Cheltenham is a beautiful historic Regency town with wide tree-lined roads and boulevards and a plethora of white Georgian terraces and villas. It is also a vibrant culinary and festival town and is located at the heart of the lovely Cotswold hills, providing an excellent touring focal point. During the winter months the many restaurants do a roaring trade throughout the town centre, while the two theatres have a lively programme of pre or post London West End plays on tour interspersed with operas from internationally famous companies, and the annual pantomime. National and international symphony orchestras, as well as other musical and entertainment companies vie for space in the concert hall within the Town Hall.

The Festival year begins with the internationally famous Cheltenham Gold Cup and the town becomes Irish for a week, with a festive and light-hearted atmosphere. This is followed in fairly quick succession by the Green Festival, the Jazz Festival, the Science Festival and after the summer, the great Literature Festival. In between are a number of smaller festivals including Food and Drink, Beer, Screen Writers, Ballroom Dancing etc.

Cheltenham is also very well known for its dining experience with renowned Michelin starred restaurants, Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie, Jamie Oliver’s Italian and a wide range of Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian, French and Swedish restaurants, many of which are ‘plugged’ in the national press.

Close outside the town, visitors can lose themselves in the winding historic streets of Winchcombe, visit Sudeley Castle, home of Catherine Parr and travel on the steam heritage line through the Cotswolds, or visit Tewkesbury and its Abbey Church, or venture past Gloucester Cathedral and Historic Docks to the Forest of Dean, the Wye valley and the Welsh borders. To the east of the town lie the romantically named Bourton on the Water and Stow on the Wold, and perhaps less romantically named but very beautiful Slaughters. Within an hour’s drive, the tourist can reach Bath, Bristol, Oxford or Stratford upon Avon, and there are direct coach and rail links from the town to London and Birmingham.

Because of the town’s location and beauty, it is home to famous Public Schools, Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Cheltenham (formerly Gentlemen’s) College, as well as St Edwards’ and Dean Close. Many large companies have their corporate headquarters here, particularly from the financial and insurance sectors and host companies such as Eagle Star, Capita, Cheltenham and Gloucester, Endsleigh and Zurich as well as Kraft Europe. On the outskirts of the town lies the modern ‘doughnut’ that is the Government Communications Headquarters or GCHQ, a major local employer.

This blog entry was written by Veronica Ritchie of Hanover House.

As I write this, our inn has over 300 reviews on TripAdvisor.

I read (and respond) to every one of them. But as I’ve been reading them for the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a trend–there is a large number of reviewers who start their review by saying “We’ve never stayed at a bed and breakfast before.” A large number of those newbies then say something like “We didn’t know what to expect.” (Of course, they then all talk about how much they enjoyed their stay, how wonderful the service is, what amazing staff we have–I could go on all day, but feel free to read them yourself)!

That got me to thinking: what is so intimidating about staying at a bed and breakfast? If you’re not yet a member of the bnb club, what do you need to know?

Here’s what I would tell my best friend, if she wanted to know the “secret handshake” for bed and breakfast veterans.

1. Know what you want. If you’ve stayed at hotels your entire life, you probably have a favorite one (and maybe even a favorite chain). Why do you like it? Is it fancy and formal, with a formal lobby and a telephone in the bathroom? (Side note: what is that for, anyway?) Is it chic and sleek, with modern art and a hip bar?  Is it laid back and fun, with a complimentary happy hour thrown by the manager? Are you into homey and comfortable, the kind of place that greets you with a cookie and encourages you to borrow a book from their shelves?

Just like hotels have different personalities, so do bed and breakfasts.

Let me rephrase that. Just like hotels can have one of about six different personalities (your Westins, Marriotts, Country Inn and Suites, funky boutiques, Holiday Inns, and Super 8s), bed and breakfasts have one of 18,000 personalities (that’s how many bnb’s Wikipedia says are in North America).

So figure out which one of those 18,000 personalities best matches your vacation needs, and book a room immediately.

If you’re not sure which one is right for you (it can be hard to tell from websites), call the bnb and simply ask what the atmosphere is. The owner will be happy to tell you–and you’ll get a sense of it from his or her demeanor on the phone, as well. The beauty of staying in a unique bnb–rather than a standard hotel–is that you can find one that fits you perfectly.

2. Once you’re here, talk to people. Or not. Hey…this is *your* vacation. You had to finagle time away from your job, you had to sign the credit card slip. One nice thing about staying at a bed and breakfast is the wide variety of interesting people who stay there too (they’re as unique and interesting as you are, of course), and it’s easy to start a conversation with another traveler. But if you just want to reconnect with your traveling partner, or be alone with your innermost thoughts in a relaxing and beautiful place, that’s completely cool too. The best bnb owners will allow you to do either…or any combination of the two.

3. Ask what’s free. You already know about some of the bnb’s amenities–it’s pretty obvious if you have a Jacuzzi tub in the room, or a fireplace, or a balcony. But bed and breakfasts are the most generous places to stay–they give away what other places usually charge for. You may find that your bed and breakfast offers free wifi, or free bikes that you can borrow, or beach chairs/towels/umbrellas. There might be coffee and/or snacks available every day, or a happy hour. They could offer free parking. Ask for a quick list of what’s available, ask what you need to do to use the amenities (do you have to sign up? sign a form? just ask at the front desk?), and use them. Then try not to look pity-ingly at the other visitors in town who are paying for all the things you get for free.

4. Ask what’s cool. Bed and breakfast owners and employees love to interact with guests. But we don’t want to be pests. Generally, I walk around at breakfast and happy hour and ask people if everything is perfect, and if there’s anything I can get them that would make it more perfect. The couples who want to talk will typically respond with a lengthier answer, and we can go from talking about another glass of sangria to talking about my favorite secret bike path, or the best beach to go to in the morning, or the restaurant with the most amazing bread pudding. We’re locals, and we’re glad to share our inside information about what we think is the coolest stuff in town. That means you get the coolest vacation ever.

5. Ask, ask, ask. We are bed and breakfast owners because we like to make people happy. Our employees are bed and breakfast people because they like to see people smile. (Trust me, none of us are doing it for the great salary!!) So ask us for help. If you’re sunburnt, ask if we have aloe vera lotion; if you want to go somewhere for jazz, ask us for suggestions; if you want to learn how to make our delicious strawberry soup, ask us for the recipe. When people ask us for things, we feel good. And when we can help you with your request, we both feel good!!

6. Relax. Staying at a bed and breakfast is not brain surgery–it’s pretty simple, really. Just check in, grab a cozy spot on the patio (or the living room or the garden), lean back, and relax. Going on vacation shouldn’t be hard–and if you follow the steps above, not only will it be easy–it will be awesome!!!

This post was written by Sandy Wieber of Bayfront Marin House. You can read more of Sandy’s insightful musings on her St Augustine Blog.