Nora Roberts’ Inn BoonsBoro Opens This Weekend

Grab your suitcase and gas up the car: Nora Roberts’ Inn BoonsBoro is opening this weekend.

In a spiffy article in USA Today, reporter Carol Memmott received a tour of the new building – and wrote up a lovely account of the inn and Nora’s career, with no sniffing down the nose at the romance genre.

I might have to lie down a moment.

My favorite quote is Nora, who is also known on Fandom_Wank as “Maid of Wyn,” talking about how difficult it was to come up with seven happy romantic couples on whom she could base the decor of the rooms:

“The whole idea was the rooms’ themes had to be linked to literary couples who ended up with happy endings,” says Roberts, who says she was challenged to find enough couples to fill the bill. “Romeo and Juliet? Dead. Tristan and Isolde? Dead. Not happy. Dead, dead, dead. Rhett Butler and Scarlett? He didn’t give a damn. You try finding seven of them.”

But Roberts did find enough lovestruck couples to inspire guest rooms whose decor is informed by the time periods in which their stories are told.

The peek inside the hotel is making me twitchy to hit the road for Maryland right freaking now. And I love that the different rooms feature locally-produced bath gels and lotions, some of which are available for purchase online. That’s just spiffy.

The picture of the inn at the top of the article is just beautiful. When I last saw the building in July 2008, it was mostly rock walls and plywood. Holy crap is it good looking now. It’s amazing to think that just about a year ago, a fire caused everyone to start over with the renovation.

I fully realize I’m squeeing all over the place, so let me add one more thing: Boonsboro is like a lot of small towns in the US. There’s a lot of empty storefronts, and it’s a small community in the middle of a lot of fields and hills connected mostly by highways or two-lane roads, and it’s easy to miss how fun small communities can be. People don’t believe me when I say that Jersey is full of little towns like that.

The fact that Nora Roberts, Maid of Wyn, is doing so much to revive Boonsboro and using the celebrity of her name to bring people back to the small town just rocks. I hope the inn is a screaming mad success, yo. Bring it on.

 

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  1. aninsomniac says:

    This is so reminiscent of a lot of The Nora’s heroines! Small town, rustic/comfortable/pretty/successful small owner type business. I always wondered if that had been The Nora’s pet dream: to start a small antique shop or clothing boutique in a small town. And now it’s coming true! Super!

    If I ever go there, I would totally be unable to decide between P&P and Dallas x Roark!

    -anin

  2. rebyj says:

    It’s beautiful! I hope it’s a wonderful success .
    The bathtub on the front page of the inn’s website is a naughty lovescene in the making!

  3. Michele says:

    I so want to stay there though for me it would be a toss-up between the Eve and Roarke or the Nick and Nora. Lovely.

  4. Jill Shalvis says:

    I have always loved Nora Roberts’ writing.  She was my first contemporary romance read, and a huge influence when I first started writing.  It’s nice to know she’s as great a person as she is a writer.

  5. snarkhunter says:

    I swear, before I move away from rural PA, I am going to take a little pilgrimage trip down to Boonsboro and stalk visit Turn the Page. Just to say I’ve been. I’d even stay at the Inn, but I think it might be a little weird to do so by myself.

  6. jenifer says:

    There’s a Buttercup and Wesley room. That blows my mind (in the best way possible).

  7. Leeann Burke says:

    That’s a gorgeous building. The library looks fabulous, the rooms are warm and welcoming. If I were close enough I’d go in for a night stay, for sure.

    Congratulations Ms Roberts.

  8. SonomaLass says:

    Two words.  Road trip.

  9. Ann says:

    Snarkhunter—been there done that.  It was TOTALLY worth it…

  10. darlynne says:

    How wonderful for everyone: Ms. Roberts, the town, us. I’m impressed with how much thought went into the rooms, but also into engaging the town and the people who live/work there. What a great idea and I wish them all huge success.

    Sarah, I agree about small communities in New Jersey.

  11. azteclady says:

    One day, I’ll go there… one day!!!!!!

    *sigh*

  12. Sandra D says:

    I was all excited about the Eve and Roarke room till I saw the Princess Bride one, complete with quotes from the movie! Maaaan, I’d have to stay there a week, with a different room every night.

  13. Elizabeth Wadsworth says:

    This looks like a fantastic place to stay, and the Nora connection makes it even cooler.  The bathrooms are wonderful!  (And I’m glad the Nick and Nora room doesn’t have twin beds like the movie.)

  14. Nifty says:

    Beyond the gorgeousness of the rooms, I love how beautiful the building is from the outside.  My parents live in Western Maryland, about an hour and a half from Boonsboro, and I’ve been to Boonsboro a few times for the big anniversary signings in the summer.  When I drive through those towns up that way, I always wish I had Roarke’s portfolio so that I could buy those buildings and repair them.  It’s so awesome to drive through all that history and know that the buildings are so old.  (Well…old by American standards!)  It’s great that Nora worked so hard to bring that piece of history back to life for us.  Beautiful, beautiful!  Good job, Nora.  Now…I need to start saving my pennies!

  15. lustyreader says:

    How wonderful that it is finally open, thanks for keeping up up to date! I was just thinking about the this when I saw the news about the Maderin Oriental in Beijing burning it actually reminded me of those sad days the Inn Boonsboro went through too. That, and Mave Binchy’s Firefly Summer, which didn’t have a happy ending of rebuilding like La Nora in real life!

    We don’t live too far away, just in DC, and even though we try to stay at pet-friendly hotels for the Mutt, maybe I can convince the hubby for a belated V-day get away?

  16. shaina says:

    ZOMG this place looks so so so so so so amazing! Titania and Oberon for me, i think…cept, my honey can’t really afford it (well neither can i) but my mom is just as much of an avid NR fan so we might do a girl’s roadtrip thingy when i get back from israel this summer. DAMN i wish that a) i lived closer or b) it was cheaper or c) all of the above…SO MUCH GOODNESS. CANT HANDLE.

    spamword asked29—i’ll ask 29 times if i have to to get someone to go with me there!!!!

  17. shaina says:

    i just realized i said my honey. which is really odd, cuz i dont say things like that. i should just say, my boyfriend 🙂

  18. Jessica says:

    But, Nora, a room based on fairies with IRON bedposts?  LOL.

    Anyway—It looks AWESOME.

  19. Leslie Kelly says:

    I’m only about a half-hour away and have been saving my pennies for a Buttercup & Westley getaway this spring! What a great idea to help a quaint little town.

  20. snarkhunter says:

    And now that I see how very close I am…I’m thinking day trip! (I once drove 3-4 hours to see Meg Cabot. I think I can manage 2-3 to visit La Nora’s hometown.)

    (Psychic confirmation word: hotel73)

  21. BethanyA says:

    Whereabout in NJ do you live, Sarah? North Jersey? I’m in Central—Exit 8A off the Turnpike. I work in the village of Plainsboro, which is right next to Princeton and it is so nice—they are in the process of building this super-cute town center. They’ve got the two staple Italian restaurants, a nice Chinese/Sushi place, Cold-Stone, a bakery, an independent coffee shop and various local businesses.  It’s all laid out with brick cobblestones and the best part is that the new library is going to be the focal point with a huge fountain in front.  So, not it’s not all bad.

  22. Hilcia Suarez says:

    Congratulations on the opening! Will be visiting Boonsboro as it’s not far from Jersey.  Everything looks just beautiful.

  23. Tae says:

    Jane and rochester definitely

  24. sara says:

    I want to go to there.

  25. Angela James says:

    Okay, now I know what to ask for for my birthday. A short road trip (since we’re in Maryland) and a weekend in the Eve and Roarke suite. Whee!

  26. jenjen says:

    Gosh, stay away for a week and see what ya miss….

    Last summer my family and I went to Antietam National Battlefield, which is quite close to Boonsboro. I tried like hell to wrangle a stop at Turn the Page, but hubby was having none of it. But we did see the work on the inn, which was only a shell at that point. It looks beautiful now.

  27. ev says:

    No wonder I didn’t know what everyone was talking about, I managed to miss this blog.

    I so wish my trip cross country was taking me across MD that way instead of down. Oh, well, I will save it for another trip!

  28. Sarah Bailey says:

    What a fun site!!  Nora IS a great lady.  I worked with her decorating the Inn.  I made the canopy and bedskirt in the Tatiana and Oberon room.  Also did work in some of the other rooms.  We did all the blinds in the Inn.  It was a fun project and found that Nora is very cool and just “one of us”.

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