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Business and Leisure
B&B Amenities
The Florida House Inn is the oldest bed-and-breakfast in the state.
 The inn has hosted famous guests including Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and actors Laurel and Hardy. |
At 150 years old, the Florida House Inn on Amelia Island near Jacksonville is the oldest continually operated bed-and-breakfast in the state. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, holds a spot on the local ghost tour and has catered to guests including Civil War Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Cuban freedom fighter José Martí, the Rockefeller and Carnegie families and actors Mary Pickford and Laurel and Hardy.
What brings guests to the inn today are its modern offerings: A full restaurant and bar, large-screen plasma TVs in the public areas, live musical entertainment every night, wireless internet access throughout the grounds and free use of motor scooters.
“It’s pretty much the place in town to be now,” says Diane Warwick, who bought the resort four years ago after she and her husband, Joe, married there and visited frequently.
 Each of the Florida House’s 22 rooms is decorated differently. |
The inn’s longstanding pub, which Warwick has expanded from about a dozen seats to 75, has been renamed The Frisky Mermaid and hosts live acts from around the country. Next door, the inn’s newly purchased conference center hosts salsa dancing on Friday nights, starting with an hour of lessons.
Florida House is also pet friendly. Guests have brought dogs, cats, even a few birds — for an extra charge depending on the pet’s weight. Room rates start at $159 to $349 a night year-round.
