Eat Breakfast

bed and breakfasts compared to hotels. Essentially you enjoy the amenities of a hotel with added personal touches. Someone once described a bed and breakfast as the next best thing to staying with friends. You are even greeted by name! There are no "cookie-cutter" aspects to a stay in a bed and breakfast - each home is as individual as its owners.

There's somewhere for everyone to stay: you can choose from a downtown heritage home, waterfront guest house, country manor house, elegant inn, country cottage, contemporary home, farm or a woodland retreat.

It can be a daunting task to find reliably good quality accommodation when browsing through websites. Look for professional-looking sites: these reflect the qualities of the B&B. They should offer a website availability calendar with easy online reservations as well as a toll-free telephone service. Further, reputable bed and breakfasts often subscribe to organisations with inspection and approval standards. If you book with a bed and breakfast which meets these requirements you should be assured that you will not be disappointed. For example, in Canada the national ratings system, Canada Select, assesses amenities and quality of décor. 4, 4.5 or 5 Stars indicate the best quality.

Business travellers have traditionally sought their accommodation in hotels catering to their requirements. But things are changing with many bed and breakfasts now offering all their business needs free of charge: high-speed wireless internet, desks, telephone, computer and printer. The provision of free local telephone calls, free parking, free movies, free newspaper and free beverages make for savings - and that is not to mention an inclusive memorable breakfast. Themed unique furnishings and comfortable décor help to make the stay pleasingly memorable. There is, or should be, no sense of trespassing in someone's home; privacy is paramount. The days are long gone when staying at a bed and breakfast entailed sleeping in someone's spare room with basic amenities (possibly including a tired shag carpet) and a shared bathroom "down the hall"!