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.