Okay so yesterday I sat down to finally plan this Erie bed and breakfast getaway I’ve been dreaming about. Honestly, I figured it would be easy – find a cute B&B near the lake, book it, done. Boy, was I wrong! Let me walk you through exactly how it went down.
Starting The Search Was Easy… Too Easy
First thing I did was open up my laptop and just typed in “Erie PA bed and breakfasts” into the search bar. Boom, tons of results popped up. Looked promising! I clicked on a few links, saw pictures of beautiful old houses, comfy rooms, lake views… got pretty excited. Started daydreaming about coffee on a porch overlooking the water.
Then Reality Hit Like A Brick
Decided I should actually try picking a weekend. Wanted something soon, maybe early fall. Went back to my top picks and entered some dates for late September.
That’s when things went sideways.
- My first choice? Completely booked solid. Like, every single weekend until November.
- Second choice? They were having some “renovations” – translation: jackhammers and drywall dust during breakfast. Hard pass.
- Third spot looked perfect… until I saw the nightly rate. Seriously? Might as well have booked a suite at a luxury hotel downtown!
Felt totally deflated. Got kinda overwhelming for a minute there. Almost said forget it, hotel motel.
Dug Deeper & Found Some Gems
Took a deep breath. Made another cup of coffee (essential fuel). Decided to get serious. Went back to the search results, scrolled past the first page you know? Found a couple places I hadn’t even seen earlier. One had kinda bad pictures but amazing reviews talking about the owner’s legendary pancakes. Okay, interesting.
Started cross-referencing like crazy:
- Checked the actual location on a map – was it really walkable to the water or just kinda close?
- Dove deep into the reviews, especially the 3-star ones. Filtered for “Parking issues” and “noise”. Found one complaint about squeaky floorboards keeping someone up – eh, bring earplugs.
- Called one place directly instead of booking online. The owner answered, super nice, told me about their new balcony view. Big plus!
Sealing The Deal & Key Learnings
After like two hours of this – seriously, felt like detective work – I finally picked one. It wasn’t the biggest or the fanciest from the start, but the reviews were rock solid, the owner sounded lovely, the price felt fair, and it had that private bathroom we really wanted. Hit the “Book Now” button. Relief!
So, here’s the real stuff I learned the hard way that you gotta know:
- Book Early or Get Creative: Seriously, the good spots fill up insanely fast, especially for weekends near the water. Months ahead isn’t crazy.
- Photos Lie (Sometimes): Look at them, but trust the recent reviews WAY more. That ugly front door might lead to paradise inside.
- Call Them! Talking to the owner beats just clicking buttons. Got way more info in 5 minutes than 30 minutes clicking around.
- Amenities Aren’t Optional: Figure out your deal-breakers before falling in love. Private bath? Essential AC? Free parking? Know what you can’t live without.
- Location, Location, Location: “Near the lake” can mean a 15-minute drive or a 2-minute walk. Pull up that map!
Ended up with a booking confirmation and a lesson learned: planning a B&B trip takes way more digging than a hotel. Worth it though. Really hope those pancakes live up to the hype! Wish me luck.
