Bed and Breakfast in Salt Lake City

There are many places that people can go to have some fun in Salt Lake City, but I'm going to focus on the one thing that my husband and I have had the most fun doing - going to bed and breakfasts. We have gone quite a few times and just enjoy being together for an evening.  It is enjoyable to get a night away, someplace else for a while. 

The fun thing about bed and breakfasts is they are a mini vacation, for those who don't have a lot of time to get away (because of work, children, or whatever).  They are a special occasion - sometimes anniversary, sometimes the night of the wedding, sometimes a reward for accomplishing a goal, a promotion at work or the special occasion of just being with the one you love.

Though bed and breakfasts have different amenities, different types of breakfasts, different themes for the rooms, they share one thing in common - the romantic atmosphere (even if you are a business traveler staying in the room alone, they have a special ambiance to them that regular hotels can't touch).  After staying in both multiple times, there's just something so sterile about even the nicest of hotels.  Bed and breakfasts just have a more homey feel and generally are family owned.

To be honest, this is the only bed and breakfast we've actually stayed at overnight. We have stayed there multiple times because we just love it. The pics above are in the Presidential Suite at the Fifth South location.

Contact Information: Website for all locations: www.anniversaryinn.com Fifth South Address - 460 South 1000 East Salt Lake City, UT 84102 Phone: 801-363-4900 South Temple Address - 678 E South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84102 Phone: 801.363.4950

Website (where you can do virtual tours of all of the rooms): www.anniversaryinn.com

What we like so much about Anniversary Inn is:

• They let you rent, one at a time, as many DVDs for the night as you want
• They include a scrumptious breakfast (obviously) that they deliver to your room at the time of your choosing
• They have many different options for themed rooms for different parts of the world
• They include cheesecake with the room
• Some rooms have fireplaces and Intellegel beds
• There's staff there all night long if you need anything
• They have large (sometimes multiple) TVs for watching of videos in different locations of the room, some rooms even in the tub!
• You can check in and leave for a few hours on the town and come back and enjoy your room
• They have different types of cookies, often warm, at the main desk - for free
• When you leave in the morning, the maids are often cleaning so you can visit any of the other rooms you want - to plan which room you want for the next visit
• They have a guest book in each room so you can tell your story and have others read who else stayed in that room
• I've had a sister-in-law who LOVED her stay at the Romeo and Juliet room in South Temple,

Things we didn't like:

• Though there's a lot of food for breakfast, I'm a big eater and it's usually not enough for me - and it's the same (well you get to choose from options) every time, basically
• In the South Temple location we had a very cold room and the heater didn't help, neither did the concierge (Neptune Room)
  

Overall opinion:

We'll just choose a different room and stay at the Fourth South location. You choose which location you'd like best. South Temple locations tend to be cheaper.

The reason I wanted to write about Armstrong Mansion is, after hitting a business goal, we are going to go all out and have the best package they have. Also, I know the innkeeper - she's a sweet, hard-working lady.

Contact Information

Phone: 801-531-1333, Website: www.armstrongmansion.com Address: 667 E. 100 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84102

Reasons I want to stay at Armstrong Mansion:

• There are rooms for every day of the month and an extra room "Cherished Years" where a lot of business traveler's stay
• There's a romantic, victorian theme to the whole building
• The history of Mr. Armstrong is AMAZING
• There are two rooms in which the tub is in a touret (August and February)
  
• Some of the rooms also have Intellegel beds
• They have a package (Delux Date Night/Celebration Package) where they spread rose pedals and put candles all over our room and leave some other stuff in our room for when we come back and included are also are 2 tickets at Hale Center Theater (my husband and I are suckers for plays) and dinner at either Sizzler (Steak and Seafood restaurant) or Rodizio Grill (traditional Brazilian dinner).
• They have many other packages with some of the above items, so you can choose what fits your budget
  
• They have a couple's massage as an option as well
• If you want a place to have a small wedding and reception as well as having places to stay for all of your guests for your wedding, here's your place
• You can also rent the red house in the back for family reunions, ski trips or other fun events
• You can have a private dinner event
• You can have a Whodunnit? Murder Mystery
• Last but definitely not least, I've heard the breakfast is the best part of your stay (the staff even have shirts that say so)

From what I can tell that I wouldn't like as well:

The rooms all basically look the same

All in all

With all the options they have for fun stuff to do there, I'll overlook the similarity of the rooms. It looks fun and romantic enough for me to want to go all out when I go.

Contact Information: 720 Ashton Ave Salt Lake City, UT 84106 (801) 832-0970             website: www.parrishplace.com

Owned by a cute couple since March 2006, it is listed on the National Historic Register as a Historical Site in Utah.

All of the rooms are named after Maxwell Parrish paintings and have a stained glass/gargoyle feel to the whole building.

Some of the amenities of all of the rooms are:

• Flat screen TV, cable and DVD player
• Wi-Fi
• Air Conditioning
• Free drinks (don't know what kind - this IS Utah after all)
• Free DVD library check-out
• Hot tub
• Hair Dryer
• Robes
• Breakfast delivered to your room

As is standard for bed and breakfasts, there is no smoking, no pets and no children under 12 years old are allowed.

Reviews

Since we haven't been there ourselves, I have to rely on the experiences of others.

The good

• Hosts (generally the owners) were very accommodating, hospitable and friendly
• Less expensive rooms than other bed and breakfasts
  
• Beautiful rooms
• Close to the freeway - convenient location
• Free wi-fi in common area
• Food was great
• Romantic and charming ambiance
• Can't hear the freeway traffic noise
• Quiet in building - nice break from the noise of the kids and life in general

The bad

• The food is healthy (some bodies aren't used to that)
• Some rooms don't have their own bathroom or privacy for those bathrooms

Overall

One of the "bad"s isn't really a bad if you ask me - I like healthy food. This was probably a converted house, but it sounds like the hosts took care of that problem. It sounds like glowing reviews to me. My husband and I will have to stay here sometime.

Contact Information: 100 N Johnson Mill Rd, Midway, UT 84049      (435) 654-4466 website: www.johnsonmill.com

Though it's not technically in Salt Lake, I thought it was worth a mention. It's a great location away from the world and close to Park City, a great skiing location.

You can have a romantic retreat as well as a cooking retreat. It is a great location for company retreats, birding, and flyfishing as well. One of the best parts about staying in Johnson Mill is the scenery and enjoying nature nearby. You can also rent the whole building for a family or friend retreat.

Amenities of the rooms include:

• Fireplace
• Jetted Tub
• Balcony
• TV/DVD combo
• In-room massage

Amenities of building include:

• Game and meeting room
• Free full breakfast
• Evening Refreshments
• Classical Movie Library

Amenities outside of building include:

• 26-acres of pathways, streams and ponds
• Banquet and meeting facilities
• 5-acre pond with complimentary canoes and paddle boats
• Landscaped gardens and courtyards
• 4-acre fishing pond
• 30' waterfall
• Gazebo
  

Amenities nearby include:

• Shopping
• Dining
• Boating
• Golfing
• Hiking
• Mountain Biking
• Horseback riding
• Kayaking
• Train ride
• Hot air ballooning
• Snowshoeing
• Ice Skating
• Of course, Downhill and Cross-Country Skiing

Reviews

Again, since I have not stayed here, I'm trusting on others' responses to fill you in on the details.

The Good

• Friendly, helpful, attentive staff that make you feel like a guest
  
• Up-to-date and cozy rooms
• Beautiful atmosphere in building and area
  
• Good value for the price
• Good breakfast
  
• Peaceful location
• Makes you want to come again and again
• Luxurious beds
  

The Bad

• Because the beds were so luxurous, you didn't want to get out of them
• The grounds need some upkeep

Overall

It sounds like it's worth the drive and overlooking some of the grounds. It sounds like the rest of the grounds make up for what it lacks - many times over and above!