Nora Roberts Opens Boutique Hotel
Nora Roberts isn't the first author with her own hotel but she may be one of the most prolific. The popular romance novelist is, with her husband Bruce Wilder, the proud owner of the Inn BoonsBoro in Maryland. The couple bought the old in in 2007 and began fixing it up. But they ran into a snag when the hotel burst in flames in 2008 after a propane tank explosion. Like one of her indomitable heroines, Roberts was not so easily dissuaded from her dream. The hotel has opened this year offering rooms named after fictional couples and decorated in varying styles.
A Jane and Rochester room offers a canopy bed, the Nick and Nora suite is a nod to Art Deco. The rooms are not elaborately tricked out in themes, the decor is more of a subtle acknowledgment of the time period being evoked and you still get a flatscreen television in each room. Each room includes a copy of the book that inspired it and even the bathroom amenities are matched to the couple (for example, Miss Bennett and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice are represented with the scent of English lavender). As you might expect there is also an ample library. The inn has six rooms and two suites and rates start at $220 including breakfast for two.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shannon May 19th 2009 7:33PM
Wish I had the money to take a trip to an inn like this...not nessisarily this one unless I was going to be in the area, but I love old inns. The best one I've stayed in to date, the Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg KY.
Chell962 May 19th 2009 7:51PM
Wow... what a disappointment. Not a place I'd stay, even if Nora Roberts herself was serving me pancakes in the morning. The rooms look just horrible and tiny and uncomfortable.
s. butt May 19th 2009 10:15PM
What a crock...Nora Roberts has taken away a very historic building, probably the oldest in Boonsboro, and has kept it to herself...aparently you can't even go in the building unless you have a reservation...at 220 dollars a night who can afford to stay there?...that building really belong to the town of Boonsboro...in addition the food is provided by a restaurant that Ms. Roberts owns or it's owned by close family...regardless, the food at Vesta is not worth the time you have to wait for it or the money you have to spend on it...Ms. Roberts would have to pay me to stay or eat in either establishment...
kim May 20th 2009 1:36AM
s.butt- If this building was so special/historical to the town than why did they not purchase it? I have spent many,many days in the town of Boonsboro MD. as I live in Harpers Ferry WV. I would think that the sale of this historical place could have been purchsed by anyone just the way Ms. Roberts purchased it. Be thankful for the tourism dollars that your town will recieve because of this. I think I detect a hint of envy in some of these negative posts.
BiscuitLady May 27th 2009 1:19PM
As a B&B owner, I just wanted to let you know there are reasons non-guests are not allowed in our buildings unless escorted by a staff member, one usually involves insurance reasons, and the other is the safety of our registered guests. Many Inns have fee based guided tour times, so maybe that could be requested of the new owners. I have also learned that one's food tastes do not translate to everyone. We like things spicy in Texas, but I have to be careful when preparing dishes for guests not from here. There is a fine line pleasing everyone where food is concerned.
Robert May 19th 2009 10:18PM
The place looks charming and with Ms. Roberts touch as seen in the pics, im sure a very nice and relaxing stay is in store. I bet it will draw a lot of very satisfied visitors. I myself would love to be one of them someday soon.
nelly May 19th 2009 10:28PM
Boonsboro is a gross town with nothing in it but a slew of poor rednecks. It's disgusting! Has no appeal...no charm...no sophistication...no culture. Go someplace charming in Vermont or Maine, not Boonsboro (unless you're a pickup truck driving, gun toting, blue blooded redneck)!
s.b. May 20th 2009 12:27AM
do you live there and how old are you to discribe the town as "gross"?
Amy May 19th 2009 10:39PM
I think it is great that she has realized her dream, despite the setback of the fire. Personally I would like to see the Phoebe and Duncan room from her High Noon book and movie. After that scene on the stairs in the Lifetime movie, I saw a bunch of comments on the sexy love-making scene. Just put a set of stairs in the room and use your imagination. Oh and an Eve and Roarke room from her alter ego JD Robb series would be even cooler. The sexy futuristic mattress on water love-making scene described in his/her Survivor in Death book sounds totally erotic. I will wait for those before planning my trip to the inn.
John May 19th 2009 11:29PM
This inn IS a joke, right? $220 a night with a cheap breakfast thrown in? Got to be a joke.
LIDYMAE May 19th 2009 11:53PM
I love all of Nora Roberts books and her JD Robb series also. I would go there in a heartbeat, but only if I could stay in the Eve and Roark room. Ms Roberts is a great author, sounds like a whole bunch of people are jealous of her and her family having this hotel. Her husband owns a book store. Give her some slack you all.
kim May 20th 2009 1:41AM
If this building was so special/historical to the town than why did they not purchase it? I have spent many,many days in the town of Boonsboro MD. as I live in Harpers Ferry WV. I would think that the sale of this historical place could have been purchsed by anyone just the way Ms. Roberts purchased it. Be thankful for the tourism dollars that your town will recieve because of this. I think I detect a hint of envy in some of these negative posts.
ty May 20th 2009 2:54AM
i personally would love to spend a night at the inn. yes its expensive but i'll give it a dry. i prefer eve and roarke. so i will see if there is a room for them. and choose to stay there. good luck to nora roberts and her husband.
ty May 20th 2009 2:56AM
give it a Try not Dry. thanks :)
RAMONA COLE May 20th 2009 3:53AM
I wish I had more time to read all of Nora Robert's books. Perhaps when I retire next year, I'll have more time. Would love to see the INN, but not stay there.
gagnet126 May 20th 2009 3:56AM
Wow - no Eve and Rourke room?