Casa de Solana a St Augustine Bed and Breakfast
Elegant Inn with a Past Offers Present Day Luxury Accommodation
Sep 24, 2008
Cozy rooms, luxurious bedding, sumptuous breakfasts, attentive staff and maybe even a few ghosts await guests of St. Augustine’s Casa de Solana. One of the six nationally recognized Inns of Elegance, Casa de Solana is also one of the oldest residences in the oldest city in America.
Located on Aviles Street, the oldest European street in the country, Casa de Solana’s private brick-paved courtyard is tucked behind a stone wall that surrounds the south end of the block. Cool gardens, cozy nooks and ancient buildings lie within.
The original structure on the property was built in 1763 and later added to, but a fire destroyed much of the building which was rebuilt in 1821. The original owner, Don Manuel Lorenzo Solana, was a wealthy Spanish gentleman who was allowed to stay in St. Augustine when the British took over the city. His British wife Mary Mitchell is believed to be one of the ghosts that haunts the inn.
Owners and Innkeepers Jeffrey Sonia and Luis Castro have filled the ten-room inn with antiques and period furnishings and decorated the high beamed ceiling rooms with fabrics and colors of the colonial period. There are modern day amenities as well such as free wireless Internet, jetted bathtubs and color cable television. Jeffrey and Luis are also a wealth of information for visitors seeking great restaurants and fun things to do in the area.
Full Cooked Breakfast
Mornings start with a full breakfast that includes Starbuck’s coffee, hot tea, cereal, toast, bagels, yogurt, juices and a cooked entrée. Each morning offers something different, from baked French toast with sausages and fresh cantaloupe or blueberry pancakes with bacon and fresh blueberries to a cheesy hash-brown casserole surrounded by fresh peaches and strawberries.
Luxurious Accommodations
The ten rooms and suites of the inn are each different in character and are named for different aspects of St. Augustine history. The Confederate room offers a queen size bed, two person whirlpool tub and ground floor private entrance while the Minorcan Suite has a king size bed plus a sitting room with a queen size sofa bed.
The British Suite on the third floor of the original casa overlooks the nearby Matanzas Bay and offers a bedroom with a queen size bed and a separate sitting room. The Montejurra Room takes up most of the second floor of the old casa and features a king size bed, 19th-Century antiques and a two-person whirlpool tub and shower.
Packages and Extras
In addition to the delicious breakfast each morning, Casa de Solana hosts an evening social hour from 4:30 to 5:30 for guests to meet and mingle and enjoy a glass of wine or a cold beer, and homemade desserts and coffee are served from 6:30 to 7:30.
Casa de Solana is a popular wedding venue and romance packages, senior packages and family packages are all available. Bringing Fluffy or Fido? Ask for a pet friendly room when booking.
Casa de Solana is located at 21 Aviles Street. For more information call (888) 796-0980.
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