ARDMORE - On a rise overlooking 72 acres of trees, meadows, ponds and streams is the new Shiloh Morning Inn. With its wide porches, crown molding, vegetable garden and orchard, it has the charm of an old farmhouse. Designed by Bob and Linda Humphrey using years of research and advice from innkeepers nationwide, it has the comfort and convenience of a hotel.

The kitchen is stocked with commercial appliances. The Humphreys bought a dough sheeter to make Danishes and croissants.

"It will make a melt-in-your-mouth crust," Linda Humphrey said.

Besides pastries, they will serve European-style bread that she mastered in bread-baking school. Connected to the kitchen is a greenhouse where fresh herbs are accessible year-round. Breakfast comes with the room, but the Humphreys hope to make other meals available in about a year.

All of the rooms have king-sized beds, mini refrigerators, fireplaces, individual central heat and air and hot tubs. The rooms also have a seating area and a private balcony or porch. The house has more than 2,000 square feet of balcony and porch space

The decor of each room, however, offers guests something different. The Sweet Memories suite is decorated with cottage-style furniture and a king-sized quilt made by Linda's grandmother. It is the wheelchair accessible room on the ground floor.

The Butterfly suite is decorated with vases brought back from Hong Kong by Linda's mother, and an Oriental screen serves as the headboard.

The 6,600-square-foot main house will open on July 17, but the two cottages are ready for guests.

"We actually opened one cottage earlier than we planned," she said. "A man begged us to let him stay here for his honeymoon. They could only be away for one night, so we rushed to have the Bluebird Cottage finished."

The Shiloh Morning Inn is the couple's first bed and breakfast, but they have been in the hospitality business for years.

"We were called the Humphrey Hilton because a visiting preacher or politician always stayed with us. That's what happens when you live in a town with 3,500 people and no lodging. Eventually we had our house remodeled to accommodate guests," she said.

To learn more about hospitality as a profession, the Humphreys attended seminars and visited inns around the country.

They spent a year's worth of weekends with Linda's cousin, a Realtor in Ardmore, looking for the land.

"It took two years to accumulate all 72 acres. It was perfect. It had rolling hills, trees and water," Bob Humphrey said.

He was so excited he would park his truck on the hill where the main house is, stand on the hood of his truck and try to imagine the view from a second-floor balcony.

Miles of native oak and redbud mingle with the cherry, plum, apple and peach trees. Linda plans to use the yields from the trees and blackberry patch to make jam.

She took the advice from other innkeepers to include a meeting room in the floor plans.

For guests who want privacy, the cottages are not far from the main house, where they can join other guests for breakfast or have it brought to their rooms. Both cottages have screened porches with hot tubs and paths that lead through the trees to a small pond.

The Humphreys have a homepage and push technology to market the inn. For months, more than 100 people have been receiving updates on the inn.

"The response from our Internet site and our e-mail updates have been great. We got five or six calls a week asking if we have a room and we had to tell them that the inn was still under construction. The first and third weekends in July are already booked and the rest of the month is filling up fast," Bob Humphrey said.


Kendra Fox writes for the state tourism department.