The Peerless Hotel

Elite '09

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Stephen W.

Seattle, WA

9/11/2008

I just returned from the Ashland Shakespeare Festival, which is everything it's cracked up to be.  Othello was better than A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was also great.

Spent three nights at the Peerless Hotel and wanted to give you the low-down.

How much you pay depends wholly on how busy the part of the season when you make your trip.  We shelled out 200 per night -- more still for the suites that have things like his-and-hers claw-footed bathtubs.  At that price, staying here alone is a waste both of money and romantic atmosphere.

And what atmosphere.  A big faded Coca-Cola ad from God knows when is painted on the outside of an unassuming red-brick building built at the turn of the last century.  Inside, you have quaintly papered walls and twelve-foot ceilings.  In the room, there is a big bed like the one your grandmother owned, and an armoire and a hand-written note welcoming you and a plate with two shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate.  The one anachronism -- a jacuzzi tub -- is excusable.

At the hotel's web site, you can check out pictures of the rooms I'm describing here.

At the back of the hotel is a charming sunroom.  Dark green walls, screened windows all round.  Comfy sofas and chairs.  A tea and coffee pot.   I sat down, popped a bottle of wine, started reading a novel, and suddenly, I was on vacation.

Breakfast is included and is served outside until 9:30 in the lawn area that separates the hotel from the restaurant.  Off to one side, there is a sculpture, which I love, in which impressionistically rendered nude bodies seem to be trying to climb one another to ascend to heaven (you'd have to see it).  The staff informs you that even if you show up at 9:30 on the dime, they'll serve you.

Speaking of the staff:  if there's a hotel that combines this level of elegance and charm with this staff's complete lack of pretension, I haven't slept there.  These people are pure Ashland, which means that they are extremely genial, and they aren't faking it.

If, in the course of your stay, you fail to have dinner once at the restaurant across the courtyard, you'll have made a mistake.  One night, we sit at the bar.  The bartender was trained as a painter, but now does music.  At the slightest provocation, he engages us to talk about his work.  Perfectly charming guy.  

The food -- perfect.  Try the duck confit, the pan-fried oysters, the duck breast, and the goat-cheese-stuffed lamb meatballs.

Ms. Chrissy Barnett, the owner who rescued this old charmer, brought a lot of high taste and creative brilliance to this endeavor.  She should be congratulated for creating an atmosphere that people don't want to leave.

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Eli B.

Oakland, CA

11/6/2009

Great historic room -- very well decorated and comfortable-- the breakfast was very disappointing however! Not many options and the pastries tasted like liquor-store pastries.

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Adam W.

San Francisco, CA

5/26/2008 1 photo

I just spent a weekend in Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and I stayed at this awesome Bed and Breakfast. Ashland is one of those impossibly quaint towns and the Peerless B&B is the perfect quaint place to stay. It is located in a building that used to be an old railroad workers dormitory, but it got revamped some years ago and is now one of the best B&B's I have ever been to. The decor is perfect. It is really tacky but in that awesome B&B way that you would never want in your own home but for some reason really works in a place you are going to stay for a night. Plus, the room I stayed in had twin claw foot tubs! How freakin cool is that? The people who work there are lovely, and it is well situated near the downtown strip. And it is rumored to be haunted! We stayed in the room where the ghost is supposed to be the most active, but so far nothing. A little disappointed, but hey, ghosts aren't there for our amusement. I can only hope one will show up in the next hour I am here.

The other great thing about this place is that in addition to trying to be eco-friendly in the same way all hotels do (asking you to reuse your towels and bedsheets and having low flow toilets etc.) they are powered by 100% wind power they buy from an Oregon based wind farm. If you make it to Ashland (and i definitely recommend that you do, this place rocks, as does the Shakespeare Festival) then i would recommend this B&B in a minute.

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Elissa D.

Berkeley, CA

2/7/2006

A beautiful and elegant place...rumor has it the hotel is haunted! Easy to see why, I wouldn't want to leave either.

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