……… .<PART ONE ……. PART TWO…….PART THREE >
In Part One of The Mansion at Elfindale series, I showed you the beautiful staircase and Chapel Suite where we stayed. To continue my review of this absolutely charming Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Springfield, this picture shows the size of this B & B, The Mansion at Elfindale. Shown here on one side of the Mansion is a covered drive for the carriage entrance.
The history of The Mansion at Elfindale is interesting! John O’Day and his wife, Alice, lived in the Mansion which was completed in 1893 and contained 27,000 square feet. Several years later when John and Alice divorced, Alice was awarded the Mansion. Eventually, Alice could not afford the upkeep and sold it to a group of nuns for use as a school.
The nuns built a beautiful chapel next to the Mansion (which is used as a wedding chapel today and will be featured in Part Three of this series). Next to the chapel they built a three-story classroom building which you see pictured below.
The property was sold once again in 1977, to a small group of Iranian businessmen with intentions to use the Mansion as a safe house for the Shah of Iran, but that didn’t work out. So the property was sold again, this time to Cornerstone Church in 1979. They built a sanctuary on the property, made the chapel available for weddings, and made the historical Mansion available to the public in 1990 as a Bed and Breakfast after fully restoring and renovating it to make 13 suites with private baths.
Each suite in The Mansion has its own distinct charm and personality, and I have chosen three more suites to illustrate that uniqueness and charm. In Part One, the Chapel Suite was featured.
The Veranda Suite as seen in the picture below has beautiful stained glass surrounding the doors out to the veranda.
When you go through the doors pictured above, you find yourself on this beautiful veranda pictured below. This is the only suite with a veranda and such a serene outdoor setting. Wouldn’t this be a lovely place to sit and have a cup of coffee or tea in the morning? So peaceful!
The Flora Jane Suite, pictured below, contains this beautiful canopy bed and reminds me of something out of a movie. Isn’t it gorgeous? This is such a pretty room!
This suite, even though it contains the large canopy bed, is very spacious and also has a lovely sitting area where you can sit and relax, read a book or visit in nice peaceful surroundings.
The Rose Suite in the picture below is very spacious and keeps with the theme of roses. It looks like a comfy and cozy place to sit and talk, watch TV, or just relax from the busy life so many of us have!
Before closing, I must share one thing we really enjoyed. During the middle of the afternoon in the large hallway outside the dining room, you can help yourself to coffee or a selection of teas along with gourmet cookies. Or maybe you would prefer to have a cookie and some coffee in the evening.
We had delicious chocolate chip cookies both days. I could definitely get spoiled to afternoon tea of my choice and fresh baked cookies every day. Very nice!
Next, I want to share with you about the beautiful wedding chapel and which suite I think would be wonderful for a honeymoon, so watch for Part Three!
………..<PART ONE ……. PART TWO…….PART THREE >
