My wife, Nicole and I made a quick business trip from West Palm Beach, FL to Jacksonville we where stayed at a bed and breakfast for 1 night before returning home. On our way back, Nicole talked me into sporadically extending our get away an extra night with St. Augustine being our destination. We drove into St. Augustine, me behind the wheel, and Nicole working hard on her iPhone to try and locate the best, most unique, Bed & Breakfast in town. Finally, she found it; The Kenwood Inn. Because we were so close we decided to make a visit and book the room in person. We drove up to the beautiful historic home to find the sign out front "No Vacancy." Nicole searched and searched on her phone to try and find a comparable Bed & Breakfast with a Vacancy. She found a couple, but nothing that had compared to the pictures she had seen online of The Kenwood Inn. Finally after 30 minute long search we decided to call Kenwood and we ended up getting lucky! They had one room (#17) that just became vacant. Now to summarize the stay
- Room Rate - was around $185/night, which was very comparable to all the other B&B's (although the others were less desirable, in our opinion)
- Location - we loved the location. We spent the night walking the area... my wife visited shops and in the area, we had a couple drinks at local bars and restaurants, held hands, and walked down the 400 year old pavered streets.
- Room - After walking the streets we grabbed a bottle of wine, walked back to our room which was very spacious, had a very comfortable bed, and a Jacuzzi tub. (that's living)
- Service - We took our time getting out of bed, which was great for a change. After some pillow talk, we made our way downstairs into the living room where we poured ourselves some coffee and then continued out to the patio where we were waited on by 2 very happy, accommodating servers that were just incredible. I also noticed another lady run 3 plates out of the kitchen, which when we were checking out, I found out was the owner. Hands on owner has led to a great staff and operation in my opinion.
- Breakfast - When we checked in we were told that the menu changes daily. That all the food is very fresh, clean, and they do their best to keep the food simple and healthy. As soon as we sat down our server offered us a peach smoothie with peach rum! I excitedly opted in (of course, for fun) and my wife went with the orange juice instead. 1st course, they brought us fresh fruit with some sort of fluffy yogurt (I'd call it healthy whipped cream) and a crushed nut, granola topping of some sort I think. Main course, was a montecristo (breakfast sandwich with turkey, ham, and bacon). The presentation of the food was pretty fancy, they drizzled sauces and used fruits as garnishes. The breakfast was great.
- Staff - When we checked in the lady that greeted us was very welcoming and informative. She was very friendly and allowed us to ask her a bunch of questions and spent about 10 minutes with us. She told us all about the house, it's history, and educated us on St. Augustine. She grabbed a map and a sharpie marker and went to work for 5 minutes circling and explaining places that we would want to visit and options for eating. She insisted and even moved her car across the street so that we could park right in front of the Inn.
Dinner - For dinner we went to the Ice Plant, I highly recommend. You'll have to drive there but It's on the list of one of coolest restaurants I've ever been to. It's a farm-to-table restaurant. Great food and the place was an experience in itself, and we got out of there for around $75 with an appetizer food and 2 drinks.
Parking - Parking in St. Augustine is atrocious but thankfully Kenwood has about 7 spots right in front of their B&B. They also have a contract with "The Oldest House" and has many assigned spots in their parking lot which is just a block over. We actually parked my truck in the lot and enjoyed the intimate walk twice during our stay.
- Free Wine - for whatever reason that was something my wife was very excited about. They serve free wine in the evenings and I think it's a social gathering of the guests if you want to make it one. Otherwise you can always head back up to the room, or the patio with your glass.
- Pool area - They have a beautiful pool area, and free bike rental. We really wanted to ride the bikes around the city but ran out of time.
- Pet friendly - we seen guests there with dogs, and the owner has 2 beautiful dogs which were great. One of them was scouting for lizards and the other jumped up on the side of the koi pond for a drink.
Although it was short, it was a very special time for my wife and I. I felt like we really connected and somehow this just turned into a really great trip for the both of us. Life is busy and hectic as business owners, spouses, and parents. Nicole and I are excited about visiting The Kenwood Inn again, I'm sure it will be in the near future. read more