Inns catering to gay clientele make savvy options for those on a budget

CHELSEA MORNING: The well-priced rooms at the Chelsea Pines Inn in New York City, each themed after glamorous movie stars of the past, all have showers and basins, but you can save money by sharing a water closet down the hall. - ARNOLD WAYNE JONES/Dallas Voice

Hotel rates have doubled and even tripled in a number of U.S. and Canadian cities over the past 15 years, making it a challenge to find decent-yet-affordable accommodations in many urban gay destinations. One excellent way to save money while also enjoying a more personal experience: booking a room at a gay-friendly bed-and-breakfast. In many world-class cities, standard rooms at big hotels — especially those that cater to business travelers — easily command $250-plus per night, so stylish inns offering rates under $150 are bargains.

Consider a charming, upscale property like Boston’s gay-owned Clarendon Square Inn, a sophisticated retreat whose rooms have CD players, phones with voice mail and high-quality bath amenities. Rates start at $139, nearly half what Boston’s top hotels charge per night.

Staying at a B&B where rooms share baths can also save you a big bundle of cash. Boston’s cheerfully decorated Oasis Guesthouse ($79 and up) draws a mostly male clientele but also some women and straights. It’s well situated, a short walk from the hip South End.

If the shared-bath route doesn’t faze you, you’ll rarely find a better bargain than Washington, D.C.’s Bed and Breakfast at the William-Lewis House. Comprising a pair of neighboring late 19th century town houses, it boasts Oriental rugs, period-style wallpapers and fine antiques. There’s also a lush and secluded deck and yard out back with a hot tub. Rates are a mere $69 to $159 nightly with shared but attractive and clean bathrooms.

A similarly great deal is available at the gay-owned Willows Inn, a 1903 Edwardian house that’s steps from the trendy restaurants and gay bars in San Francisco’s Castro district. For as little as $95 nightly, you can book one of the warmly furnished rooms with wi-fi, TVs, mini-fridges, private sinks, top-of-the-line bath amenities and kimonos, plus a continental breakfast. The 12 guest rooms share eight baths. The MacMaster House ($105 and up), on Portland, Ore.’s swanky King’s Hill has both shared and private baths, and several rooms have fireplaces.

Often, gay-exclusive properties are less expensive than ones that draw a mainstream crowd (and have a larger pool of potential travelers to choose from). In Montreal, Lindsey’s Bed and Breakfast ranks among the most beautifully furnished women’s inns in Canada, and yet rates range from just $75–$95 (Canadian), which includes a superb, creatively prepared hot breakfast. The guy-oriented La Conciergerie is another Montreal favorite. Just a short walk from gay nightlife, it has well-maintained, antiques-filled rooms and a private hot tub. Here you’ll pay about $99–$119 (Canadian) for a double with a shared bath (a suite with private bath costs $159).

Another good reason to choose a smaller inn over a large hotel is proximity to gay neighborhoods. In Houston, you can easily walk to the lesbian and gay bars in Montrose from the attractive and friendly Lovett Inn ($90 and up), whereas most full-scale hotels in the city are a cab ride away. The City Inns group in Chicago has three small, recently renovated, gay-popular boutique properties within easy walking distance of the fabulous gay nightlife. Rate at the City Suites, the Majestic and the Willows start around $109.

Another great deal is at one of Manhattan’s favorite gay/lesbian lodging options, the Chelsea Pines Inn, which occupies a classic 1850s townhouse right in the city’s gay epicenter. Rooms with semiprivate bath (sink and shower are in each room but a shared toilet down the hall) start at $140, while private baths begin at $175 (the Pines frequently offers specials with even lower rates — all truly a steal by New York City standards).

In Seattle, you’ll not find a more ideally located property than the Gaslight Inn ($88 and up), a lovingly tended turn-of-the-century house in the ultra-hip Capitol Hill neighborhood. There’s a large heated pool outside, along with space for sunning.

Price aside, a perfectly good reason to consider a smaller inn or B&B is the charm factor. Atlanta’s Gaslight Inn, with rates beginning at $115, is one of that city’s most stylish lodging options. The gay-owned, Craftsman-style B&B in the cosmopolitan Virginia-Highland neighborhood exudes romance with plush canopy beds, whirlpool tubs and wood-burning fireplaces. Not far from Denver’s leafy Cheesman Park, the Capitol Hill Mansion (from $114) is a stately Victorian on an attractive residential street. Owners Jay Hadley and Carl Schmidt serve a lavish full breakfast each morning as well as refreshments in the afternoon.

New Orleans is perhaps the best example of a city that’s simply ideal if you love staying in smaller, historic properties. Right in the heart of the French Quarter, a stone’s throw from the city’s hottest gay bars, you can find rooms beginning at just $95 at the Bon Maison Guest House, an 1830s red-stucco town house that feels completely cloistered once you get past the entrance and sneak a peak of the delightful courtyard.

Over in the city’s up-and-coming Mid-City neighborhood you can snag a room for as little as $99 in summer at the impeccably restored 1896 O’Malley House. Rooms at this gay-owned inn are spacious and filled with stunning antiques. You won’t find accommodations this beautiful at any big hotel in New Orleans, no matter what you’re willing to pay.





This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 4, 2008.