of the most charming historic coastal towns you’ll ever visit—Easton being one of them. Known as the “Hamptons of the Eastern Shore”, Easton is steeped in a rich history (both architecturally and culturally) and offers a mix of great restaurants, shopping, galleries, music venues, some of the best biking (there are no hills, which is my kind of biking), and since you are surrounded by water there are endless water sports and activities and plenty of fresh seafood.
The Inn at 202 Dover is currently for sale and is a throwback to the quintessential opulence that once was when this town was established officially in 1788. This Colonial Revival underwent a massive restoration and renovation in 2005 under the watchful eye of its current owners, Shelby and Ron Mitchell who spared no expense on updating the systems and renovating the interior space to the building’s original grandeur. The inn offers five sophisticated suites with en-suite bathrooms each decorated with their own theme mixing antiques and collectables from the Mitchell’s world travels. The Peacock Restaurant and Lounge is the inn’s on-site fine dining restaurant and was recently listed in the Michelin Guide “Vert Michelin Etats-Unis-Nord-Est 2″
The Inn at 202 Dover is currently listed for $3.9 million and is a turn-key sale including all of the furniture. If the new owner would like to keep the inn’s current staff and executive Chef Doug Potts on board, the staff would be thrilled!
Harbour Cottage Inn (Southwest Harbor, Maine)
Located in Southwest Harbor, Maine and listed for $1,750,000, Harbour Cottage Inn offers potential inn buyers everything they could possibly want with a beautiful property that has a solid reputation. The property itself offers a large lot with an expansive lawn and gazebo perfect for events, weddings, or simply for one to enjoy in take in the stunning surroundings. The inn also has a commercial kitchen with the potential for a small upscale restaurant on the premises as an additional source of revenue.
This elegant Maine bed and breakfast is located steps from the still working fishermen’s waterfront in Southwest Harbor, and is furnished with museum quality art and antiques.
Harbour Cottage Inn offers future buyers several options depending on their preferences including living on site while making ten guestrooms and suites available. Alternatively, the new owners could live off site and rent eleven guestrooms. Either way this successful business proposition provides the new owners the opportunity to live, work and play in one of Maine’s beautiful coastal villages surrounded by Acadia National Park.
The Block (Rocky Ford, GA)
For those of you looking for a destination investment that’s a blank slate here’s your chance! Located in Rocky, Ford Georgia and known as, “The Block”, this is a rare opportunity to buy and develop a piece of American history with five separate buildings including the Rocky Ford Post Office, the former Rocky Ford Café, a Mercantile/Music Hall, The Bank of Rocky Ford (with the original vault still in tact), and an office/residence building. The history of Rocky Ford dates back to 1791 when it was first settled and the town survived General Sherman’s march and the boll weevil infestation. In the 1880s the Rocky Ford Brick Works Company, which the town was built from, shipped out 2.5 million bricks by rail each year to the Port of Savannah.
The most alluring part of this investment opportunity, however, isn’t history. It’s geography. Rocky Ford is just over an hour south of Augusta, Georgia and the Augusta National Golf Club, where the iconic Masters Golf Tournament is held every year. For golf lovers who are also real estate investors, this is a rare chance to develop your own private Masters retreat where you can play a round at one of the most famous courses in the world, watch Jordan Spieth dual it out with Bubba Watson on the final hole, and then return to you own private town compound with friends, family, and business colleagues to enjoy the privacy and relaxation that only southern Georgia can offer.
In 1991, Greta Newton, a sixth-generation native (along with her engineer husband Charlie Brunken) bought “The Block”, and along with a team of design professionals rewired all of the buildings, engineered sewage lift systems, installed fifty-year structural roofs, scraped and repainted the original pressed-metal ceilings, and uncovered the beauty and craftsmanship of the original builders.
All five buildings being sold together are currently listed for the amazing price of $779,000 and with no zoning restrictions the possibilities for re-development and hospitality and retail are endless. In all, the properties offer over 11,000 square feet of living space, original architectural details, five-foot thick walls crafted with original Rocky Ford Bricks, city water service, and co-op fiber optic cable systems. This amazing property was recently featured on HGTV and could be all yours (though all your golfing buddies will quickly become your best friends).
