Brome Howard Inn in St. Mary's City, Maryland

This is the Brome Howard Inn in St. Mary's City Maryland. It is an old plantation house that now serves as a bed and breakfast.

The inn was built by Dr. Brome in 1840 and served as a tobacco and wheat plantation. There are a few outbuildings still, including a slave cabin (although you can't go inside).

The house used to sit on top of historic St. Mary's City, but they moved it in order to do an archaeological dig. They moved the entire house at one time.

Apparently, they built a huge pallet (like the kind you see in warehouses). They slipped the house on to the pallet and then used a tank to bring it to its new spot. They had to take out several trees and the electric lines on the road in order to do it. It was, we were told, quite a site. The whole town came out to take pictures. That was back in 1994.

The bed and breakfast only has four rooms. The one we stayed in was adorable. It was also huge and filled with books and magazines to keep you occupied.

The breakfasts were very good. The mushroom omelet was so flavorful that I had it twice. The blueberry pancakes were fluffy (although short on blueberries). The french toast was disappointing.

The house also has a restaurant that serves dinner nightly and brunch on Sundays. The atmosphere is understated elegance. The food is very good. I ate a perfectly cooked duck. Chris has an enormous steak. We finished things off with some refreshing sorbet.

Service in the hotel and restaurant were spotty. You have to be dedicated to run a bed and breakfast. They don't normally have a whole lot of staff. I got the impression that this couple is no longer dedicated. The in-room explanation misinforms guests about the proper time for breakfast on Saturdays (thus causing confusion on Sunday). There was no housekeeping. There was, in fact, often nobody around.

Still, it was a lovely house. It is very close to DC. The food is good. I don't think I would ever go back, but I wouldn't advise others away.