The quaint country store, a cottage tea house and Victorian antique shops are among the local stops that help the hours pass by. The old movie theater has been converted to a bridal shop, a golf course can be found not far away, and water lovers can canoe down the Cedar River. It's a town with no stop lights, no malls and no major tourist attractions -- and Hansen says that's a good thing.
"One of the best features of the area is its quiet, pastoral nature," she said. "There's not a lot to do, but there are lots of sprawling maple trees and porch swings and flower gardens to look at as you stroll through the town. It's a taste of a bygone era."
Hansen was kind enough to answer a few questions about her B&B and life as an innkeeper.
Please tell us about your inn's history.
My house was built in 1896 by a wealthy German banker who subsequently lost all his money during the Depression. Seven years ago I paid $18,000 for a house that everyone in town thought should be bulldozed. It had no heat, no electricity, and no kitchen, and it had not been painted for approximately 30 years.
My family and I, and numerous sub-contractors, worked around the clock to get the inn renovated, open for business, and cash flowing -- quickly, since I had quit my job to move to Iowa. I served my first meals at the restaurant six months later, and rented my first room at the nine-month point. It has been a whirlwind ever since.
What are some of your inn's unique features?
The Blue Belle Inn has lofty tin ceilings, 8-foot maple pocket doors, stained and leaded glass windows, hardwood floors, crystal chandeliers set in bay and round window pockets, three fireplaces, and three double whirlpools. Each of my rooms is named after a favorite children's story book, and whimsically decorated in keeping with the theme of the book.
The first floor of my inn is a gourmet eatery, open to the public for lunch and dinner by reservation, and to our overnight guests at any time. We host gourmet cooking, quilting, and gardening workshops, murder mysteries, horse-drawn sleigh and surrey rides, and concerts by a diverse range of area musicians and storytellers, from harpists, flutists, and jazz ensembles to barbershop quartets and an Ole and Lena comedic routine.
Which is your personal favorite room at your bed and breakfast?
My favorite room is "Heaven to Betsy" because the Betsy Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace, after which it is named, are very special to me. The room is on the third floor, with a very private, tucked-away-from-the-world-and-its-cares feeling. It's decorated like a renaissance garden with pillars and cherubs and pastel flowers in periwinkle blue and light rose and whites. The butterfly quilt is very unique, some wonderful vintage Besse Gutman artwork, skylights over the bed and Jacuzzi so you can watch the clouds float by... what can I say? It's just kind of "me."
How do you make a stay at your B&B special?
Attention to detail. By making the house itself and the treasures within as unique and special as I possibly can. We try to make each guest feel welcome, to chat if they wish, to respect their privacy if they prefer.
When did you first stay at a bed and breakfast?
I first began staying in bed and breakfasts and gasthauses while living in Europe in the late 1970s. A stone farmhouse near Stow-in-the-Wold, England, a moated castle atop a wooded hill in Bavaria, a 300-year-old inn overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, a 4th floor attic accessed by a narrow ladder off a canal in Gouda, Holland... each one a truly delightful experience and fodder for my imagination.
What made you want to become an innkeeper?
As a single woman, becoming an innkeeper was the only way I could justify buying, renovating and decorating a Victorian mansion far too spacious for one! As I grew older, I longed to escape the chaos of big city living and be closer to my family, see my nieces and nephews grow up... Opening a bed and breakfast in a small town was a way I could support myself in the largely rural area where my family lives.
What were some of the factors you considered, pro and con?
It's always hard to give up a steady paycheck and opt for the financial uncertainties of starting your own business, yet I felt the freedom and self-direction inherent in being my own boss was appealing. After living in an area frequented by tourists (Colorado), where opening an inn was fairly cost-prohibitive for me, I was afraid people might never find me out in the middle of nowhere in rural Iowa.
How did you decide where to open your inn?
St. Ansgar is a lovely small town filled with quaint, well-kept houses and gardens, a unique tea house and shops that were already drawing people from a 150-mile radius, and friendly residents eager to further develop their community. Property values made attaining an appropriately sized house possible, state regulations and zoning were favorable to my business goals, and I was within easy driving distance of several large metropolitan areas.
What do you remember most about your first month as an innkeeper?
I wanted everything to be perfect for various inspectors and our guests, and instead found myself trying to rid the house of certain unwanted pests -- wood ticks, mice, wasps, birds (no chimney caps), and even an occasional bat. I was mortified, although to the best of my knowledge, my efforts were successful -- no one ever suspected a thing.
What advice would you give to aspiring innkeepers?
Plan on spending twice as much as you think you will when it comes to renovating and equipping your house, and make sure you truly enjoy people, and having continuous "company." Know that you will be tied down, unless you're wealthy enough to turn away business when it's inconvenient for you to accept guests. Don't plan on getting rich being an innkeeper, but know that your work will be satisfying, challenging and very rewarding.
