Enjoy reading the Innkeeper Passion Statement of Thurston House Bed and Breakfast, located in Maitland, Florida, submitted by Carole Ballard:
We first stayed in bed & breakfast accommodations while honeymooning in Europe 30 years ago. We were both in the corporate rat race and it seemed a good dream to do someday. Fast forward to 18 years ago, after a move from Massachusetts to California, then to Florida … Joe secured a computer industry job in this place called Maitland, somewhere in Central Florida – a place that we had never heard of.
When we arrived here, we found it was everything we were looking for and more. Joe started his job and I looked for a potential building to start up a bed & breakfast. Everything fell into place, and here we are, almost 17 years later, at Thurston House! We now call this place “New England With Palm Trees”. We are the caregivers to this wonderful 1885 farmhouse-style Queen Anne, leased from the City of Maitland. The business is all ours, though, and we have hosted guests from 21 countries, 50 states and 4 territories…so far! Our location, with its wonderful ambiance, make this a place that people come back to over and over again. We do enjoy a lot of repeat business with many guests becoming friends!
Being an innkeeper is truly a life-changing experience. Guests have come for all different reasons – visiting family, here for funerals, here for weddings, business travel, escaping medical issues, wedding nights, birthday celebrations, attending art festivals, Rollin’s College Parents Weekends, graduations, or just running away from home … the reasons are endless! We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve shared our stories . All the problems of the world have been solved on our porch, but of course the problems vary depending on the country that the guests are from!
Well, 16 years and still going strong … that makes me an old-timer in the inn biz!
Carole
PS – Joe just gets to live here, taste-test food items, schmooze, and has a “real job” outside the inn …
Go to the Thurston House Bed and Breakfast for their contact information
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