"The New Willard Hotel"
Please Note: This historic building is currently a private residence. Please respect the homeowners' privacy.
"The new Willard Hotel" is named after the Washington, D.C. landmark. It sits on a sunny corner lot near the sparkling waters of the Potomac River in Colonial Beach.
Built in the 1890's and seeing many different owners, the new Willard Hotel, a.k.a River Breeze Manor, the Colony Inn, or simply the Colonial Beach hotel is an 11-bedroom, 6-bathroom Federal-style building painted light grey with white trim. It's been accommodating guests for well over a century.
It underwent a major renovation in the early 2000's that took about 6 years. I was able to tour the place shortly thereafter and saw how much work it must have been for Linda Crandell and Frank Mansfield.
Walking in to the house from the front porch you find yourself at the foot of a grand staircase with living area to the left and dining on the right. More living space is on the far side of the staircase. To the right is a foyer with another entry door, and beyond that is a kitchen, dining space and a living area with a wood-burning stove and a spiral staircase winding it's way up to the second floor.
There are three floors of a seemingly endless number of rooms, all of which are now wired for internet and cable TV, and six bathrooms (3 full and 3 half) as well as brand new pine floors throughout most of the house. A 2-car garage was added as well, with living space above it that's connected to the second floor of the house with a deck.
There are two-story porches on both the front and the back, and many of the rooms have great water views.
A Bed & Breakfast might be a good option for the facility. I'd probably like to see it converted to perhaps 4 or 5 apartment suites available for short term rental, similar to the BG Suites in nearby Bowling Green, Virginia. There's already a kitchen upstairs, all it would take is to connect it to an adjoining bedroom and bath, and viola! Apartment suite #1 ready to rent out. The living space over the 2-car garage could be apartment suite #2, and so on and so forth.
Actor Clark Gable and singer Kate Smith are said to have stayed here back in the day, and Vaudeville actress Mary Shires owned it for 40 years beginning in 1904. She was the one who named it The "New Willard Hotel"
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