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Fernandina Beach/ David and Susan Caples got their start in 1980 with Amelia Island’s original B&B and lodging service, the five-room 1734 House down the street. They knew exactly what to do when this oceanfront property harboring two dilapidated cottages became available. "We built the shore house we always wanted," said Susan, a native Philadelphian who was partial to the beachy look of New England and the Jersey Shore. She and David, a New Yorker, favored the shingled, summery Nantucket look of The Wauwinet, a recently restored Nantucket resort, where they spent a fortuitous week. Their 1890s Nantucket-style lodge with a maritime theme bears an unmistakable resemblance in look and feel to The Wauwinet. It has snug common areas and a breezy wraparound porch oriented toward the ocean on the main floor, plus twenty stylish guest rooms on two upper floors. Five newer accommodations are in two adjacent cottages. All share the personal service and amenities of a small boutique hotel. Half the rooms in the main lodge yield head-on views of the ocean through big windows. All have oversize marble baths with tubs, eleven of the whirlpool variety. Beds are king or queensize. Decor in each is somewhat different. "David and I each decorated half, and guests have fun trying to guess which one of us did which room," says Susan. They usually guess wrong. Each is light and airy, with understated fabrics and a nautical motif. Televisions are hidden in unusual pine armoires custom-made for the Jekyll Island Millionaires Club. Each armoire is identical in shape but stained differently to match the character of the room. Oceanfront rooms are on the small side, with only one chair for seating and no access to the outside. "Sunset rooms" facing the street are decidedly larger. Those we saw had two chairs and a chaise lounge. Four suites in the Harris Lodge just north of the main structure come with sitting rooms and command top dollar. The Miller Cottage to the south offers two bedrooms and two baths and sleeps up to four. Guests mingle in an angular living room/library open to the busy lobby but with a warming stone fireplace and windows onto the water. The staff serves complimentary wine, cheese and hors d’oeuvres during a nightly social hour at 6. Tea, lemonade and cookies are available much of the day. A light menu of soups, salads and sandwiches is offered from after breakfast until midnight. The dining room with its big windows conveys the feeling of a ship. A friend built the cabinets around the perimeter to hold the substantial breakfast spread each morning. Domed chafing dishes contained Texas scrambled eggs, grits and cheesy potatoes the day we were there, and there were plenty of fruits and pastries alongside. The meal is taken at communal tables, or on white rockers on the porch facing the ocean beyond the dunes.. "We’re so blessed with the location and being able to have the inn become what we wanted it to be," says Susan. Their success has given them considerable reputation in the lodging industry. They run monthly seminars for aspiring innkeepers and give pointers as consultants to their colleagues. (904) 277-4851 or (888) 201-7618. Fax (904) 277-6500. E-mail: eliz/pt@worldnet.att.net For more information: www.elizabethpointelodge.com Twenty rooms, four suites and one cottage with private baths.
Doubles, $185 to $295. Suites, $240 to $395. Cottage, $$450. No smoking. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in the Southeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2000. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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