Americus Garden Inn B & B wins another award

Carly Farrell

AMERICUS — Another year, another international award, Kim and Susan Egelseer could be saying — but they're not.

The owners of Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast made TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice top 10 list again, and are ranked sixth best bed and breakfast in the entire world.

The couple has made the list four times in as many years.

"We're just wowed, humbled and amazed," Kim said. "With travel down so much (because of the economy,) we really didn't expect to get (this award) this year!"

TripAdvisor checks bed and breakfast reviews, and makes their top 10 lists from travelers' comments.

Out of all the places to choose from, Susan said the key to their success is not just her husband and her.

"Part of it's the house," Susan said. "It just has a warm feeling. But, a lot of it's the town, too — Americus is a special place. If it weren't for the people here in this town welcoming travelers, we wouldn't have received this award so many times, so we share it with Americus."

Although there are a few who do, most people don't stay at the Inn at night to visit the National Historic Sites during the day.

"Most people come from busier places to get away for a while," Susan said. "And I've had some people cry when they leave because they don't want to go back to their busy, hectic lives."

And that's part of the reason the couple chose Americus; they bought the Inn in 2002, after considering other, more popular tourist towns such as Boulder, Colo., and places in the northeast, but chose to purchase the Inn in Americus because it was far enough away from populated places in the Florida Panhandle, Savannah and Atlanta, that people could drive to instead of fly.

“We chose it after Sept. 11, when the fear of flying went up a bit," Kim said, "and we thought people would be more comfortable driving here."

And their plan has obviously worked well, considering they've made TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice top 10 list four years in a row.

Ranking for 2010 went as follows:

1. Casa Portagioia in Castiglon Fiorentino, Italy

2. Abbeymoore Manor Bed and Breakfast Inn in Victoria, Canada

3. Abacot Hall Bed and Breakfast in Niagra-on-the-Lake, Canada

4. Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast in Boothbay Harbor, Maine

5. Annabelle Bed and Breakfast in Sandwich, Mass.

6. Americus Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast in Americus

7. Fleur-De-Lys Mansion in Saint Louis, Mo.

8. Number One B&B; in Deal, United Kingdom

9. Riverside Hotel in Ambleside, United Kingdom

10. Casa Bella Rita in Santa Ana, Costa Rica

Americus Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast is located on Rees Park, and has seven rooms from which to choose, ranging in price from $99 to $129. It's the oldest home in Sumter County that sits on its original 1.5 acres of land. It was built by James Kelso Daniel, who had owned 21 acres, but the land, as time progressd, was sold, except for the 1.5 acres on which the Inn sits, and the house is part of Americus' historic district.

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