VIA: TheRoot.com
The Oak Bluffs Inn (Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard): The Oak Bluffs Inn is just one of the Obamas’ getaway spots. Eric and Rhonda Albert’s luxurious B&B is on Oak Bluff’s main street, Circuit Avenue. It has nine guest rooms and one apartment. Rates range from $100 to $600 April 15-June 17; from $225 to $600, June 18-September 11; and $100 to $600 September 12-October 31.
The Inn of Treasured Memories (Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts): “Colonel” Hank and Jane Henry opened The Inn of Treasured Memories in 2009. Their B&B has three guest bedrooms that provide oases far from everyday stress. Amenities include a salt water resistance pool, an elevator, 100% wheelchair accessibility, satellite TV, and parking on premises. Cape Cod’s beaches and golf courses are nearby. In season per night rates range from $185 to $200 per night, and off season from $130 to $160.
Quintessentials B and B Spa (East Marion, Long Island, New York): In 1994, Innkeeper, and former Wall Street banker, Sylvia M. Daley opened Quintessentials, on the North Fork of Long Island. Daley, a native Jamaican, is a founding member of the African American Association of Innkeepers International , and wanted to create a Caribbean-style get away. The 1830’s manor house has five rooms and suites with fireplaces, whirlpool baths, private decks, and gourmet meals. Rates range from $265 to $310 per night.
Arbor View House Bed and Breakfast (North Fork, Long Island): Good business sense runs in families. Veda Daley Joseph and Wilfred Joseph own the Arbor View House Bed & Breakfast, while Veda’s sister, Sylvia, owns Quinessentials B&B Spa, mentioned earlier. The Joseph’s Victorian style inn in the North Fork wine country has one suite and three guest rooms. Rates range from $260 to $315 per night.
Akwaaba Mansion (Brooklyn, New York): In 1995, Monique Greenwood and husband Glenn Pogue opened Akwaaba Mansion, the first of their four elegant, stylish Afrocentic B&Bs. Akwaaba means “welcome” in Ghana’s Akan language. The 1860s Italianate villa in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood has four fully-appointed, themed guest rooms: Jumping the Broom Suite, Regal Retreat, Ashante Suite, and the Black Memorabilia suite. Rates are $175 Monday-Thursday, and $190 Friday-Sunday.
Akwaaba By The Sea (West Cape May, New Jersey): The 1850s Victorian home, in America’s oldest seaside resort, rents as a full vacation house and has five themed guest chambers: Mayor’s Retreat, Dolly’s Boudoir, Helen’s Haven, the William J. Moore suite, and the Stephen Smith suite. The rate is from $2,500 to $3,200 per week depending on dates.
