These are my picks for the most unique bed and breakfasts in the northeast United States.
1. Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast
Fall River, MassachusettsGuests here sleep in the actual home where Lizzie Borden is said to have axed her parents to death in 1892. At this unique Victorian inn, guests eat a breakfast patterned after the last one enjoyed by Borden's parents.
2. Keeper's House Inn
Isle au Haut, MaineTo reach this 1907 lighthouse bed and breakfast in the midst of a spruce forest, guests take a 40-minute ride on a mail boat to the remote island of Isle au Haut. The keeper's building contains four guest rooms with double beds. There are no telephones at this bed and breakfast, and wood stoves provide heat. The island, more than half of which is part of the Acadia National Park, receives only a few dozen visitors on a typical day. Lodging is available from May to October, and meals are included.
3. Mount Saviour Monastery
Pine City, New YorkThe men's guest house has 15 small, private rooms; the guest house for women and couples has two double rooms and three single rooms. Also available are three separate facilities, each with a kitchen area. The suggested donation is $40 per night per person.
4. Herreshoff Castle
Marblehead, MassachusettsGuests stay in a private carriage house located next door to Herreshoff Castle, which is a reproduction of Erik the Red's 10th-century Viking castle in Greenland. Near the waterfront in the "Old Town" Crocker Park area of Marblehead, Massachusetts, this stone B&B contains a living room, galley kitchen and bathroom on the first floor and a bedroom with a stone fireplace and wood-planked cathedral ceiling on the second floor. Its decor includes Gothic doors and stained glass windows, carousel horses, medieval armor and other antiques.
5. Saugerties Lighthouse
Photo courtesy of Saugerties Lighthouse
Purchased by the Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy for $1, this restored 1869 lighthouse now welcomes guests year-round. The renovations included 10,000 new bricks and countless hours of volunteer work. Also arrival and departure times must be planned carefully because the nature trail that leads to the lighthouse may be covered by water during high tides. Located 42 miles south of Albany, the inn has two second-floor guest rooms, each with a double bed and one with space for two air mattresses for children, and is furnished much as it may have been in 1920. Breakfast is included, and one or two pets are permitted with guests who rent both rooms.
