A Private Oregon Coast Getaway

Mike & Sydney and Agar & Diego

Here at Sandlake Country Inn, we're a little different than most B&Bs. What we've tried to do is to provide a very private romantic getaway experience. Not only do we deliver your beverages and breakfast to your door, but all our rooms are very separate and private from each other. Very often, we hear comments from guests that they never saw or heard any other guest during their stay! Here's a great example of one of those occasions:

A couple weekends ago, our long time guests Mike & Sydney were here for a weekend getaway. This wonderful couple have been staying at Sandlake Country Inn for more than a decade!  Their favorite room is the upstairs Starlight Suite.

 
 Our next couple is Diego and Agar. This was their first stay with us, but they assure us it won't be their last! Last year, Agar's sister surprised them with a Sandlake Country Inn Gift Certificate and they finally had a chance in their busy schedule to use it for a quiet getaway before the holidays.

So, now it was time for check-out and out in the parking lot while loading up the car to go home, I hear shouts of surprise and joy! Turns out these two couples not only knew each other, but Agar taught both of Mike & Sydney's now adult children, and these two couples had become friends over the years. None of them had seen or heard each other during their entire weekend stay! Now that's private!!

Thanks to these two couples, I walked around all day with a silly grin on my face. Priceless!

Diane Emineth
Sandlake Country Inn
"Private, Peaceful Accommodations on the beautiful Oregon Coast"

Staying at a Bed and Breakfast - What to Expect (part 2)

This time I thought I'd talk a little about policies. Typically, a B&B has stricter cancellation, deposit and minimum stay policies. Why is this?

Cancellations: Cancellations greatly affect a small lodging establishment. When you book a room at a B&B, you book a specific room. That room has been taken off their inventory and has been saved just for you. Many other people will have looked at the room availability for that B&B and saw your room was not available, so they went elsewhere. When you cancel even 1 week ahead of time, it's often not enough notice for the B&B to be able to re-rent it. If that room goes empty, the B&B loses a significant percentage of their income for that day or days. If you are considering booking at a B&B, do your best to make sure that you are sure you'll be able to keep your reservation. Each B&B will have set their own policies for cancellations, so make sure you are fully aware of them before you book.

Deposits: Again, each B&B will set their own policy on whether they will charge a deposit before your arrival or whether you just need to provide them with a valid credit card.

Minimum Stays: Many B&Bs will have some sort of minimum stay policy. If a B&B is very popular, you will most likely see a 2 night minimum on weekends. What's up with that you might wonder?! There's a couple of explanations for this. Most people looking for a single night stay are interested in staying over on a Saturday night. Sounds great, right? Full on a Sat. night! Well, now think about the Friday, the night before. When planning your little getaway, do you look for lodging on just a Friday? Hmmm, probably not. Ouch, now the income for that little B&B just went down by 50% for that weekend because they can't rent that single Friday night stay. That's why most popular B&Bs will have a 2 night minimum. Here's a hint. If you're looking for a Sat. night stay only, call the B&B a couple of days in advance to see if they are full and if not, they may give you that room for just 1 night.

The bottom line is that hotels have a lot more inventory than a small lodging establishment, so their policies can be much more flexible and lenient. On the other hand, the experience and amenities you receive at a B&B in my opinion is so superior to a hotel, that it's definitely worth the adjustment of making your plans fit into the policies of the B&B.

in the next blog post, I'll talk a little more about the value of staying at a B&B. Stay tuned!

Aspiring Innkeeper Seminar Dates Announced

October 18-21, 2009

Are you an aspiring innkeeper at heart? Ever said "I'd love to have a B&B one day"?

Come and join us for our Aspiring Innkeeper Workshop October 18-21 at the beautiful Eagle Rock Lodge near Eugene, Oregon.

Being an innkeeper and having your own bed and breakfast is a wonderful, rewarding profession. Find out what life as an innkeeper is really like. Many people right now are in transition. The economy has forced many people to re-evaluate not only your jobs, but maybe even your life goals. Home based business are on the rise, and you can't get any more "home based" than a B&B!

Having a B&B and being successful takes a lot of time and commitment. It's not just being a gracious host/hostess and meeting wonderful people. It's a business, and like any other business you need to have a business plan, financing, marketing, and the education to make it a success.

Join Diane Emineth of Sandlake Country Inn and Debbie Dersham of Eagle Rock Lodge for this important seminar that could just change your life. Some of the topics covered are:

• Pros and cons of purchasing an existing B&B or start one yourself
• How to develop a business plan
• Financing - How much does it take?
• What to look for when buying an inn - profit & loss/future potential
• How to explore financing options
• Once you have your B&B, now what?
• "Build it and they will come"...not anymore! Find out how to get "heads in beds". We emphasize learning about website design, marketing, PR, photography and how to create an internet presence.

To learn more about our seminars, visit our Bed and Breakfast Seminars website

We're Cooking Now!

The first edition of the Best Places to Kiss Cookbook is out and our Oregon Coast B&B is featured with our very special Sandlake Country Inn Cookies!

If you've ever stayed with us, you know how wonderful these cookies are. The recipe has been handed down from the original innkeeper, Margo Underwood which she originally titled "sleepy time cookies". They have been served at our Oregon bed and breakfast for 20 years now.

I've been looking at some of the other recipes in the book (I just bought the book a few days ago) and there's some interesting recipes in there. Who knows, maybe I'll try out a few on you!

Of course, we have our own special recipes I've developed over the years, but I just love surfing the internet, tv and books for new, fresh ideas. Usually I will make the recipe once, following the recipe, then watch out! I love putting my own twist on things.

If you're an aspiring innkeeper, be sure to pick up this and other B&B cookbooks to test out the recipes on your family and friends. Or better yet, come on over and I'll make it for you.

Aspiring Innkeeper Seminar!

Bed and Breakfast Seminars Aspiring Innkeeper Seminar

Are you an aspiring innkeeper at heart, dreaming about owning your own Bed and Breakfast? Join us October 18-21 2009 for the Northwest's only intensive Aspiring Innkeeper Seminar!

Whether you live in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California or farther away, join us in the beautiful northwest near Eugene, Oregon for our Aspiring Innkeepers Seminar and Workshops. Your dream of owning a bed and breakfast really can become a reality! Join Diane Emineth & Debbie Dersham at the beautiful Eagle Rock Lodge, near Eugene on the McKenzie River for this intensive 4 day/3 night all inclusive aspiring innkeeper seminar.

Don't be taken by surprise. Learn the pitfalls both financial and personal by experienced innkeepers before you spend your life's savings! Make no mistake, owning a bed and breakfast is a business. With every business you need to have a plan, call to action and resources. By taking our seminar you will have made your first investment towards a successful career.

Learn from experts:

• How To Develop A Business Plan.
• Pros and Cons of Purchasing an Existing B&B or Start Up.
• Financing - How Much Does It Take?
• What To Look For When Buying An Inn - Profit and Loss/Future Potential.
• How To Explore Financing Options.
• Once You Have Your Bed and Breakfast, Now What???
• "Build it and they will come?" Not any more!! After you have your inn, learn what it takes to "get heads in beds". We emphasize learning about website design, marketing, PR, photography and how to create an internet presence.
  
• CLICK HERE to see many more topics in our schedule.

Traditions

Now that the elections are over, and winter is fast approaching, it's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving and the holidays. For me, this is always a time to look back, be thankful for where we are and to remember that our historic house and B&B has a lot of memories and traditions.

The Sandlake Country Inn was originally established in this historic farmhouse by Margo & Chuck Underwood in 1989. Margo was quite a visionary. Yes, the inn has changed a bit over the years and updated, but Margo's original vision is still very evident. One of the reasons we have many, many guests who return over and over the past 19 years, is because Sandlake Country Inn is a place where you can come, relive your memories and be comfortable knowing that even though your life is full of stress and hassles, they all disappear once you've come back. Our style is comfortable luxury, not stuffy. This is a place where you can feel comfortable being yourself and enjoy your surroundings. You know what I mean, haven't you ever been to one of those B&Bs where it's so prissy, you're afraid to touch or sit on anything? No fear of that here.

There are a few recipes that have been staples over the years which started with Margo, like our amazing cookies, the baked apple oatmeal and our Hot Apple Cider. I thought I would share one of them with you.

You can make this cider like the recipe says, in a crock pot, but I found that it works just as well in a big pan on the stove if you don't have all day to brew it. Oh, and it makes your whole house smell amazing!!


HOT APPLE CIDER

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 ½ tsp. Whole Cloves
2 Quarts Apple Cider
2 Cinnamon Sticks
½ tsp. Allspice
1/4 Cup Orange Juice Concentrate

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cover and simmer on low for 2-4 hours. Strain before serving hot. Serves 8

Try our Home Roast now with a French Press!

Those people who have stayed with us before at Sandlake Country Inn on the Oregon Coast in Pacific City, know we are serious about our coffee! For the last 2 years Ron has been doing our own home roast with great success.

Now for those guests who prefer their coffee strong, we're offering a large Bodum french press pot delivered each morning of your stay!

Because the coffee grounds remain in direct contact with the brewing water and the grounds are filtered from the water via a mesh instead of a paper filter, coffee brewed with the French press captures more of the coffee's flavor and essential oils, which would become trapped in a traditional drip machine's paper filters. French pressed coffee is usually stronger and thicker and has more sediment than drip-brewed coffee. We specially grind our home roasted beans in a burr mill grinder courser than our drip-brewed coffee.

Our new French Press aluminum pots will keep your coffee hot up to an hour, but French Press really should be consumed within 20 minutes after plunging.

When you check in to Sandlake Country Inn Bed and Breakfast, we'll ask you if you'd like your breakfast delivered to your door at 9:00 or 9:30 and what beverage you want. Be sure to let us know your preference of our French Press at that time. By the way, our hot beverage service is delivered to your door at least 1 hour before your breakfast time! That way, you can wake up slowly, relax in your robes and slipper socks (we provide them), and outside your door you can collect your hot coffee, tea or chocolate along with juice, cream & sugar, all on a silver tray.

If you are an early riser, we have a beverage area available to you 24 hours a day with gourmet coffee, Stash tea, and hot coco. Our famous cookies are also available to you 24 hours a day in our beverage area.

We Survived Oktoberfest!

We returned last Wednesday from our much needed vacation in Germany. What a great time we had. We traveled with our great friends Rich and Julia (on the left of the photo).

After our flight from Portland to Frankfurt and a short stay overnight, we took the high speed train to Munich where we were able to take in the last couple of days of the Oktoberfest. We didn't take any pictures at the fest, because frankly, what happens at Oktoberfest should stay at Oktoberfest!! If you've ever been to any Oktoberfest in the states, it doesn't even compare. Munich really knows how to throw a party.

After a few days it was time to pick up our rental car and head to southern Bavaria.



Our first stop was at the very charming Scholderhof Farmstay . The location was perfect for day trips to the castles and many charming Bavarian towns. Scholderhof Farmstay is also locatged next to Wieskirche which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. We had a 2 bedroom apartment that had beautiful hand carved woodwork. For breakfast, there were farm fresh eggs, sliced meats, wonderful grain breads and delicious German cheeses. This type of breakfast is what you get at most hotels, bed and breakfasts and farmstays. No, it's not the kind of breakfast we serve at Sandlake Country Inn, but it's definitely a good way to start your day.

Wieskirche is a very unasuming looking building from the outside, but once you enter, you're in another world. This little Rococo gem was built in the mid 1700s and is a pilgramage church.









My next post will share with you our trip to the top of the tallest mountain in the Bavarian Alps! Stay tuned!