My wife and I stayed here on two different days in November, while in transit to Key West and then home to Virginia. We found the Ancient City Inn while searching for unique and eccentric bed and breakfasts in St. Augustine as well as the other stops along our vacation journey. The Ancient City Inn was the third B&B we found after a fair amount of research online. What drew us in were the element of a “pleasantly haunted” home and the interesting biographies of the owners, Will and Carri. We booked it without further question.

Driving from Richmond, Virginia to St. Augustine in one stretch required a couple of phone calls to Will to update him on our progress as per our arrival time and we were treated with great care and warmth in the negotiation. Upon a late arrival near midnight, we were welcomed by Will and taken to our accommodations, the Martha Lee Room around the back of the home and on the second floor. The Martha Lee Room has a private entrance via a charming outdoor staircase painted in two pacific shades of blue as with the rest of the home. We found an inviting little porch at the top of the stairs where breakfast would be served the following morning. As it was late, Will unlocked our door and bade us goodnight after arranging a tarot reading for us the next day with Carri.

We felt immediately at home in the room and took a few minutes to explore the bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom before preparing for sleep. The touches were warm and homey and reminded my wife of her grandmother’s old home as a child visiting. A journal rested on a secretary table in the corner of the kitchenette and soon became our nighttime reading material. The journal was filled with previous travelers’ entries on experiences and “pleasant hauntings” from their stays. It gave us chills to read some of the reports, but in a warm and comforting way.

My wife slept soundly and was amazed how rested she felt in the morning, while I had difficultly and woke up many times during the night from lucid dreams of being visited by the spirits of the home. Upon inspection of the room in the morning and the few items we had placed for our “paranormal investigation”, we didn’t notice any changes or signs of a “haunting”. A little disappointed, but nonetheless, delighted with the hospitality and comfort of the inn, we found breakfast delivered in a lovely basket on our outdoor dining table at the agreed upon hour. The only critique we had for the inn was a wish that the breakfast could have been a home cooked one rather than the muffins, bananas and juice we received. We are both hearty breakfast eaters and would have been in absolute bliss with a few strips of bacon, fresh warm biscuits and a couple scrambled eggs. After getting to know Will and Carri a little better, we imagined they must have good reason for serving the more continental style offerings.

We each had our readings by Carri in the same room one after the other and took notes for each other during the sessions. Long story short, we were amazed with her accuracy and attention to detail along with absolute compassion and honesty. She provided the affirmation both of us had been looking for to take our next steps forward with our lives. After the readings, we had a great time in the metaphysical gift shop with Will as our host. We picked up some beautiful items and got great suggestions on where to spend our day in the lovely town of St. Augustine.

At the time of our visits, the guest cottage was being christened and Will gave us a tour of it before we departed. It is a fabulous space for an entire family or a romantic and private get-away for a couple to spend a few days in the city. The price is unbeatable and all the amenities you could want are on hand. We hope to be able to book it in the future. Besides the cottage and the beautiful home, the gardens and grounds are lovely and beckon you to retreat to them- be it in the oversized hammock, screened gazebo or the many little nooks in which to become lost from the rest of the world in.

If you are looking for a party house or a gimmicky packaged “ghost hunters” haunted house, this will disappoint. What the Ancient City Inn delivers on is a charming and beautiful home with gracious and honest hosts that know how to take care of the place and the people that come to stay for a while…and a “pleasant haunting” for those lucky enough to be graced by the presence of Martha Lee or Toby the “ghost cat”. The Ancient City Inn is now our “pleasantly haunted” home away from home.