Farm Fortune
Innkeeper Phyllis Combs
204 Limekiln Road
New Cumberland, Pennsylvania 17070

What advice would you give to aspiring innkeepers who are thinking about buying an historic property?

If there's a lot of work to restore the house, it has to be a labor of love, because it is a lot of work. I refinished floors, pointed stone, tore off wallpaper, and my husband and I tore up layers of tar paper, masonite, linoleum, newspapers and card board for three and a half days to find a beautiful pine floor. We rebuilt a stone wall around the logs in one wall. Tore boards off the wall in two rooms, leaving the old horsehair plaster. And boards covering the fireplaces. And the work continues. We put in a kitchen and two baths for the family, but I have now added four more baths. And of course there is always maintenance. But I love it!

Return to the Advice for Aspiring Innkeepers Index