Blue Door News - August 2008

July brought us new visitors and  new experiences. With those visits we are seeing an increased number of entries in our in-room guest journals. The entries are a delight for us to read and have provided for some interesting topics for breakfast conversation. Our guests are also appreciating the unique descriptions from previous visitors for activity suggestions for their stay. We have also begun to collect a number of  frequently asked questions.

Both of these interactions have prompted us to re-work a part of our website to help our guests in planning stays at the Blue Door on Baltimore. Check out our new Trip Planner Link. Take a peek at http://bluedoorbaltimore.com/site/eventsactivities.

Our most frequently asked questions revolve around distances to various locations around Baltimore. Our Trip Planner has a link to Distance Locations to help answer those questions.  Our guest adventures have been added to our Baltimore Adventure link. We have organized them  into a 3-day intineray. There are several options suggested  for each day, organized to help you get the most out of your Baltimore visit.

We hope you like the addition to our site and find it useful.

Blue Door on Baltimore News - July 2008

We thank all of our guests for taking the time to share their thoughts about their stay at the Blue Door on Baltimore. The comments in our in-room guest journals have been very uplifting. Each morning, our new guests bring thoughts and questions to our breakfast table after reading them, They often go off to that same place you wrote about.

We very much enjoy your comments telling us how you will need to friend or family member about your stay with us. To make it a little easier share a Blue Door Experience with a freiend or loved- one we have added new information to our specials page for  purchasing gift certificates.

You can call us, of course, to purchase an exclusive Blue Door on Baltimore gift certitcate. We also have direct access from our web site to purchase BedandBreakfast.com gift certificates. These are not only good for a stay at the Blue Door, but at 4,000 other particpating Inns and Bed and Breakfasts.

Gift certificates are only one of several adjustments we have in the works for our website. We want your time on our website to be as enjoyable as your stay with us, so keep an eye out for some new things in the coming weeks.

Blue Door on Baltimore News - June 2008

The time has flown by since our last newsletter post. May and June have been very busy. It has been our pleasure to host guests attending, graduations, weddings, and neighborhood celebrations. There have also been first honeymoons, second honeymoons, and escapes  for couples seeking some quality time for themselves. We are so happy to have been part of all of these events.

With summer now upon us and disires of many to escape for a bit of time have been dampened by the daily news of rising fuel costs and U.S. economic uncertainty. We are offering our part to help Blue Door visitors make the most of Baltimore. Please chack out our special page for some of these opportunities.

One More Harbor Night Summer Special– Enjoy your favorite restaurant one more time or get to that one thing you missed on your to-do list. Book two nights and we will discount your third night $100 for you to enjoy one more night in Baltimore on us.

Summer Transportation Special– Transportation costs have become a concern for summer travel this year. Stay 3 nights or more at the Blue Door on Baltimore and receive a $50 discount for your stay to offset costs of your trip. Offer cannot be combined with other promotions or special stay pricing. Please call us for this offer.

Frequent Stay Program – Stay with us for Seven Nights or refer Five of your friends and we will give you one-weekday night free during your next stay at the Blue Door. Your next stay may have a free night in store for you.

Do you have a group event in the works? Would you like to rent all three of our rooms and possibly cater a special meal? We can work with you to make your event extra special.

Blue Door on Baltimore News

Baltimore, MD February, 2008 – It is official. We are now open for business. Our final inspections were signed off late in January. And, our first guests are arriving. Our reception continues to be very favorable, continuing to let us know we have created a very special place in the Blue Door on Baltimore.

Current Activities – We continue to be hard at work on our website and marketing efforts. Our room pictures are now live on the site, and we have opened our Blog for news and guest comments. Please enjoy the content.

We have joined the Baltimore Visitor and Convention Center Association so you will see our brochures and our presence on their website along with all of the great things to do in Baltimore. It is a must stop for any visit. Check out their website http://www.baltimore.org/ for things happening during your travel time to Baltimore.

Check out our Press Release on our Blog. It was released mid month and we have been getting quite a bit of positive feedback. Also our reservation system is up and running so that you can check our availability.

All systems are GO.

What’s next – Come stay with us. The Blue Door on Baltimore is ready to serve your travel needs to Baltimore. We look forward to meeting you. 

Your Innkeepers,

Roger and Cecelia

Blue Door On Baltimore News 

Baltimore, MD December 15, 2007 – The renovation activity at the Blue Door on Baltimore seems to be un-ending. If this is your first newsletter, thank you for taking some time to read or digest of current activities.  

The Blue Door on Baltimore, when completed will have three luxury king-size guest rooms serving our guests Casual Elegance by the Harbor. The Building is a 3800 square foot restored Baltimore Row House located in the Butcher’s hill area of Baltimore, rich in history and steps away from Patterson Park.  We are minutes from all Baltimore has to offer including close proximity to the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus. The Inner Harbor, Little Italy, Canton and Fells Point are on all sides of our neighborhood making the number of things to see and do almost limitless. 

Current Activities – From our last newsletter, the clouds are now subsiding on the plaster dust and we were beginning to get closure on some the many tasks at hand. As all construction projects go, some unforeseen complications are bound to come up. And, we realized those issues in late November pushing our hoped for December opening to late in January 2008. We are glad that the month of November and the obstacles put in front of us are now well behind us.  

The good report - At this time we are happy to say that we are down to finishing up some fire code construction activities. All of our guest room, hallway, and common room structural work is now complete. There will be a little more plaster and saw dust to live through and we are hopeful that final finishing work and painting will be done at the ringing out of this year. 

Everything on the Guest side of the Blue Door is ready, including our luxury amenity selection. All of our furniture is in place. The Kitchen systems are at the ready and our special food service items are arriving. All that remains is our Photographer to come by one last time, after the remaining dust is swept away, so that we can present the photos of our rooms to you on our website.

What’s next – Well, there is still a bit more construction and painting in store over the next weeks while our necessary Fire and Heath code requirements (sprinkler systems, Fire rated doors, paperwork and inspections) are completed. Then it is off to final inspections, and approvals for our Business License.  

And, we continue to be hard at work to let more folks know more about us.  All the open areas of our website have been populated so that our guests can get a complete picture of what we offer. As we near the completion of our Licensing activity we will also be reaching out to many of our local business and organizations. 

If you have not taken a look at our specials page yet, please do. We have created some specials that we hope will be of interest to a very wide audience of guests. 

That is all that is ready for press today from the Blue Door on Baltimore. Please stay tuned to our progress and we look forward to possibly serving you as a guest in the very near future. 

Your Innkeepers,

Roger and Cecelia

Blue Door on Baltimore News

 Baltimore, MD October 15, 2007 – The renovations continue at the Blue Door on Baltimore. Thank you for taking some time to read this month’s newsletter to find out more about our current activities. Please feel free to sign up to join our mailing list to get continuous updates. 

The Blue Door on Baltimore, when completed will have three luxury king-size guest rooms serving our guests Casual Elegance by the Harbor. The Building is a 3800 square foot restored Baltimore Row House located in the Butcher’s hill area of Baltimore, rich in history and steps away from Patterson Park.  We are minutes from all Baltimore has to offer including close proximity to the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus. The Inner Harbor, Little Italy, Canton and Fells Point are on all sides of our neighborhood making the number of things to see and do almost limitless. 

Current Activities – In our last newsletter we were very much surrounded by plaster and saw dust. The clouds are now subsiding and we are getting closure on some the many tasks at hand. Current scheduling, barring any major new finds in final construction efforts and necessary inspections, has us optimistic for a possible mid-December opening.  

Much of our guest room, hallway, and common room structural work is now complete, and many buckets of paint have been purchased and applied. One guest room bathroom and portions of our grand staircase remain to be finished in our planned building improvements. Our plumbing changes are complete, as well as the many adjustments to our electrical and alarm systems.  The business’s laundry facilities are nearing complete as is the innkeeper quarters. Decorating has begun with a majority of the furnishings purchased and placed in their planned locations. 

On an exiting note - our guest rooms were recently put on display for the Butcher’s Hill Historic Home Tour. The reception from the 200+ people that visited us confirmed that we are moving the right direction in creating an unique experience at the Blue Door. Comments like “Can we Live Here” and “ When can I send my company co-workers and relatives” where exactly what we have been hoping to hear.   

What’s next – Well, there is still a bit more construction and painting in store over the next weeks. We will be completing our one remaining Guest Bathroom remaining to be completed, which will happen fairly quickly once all of our building improvement inspections are completed in the next week. And then we are off to finishing our necessary Fire and Heath code requirements (sprinkler systems, Fire rated doors, paperwork and inspections). 

And, we are also hard at work to let more folks know more about us.  This will include continued website additions. Room pictures will be on their way soon. We hope you visit our site again. 

That is all that is ready for press today from the Blue Door on Baltimore. Please stay tuned to our progress and we look forward to possibly serving you as a guest in the near future. 

Your Innkeepers,

Roger and Cecelia

Blue Door on Baltimore News

Baltimore, MD August 1, 2007 – The renovations continue on track at the Blue Door on Baltimore for a projected Fall 2007 opening. We are pleased that you are taking some time to read this newsletter to find out more about us. Thank you for visiting and please feel free to sign up for our mailing list to get continuous updates. 

The Blue Door on Baltimore, when completed will have three luxury king-size guest rooms serving our guests Casual Elegance by the Harbor. The Building is a 3800 square foot restored Baltimore Row House located in the Butcher’s hill area of Baltimore, rich in history and steps away from Patterson Park.  We are minutes from all Baltimore has to offer including close proximity to the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus. The Inner Harbor, Little Italy, Canton and Fells Point are on all sides of our neighborhood making the number of things to see and do almost limitless. 

We were drawn to this property by its location, beautiful first-floor Parlor and Dining Rooms, Chef’s kitchen, views from its outdoor balconies, and the sizes of the potential guest rooms. Of the many properties that we looked at, we kept being drawn back to the house that had the Blue Door on Baltimore Street. Well, the property was purchased and The Blue Door stuck as its name. 

Current Activities – The building’s restoration was actually completed approximately six years ago. The extent of the current changes underway will allow the Blue Door take on its new life as a Bed and Breakfast. These changes include the addition of private baths for each guest room with both a claw-foot soaking tub and a separate shower, building of the owner’s quarters, and compliance to Baltimore City Fire and Health Department Code. 

At this date our Innkeeper’s office is up and running. The Guest Library, which will also provide Business support for our traveling working-guests with a printer, fax, and supplies, has been built and is being stocked. The fire-rated drywall has all been hung in our hallways and is ready for paint. Guest rooms are receiving fresh coats of paint; and a lot of painting there is.  And other Inn keeping support areas are well under construction. 

Our Fire sprinkler system is under design and soon ready to implement. Plans have been put in place for the guest baths and construction is due to commence. Needless to say it is a little dusty around the house today but we look to be on track. 

What’s next – Well, more construction and painting is in store over the next weeks. And, we are also at work letting folks know about us.  This will include more website additions. We hope you visit our site again. In addition to some of the amenities described, one member of our Inn Keeping Couple is a certified Yoga instructor and personal trainer. In our yearly calendar we will be featuring Yoga weekends. If yoga is your interest either in a daily activity or as a get-away weekend, please let us know and we will provide you with more information. 

If you are in the area on October 14, 2007, please visit the Butcher’s Hill Historic Home Tour. We will be one of the houses on the Tour. We currently are on target to have most, if not all, of our construction done by that date. It is hoped that we may be approved to be open for business shortly after that date. That will be dependant upon necessary inspections.

 That is all that is ready for press today from the Blue Door on Baltimore. Please stay tuned to our progress and we look forward to possibly serving you as a guest in the near future. 

Your Innkeepers,Roger and Cecelia

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