Just one hour from Philadelphia but on a peaceful and secluded 19th-century farm, Glasbern is the perfect place for a romantic getaway. This BedandBreakfast.com Diamond Collection member features an on-site spa and a farm-to-table restaurant.

Owner Al Granger kindly took the time to answer these questions for us about what makes his B&B and farm unique, why travelers should stay at B&Bs, and much more.

1. What do you enjoy most about being an innkeeper?
I enjoy the satisfaction of watching our guests enjoy a lodging and dining experience that is very different from most B&Bs and hotels. Because we are also a sustainable farm, things are peaceful and slow-paced here. By sustainable, we mean that we do not use any hormones, antibiotics, herbicides, or pesticides, and we practice rotational grazing.

2. How long have you been an innkeeper?
For 26 years.

3. What was your inspiration for your creating your inn?
Glasbern was created as an alternative lodging experience for the business traveler. We have always done our best to provide hotel conveniences in an upscale yet informal environment.

4. Why did you choose this inn and this city?
I wanted to live in the country, but still be close enough to businesses to have a market. At the beginning, Glasbern was just a rundown farm--things have come a long way.

5. What sets your B&B apart from others?
We're a destination for both dining and lodging because we raise a large percentage of our food on Glasbern's farm. Whether it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner, our guests will find plenty of choices on the menu straight from the farm. We raise Scottish Highland cattle, Katahdin sheep, Berkshire pigs, chickens, laying hens, and organically-grown year-round greenhouses.

6. Why do you think travelers should choose B&Bs over hotels?
If a traveler is looking for experiences that are unique--whether it be for personal treatment, great food, relaxation, comfort, history, or another reason--B&Bs provide that.

7. Does your B&B have any special history?
It is a renovated 19th-century farm, with the farm buildings converted into upscale accommodations. Our restaurant and a number of guest rooms are in the original barn, with towering fieldstone walls, 28-foot timbered ceiling, and 150 year-old posts and ladders.

8. What makes your town worth visiting—are there any interesting local attractions or activities?
We are very near to trails and viewpoints of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, local Lehigh Valley wineries, and antiquing on the backroads to our west that lead into the Pennsylvania Dutch country. There is also unique and historic downtown shopping in nearby Emmaus and Bethlehem, and numerous covered bridges and local parks.

9. Do you have any food specialties (for breakfast or otherwise)?
Glasbern's full country breakfast features our farm eggs, house sausages, homemade granola, and too much more to list here. Our signature lunch sandwich is the Piggie Panini, featuring our own Berkshire pork and dinosaur kale, plus aged provolone and cranberry. Glasbern's dinner menus change almost daily--right now our farm-raised lamb shanks braised sous vide for 24 hours are a guest favorite.

10. Do you have any special offers coming up?
We have a "Love is Blind" special for Valentine's Day to help you surprise your special someone with a romantic getaway. We will mail you a blindfold to whisk them away. When you remove the mask at check-in, you're entered to win one of a few gift certificates, and then in your room is a complimentary bottle of champagne. Just ask for the special when you make your reservation.

The Sayre Mansion is a 22-room urban bed and breakfast located in the heart of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Owner/innkeeper Carrie Ohlandt took some time to answer a few questions for us about why she enjoys being an innkeeper and why her inn has special history.

1. What do you enjoy most about being an innkeeper?
My favorite thing about being an innkeeper is having the chance to meet new people every day and to have the opportunity to be a part of really special moments in people’s lives.  For instance, just last weekend I had the chance to meet a truly wonderful couple who got married in our parlor. They were eloping and had asked me to serve as one of their witnesses. It was such a meaningful, lovely ceremony–it gave me chills!

2. How long have you been an innkeeper?
I’ve been one of the owners at The Sayre Mansion for five years. However, my experiences as an innkeeper go back almost 30 years to when my parents purchased their inn (The Settlers Inn in Hawley, PA). I grew up watching them, working for them and learning from them. So innkeeping has been a part of who I am for most of my life.

3. Does your B&B have any special history?
The Sayre Mansion was built in 1858 by Robert Heysham Sayre, an industrialist, philanthropist, and bibliophile. Mr. Sayre was very involved in the community of Bethlehem. The mansion served as the Sayre family home until 1916, after which it had a very colorful history in which it served in the varied capacities of a fraternity house, public housing for the city of Bethlehem, and a condemned vacant building. The building was rescued before it could be demolished, and a gorgeous historical restoration was performed in 1993 by Nora and John Capellano. The Sayre Mansion has served as a bed and breakfast since then. 

4. Do you have any special offers coming up? 
We have an exciting inn-to-inn package about to launch: Winter Town and Country Package,  $367 per person.
This winter, visit two lovely Diamond Collection inns. Begin in Bethlehem, at our urban inn, The Sayre Mansion. Enjoy a night out on the town dining in one of Bethlehem’s many wonderful restaurants. Then travel ‘up the hill’ to a day of skiing at Shawnee Mountain Ski Resort. Après-ski, travel to our country inn, The Settlers Inn, where you will warm up and relax by the massive fireplace after a bracing day on the slopes. Wrap up your trip with a day of swooshing downhill at nearby Ski Big Bear.
Package includes:
•    One night stay in a standard queen size room at The Sayre Mansion, plus a full hearty breakfast in the morning
•    $125 gift certificate for the Bethlehem restaurant of your choice
•    Two full-day lift tickets for Shawnee Mountain Ski Resort
•    One-night stay in a traditional room at The Settlers Inn, including breakfast in the morning
•    Dinner for two at The Settlers Inn
•    Two full-day lift tickets at Ski Big Bear
•    All the hot chocolate you can drink
Package subject to availability. Available from January 18, 2011 through March 2011. Call 877-345-9019 now to book.

Ashley and Glenn Mon are the owners and innkeepers of Hamanassett, a BedandBreakfast.com Diamond Collection property in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania. They are best known for their genuine Southern hospitality and homemade breakfasts to die for. The 1856 English Country house is a wonderful place for romantic escape or a relaxing getaway. Ashley kindly answered the questions below for us about her inn's rich history, their gourmet breakfasts, and what makes Chester Heights a fun place to visit.

1. What do you enjoy most about being an innkeeper?
Providing our guests with a memorable experience. It is a rare occupation where one is able to have an impact on someone's vacation time. We enjoy meeting people from all over the world and learning about their area and culture while we share information about ours. I can't think of another occupation that allows such an incredible interaction.

2. How long have you been an innkeeper?
In September we celebrated our 9th year in business. We are currently trying to think of a special way to celebrate our 10th year in business, which will be this Labor Day.

3. What was your inspiration for your creating your inn?  
We wanted to share our Southern roots through extraordinary hospitality. The age of the house, which was built in 1856, helped determine the decorating style as well as my love of English history and architecture. I studied British architecture at Christ Church Oxford University, so I wanted to bring that style of decorating into the house. The most important aspect is for our guests to have an elegant place to stay while feeling comfortable in putting up their feet and reading a good book or playing a game in the living room. We also encourage them to feel that this is their home while they are here and tell them we have nothing we don't want them to enjoy.

4.  Why did you choose this inn and this city?
We were already living in this area because of my husband's job. We moved here from New Orleans five years prior to purchasing this house. We had welcomed guests to our home there but were unable to find the right property when we first moved here. I enjoyed being an antiques dealer but really missed the bed and breakfast business, so after three years began searching for the right house to start another bed and breakfast. Although this house needed a lot of work, I knew the minute I walked in that it was the perfect house to enjoy sharing with guests.

5.  What sets your B&B apart from others?
First, of course, is we truly believe in Southern hospitality. It is simply the way I was raised, to always make sure your guests are comfortable and have a good time. Our rooms are much larger than you find in most B&Bs and two have private balconies with old-fashioned rocking chairs. We have several public areas for the guests' enjoyment such as the large living room, which is lined with book shelves of over 1,000 volumes of books for the guests to enjoy.  We've had many women tell us they were able to talk their husband into staying at a bed and breakfast because of our billiard room. Other guests love the solarium, which allows them to look over the terrace with the fountain and the magnificent lawn and copper beech tree. In addition, the front loggia has comfortable rocking chairs that look out at the koi pond and waterfall. While most of our guests enjoy meeting the other guests and interacting, we have plenty of space for those people who prefer alone time together. In addition, we are a Diamond Collection property as well as a Select Registry property, which means we are inspected to ensure that the property meets the highest standards in every aspect of lodging.

6. Why do you think travelers should choose B&Bs over hotels? 
The personal nature of B&Bs as opposed to the sterile institutional appointments found in chain lodging. We also say we have fresh baked cookies, not cookie-cutter rooms. Not only is every bed and breakfast different from one other, but even within our property, every room is individually decorated and unique. Unlike hotels, bed and breakfasts offer so many amenities at no extra charge, such as free parking, free WiFi, beverages including water and soft drinks, snacks, breakfast, and free movies. We live in the bed and breakfast so we are always available to help with dinner reservations or help guests with what to see. We are here 24 hours in case of an emergency.

7. Does your B&B have any special history?
The original owner of the property was Dr. Charles Delucena Meigs, who was Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. In 1856, at the age of 64, he began to prepare for retirement. He purchased a tract of land in Delaware County that he name "Hamanassett" after a small Connecticut river near the place his forefathers first settled. After retirement, he became Professor Emeritus and withdrew to Hamanassett about 12 miles from Philadelphia. After his death the property passed to his eldest son, General Montgomery Meigs, who had been Quartermaster General to President Lincoln during the War Between the States. In 1870, Michael J. Dohan purchased the property. The Dohan family lived at Hamanassett for 130 years, so we are only the third family to own it. Rather than owners, we consider ourselves the guardians of this wonderful property.

8. What makes your town worth visiting—are there any interesting local attractions or activities? 
Philadelphia is only 30 minutes away and Wilmington, Delaware is a 20-minute drive. The area of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, noted for the Amish, is an hour away. It isn't unusual for guests to stay a week and still not do and see everything. We have several Du Pont estates such as Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, Nemours, and Hagley. Only six miles from us is the Brandywine River Museum. There are world class museums within a 30 minute drive such as the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and several art museums in Wilmington. There are at least a dozen antiques shops within a 20-minute drive. For history lovers, the Brandywine Battlefield, site of the largest battle during the American Revolution, is six miles from us and Valley Forge is about 40 minutes away. There is also the Colonial Plantation, which showcases life on a farm during the 1700s.

9. Do you have any food specialties? 
The New York Times wrote about us and stated "the elaborate breakfasts are a highlight." We enjoy serving our guests a breakfast that they probably wouldn't make at home or get in a restaurant. Some of my guests' favorites are my baked pears and berries brulee. We do bring in a lot of my Southern background at breakfast, such as serving waffles with a bourbon pecan maple syrup. Of course, we also have plain maple syrup. Glenn's specialty is Jazz Fest eggs, which is poached eggs atop a crayfish bread biscuit topped with a sauce choron. He also makes Eggs Bubba, a chicken fried steak with a poached egg and country gravy served with biscuits. Another favorite of guests is our roulade with spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and Swiss cheese with hollandaise sauce.  We will accommodate vegans, vegetarians, and other special dietary needs when told in advance. I make sure that no matter how long a guest is here they never receive the same thing twice. I'm always searching for new recipes and trying new dishes out.

10. Do you have any special offers coming up? 
We started the Brandywine Country cooking school last year. It is a hands-on class where the students participate as much or as little as they want. The schools usually range in price from $675 to $800 per couple. This all-inclusive rate includes two nights lodging, two breakfasts, a welcoming reception, and lunch and dinner paired with wine the day of the cooking school. The classes usually have a theme such as Dining on the Orient Express. One of our most popular classes has been Last Dinner on the Titanic, which replicates the last dinner served in first class. Our Brandywine Bounty class is popular because we take guests to farms where their morning is spent foraging fresh ingredients. Though our chef pre-plans the dinner menu, it will be flexible depending upon the fresh bounty the students happen upon in their travels. They also go to a winery for a first-hand at wine making.

We are dog-friendly in one room in the main house and in both of our cottages. Our cottages are two stories with two bedrooms and two baths, and are perfect for families with small children or those people who just want a little extra privacy. We book the cottages as either a bed and breakfast accommodation, which gives the guests full access to all the amenities of the main house as well as our fabulous breakfast, or at a discount as a self-catered accommodation.

In addition, for the readers of this blog, we are offering a kids stay free deal in our carriage house and cottage between now and April 30. All they have to do is mention this blog to receive the deal!

Chimney Hill Estate Inn is located in Lambertville, New Jersey, which is just across the Delaware River from Pennsylvania. The historic property is a great home base for those who want to enjoy outdoor activities, antique shopping, history, and the arts. Terry and Richard Anderson own and run the inn, in addition to running a working farm. Terry took a few minutes to share with us what makes her inn and her area so special; please read on for the interview.

1. What do you enjoy most about being an innkeeper?
Rich and I enjoy meeting great folks from around the world. They are always fun, have many thoughts to share, and are looking for some interaction with us.

2. How long have you been an innkeeper?
Since 1994.

3. What was your inspiration for your creating your inn? Did you have a certain vision for it?
We so enjoyed traveling, and part of the journey was the inn we would choose. We really desired to do something special in our lives, so the opportunity to have an inn seemed perfect. Our lovely inn was started before we came as owners. But once we arrived, we had many visions of this beautiful 8.5 acre estate as an excellent location for weddings, team-building retreats, couples getaways, and so much more. The ideas and opportunities are endless. It is such a great feeling to host a very special event for folks and make all their dreams come true. Our vision was that of a “living Hallmark card” where our guests would just feel the wow of coming up to Chimney Hill Estate and “experiencing the magic.”

4. Why did you choose this inn and this city?
Lambertville and New Hope are at Bucks County, Pennsylvania (editor’s note: Lambertville is directly across the Delaware River from New Hope, Pennsylvania). It’s very popular and very historic. Washington Crossing is just minutes away. We have such rich history combined with amazing theater, musicians, and restaurants. It is a Mecca for art and antique shoppers—there’s so much to do here. The location was perfect for every type of guest we could want!

5. What sets your B&B apart from others?
Chimney Hill Estate Inn sits upon 8.5 acres of what was a one-time prestigious estate property of Edgar Hunt. Margaret Spencer, the first woman architect and graduate from MIT, was commissioned to design and build the stone front of this home. We also raise and breed alpaca and llama here as part of our working farm. Many of our guests love to visit us and look forward to meeting the alpacas! We are a Diamond Collection property for Bedandbreakfast.com. We enjoy taking care of our guests and making them feel like part of our family. We have been the cover Inn of Country Inn Magazine and featured in many magazines as well as New Jersey tourism commercials.

6. Why do you think travelers should choose B&Bs over hotels?
Bed and breakfasts are unique and memorable to our guests. They find delicious and unexpected delights at breakfast. They enjoy the human touch and kindness we show them. They experience the area in a way they will always remember.

7. Does your B&B have any special history?
The historic estate was built in 1820. The original two-story farmhouse was expanded in 1927. The grounds occupy the site very close to where George Washington surveyed the Delaware River in the winter of 1776. The expansion was done to create a summer retreat for international attorney Edgar Hunt. He hired Margaret Spencer, one of MIT's first female architecture graduates, to design an addition featuring two stone wings.

The house is accented with hand-stenciled trim, raised paneling, and wide-plank floors. There are plenty of nooks and crannies throughout the home that reflect architectural elements from the 19th century. For more information, visit the About Us section of our website.

8. What makes your town worth visiting—are there any interesting local attractions or activities?
Lambertville and New Hope are towns that reside on the Delaware River. There is hiking, biking, antiquing at the Golden Nugget Flea Market, theater at the famous Bucks County Theater, fine dining in each town, art and antique shops, and Bowman’s Wildflower Preserve. From George Washington to the Marx Brothers, New Hope and Lambertville are famous and continue to be well visited!

9. Do you have any food specialties?
We love to make special breakfasts; some of those are pumpkin French toast strata, sausage, egg and cheese strata, delicious homemade waffles and pancakes, fluffy cheese omelets, baked apples and baked peaches, heavenly bananas, and more!

10. Do you have any special offers coming up?
We have a wonderful selection of specials and packages. We have a sign-up section on our website’s homepage for this purpose (visit this link and look for the email submission form toward the bottom). Every month we send out a special for return guests and some are very well priced!

This is an image of the conservatory suite at The Sayre Mansion, which offers a 180-degree view of the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It's the most modern room in the B&B and spans full depth of the house. It offers immense natural light and unbeatable tree-lined views. In addition to thd queen-sized bed, the suite features a sitting area with a full-sized sofa, a trickling wall fountain, Franklin-stove fireplace, cable TV, and green plants.