A Grapevine Favorite
Garden Manor An Outstanding B&B Experience
 

As a busy real estate agent working in NE Tarrant County, I'm guilty of blowing right past great venues that make this area amazing.

Fortunately, my wife, Karla, and I decided to celebrate our April anniversary by staying close to home.  That put our radar on Judy & Gunther Dusek's Garden Manor Bed & Breakfast in Grapevine.  Great venue not blown past! 

I'll admit to initially being skeptical of B&Bs, overall.  It just seemed like an odd idea, staying in a stranger's home.  But staying at Garden Manor feels more like staying with your favorite aunt.  An aunt who owns a sweet Southern Georgian-style masterpiece.  An aunt who's a hospitality specialist.

After a career in healthcare, Judy bought the home in 2005, and to hear her describe it, the place was a shambles.  Extensive renovations have brought the home back to its former glory and then some, when you include landscaping.  Which explains why so many couples also choose Garden Manor as the location for their weddings and receptions.  The backyard gardens are beautifully designed and maintained.  Perfect for a wedding.

She credits an overly-eager guest with hurrying the renovations along.  He insisted on staying there before the scheduled launch date.  Carpenters and painters were feverishly preparing the home, which has nine-foot ceilings, but they made the revised deadline.

You have to love a business that has passionate customers before opening day.  Yet Garden Manor is flourishing where others have failed.  It remains the only B&B operating in NE Tarrant County.  Evidently, conventional wisdom in the B&B world holds that eight bedrooms are necessary for success.  Judy has only four bedrooms and never intended to host more.  So consider that rule rewritten.

Before booking, I read many of the online reviews.  Glowing.  In fact, I only found one complaint - the wood floors upstairs squeak slightly.  It was the only negative point in all the reviews I saw, and Judy felt strongly enough about it to answer.  She assured the writer that the sound could only be heard in the downstairs living and dining rooms.  True enough, I found!  However, personally, I like old wood floors that creak.  There's a sense of history about them, which I find attractive.

Regarding the downstairs, the front door stays locked at all times.  You can't just show up there unannounced to scope out the situation and take pictures.  (So.  That'll teach me.)  Judy doesn't want her guests being disturbed, and that point is non-negotiable.

Some final positives: The Duseks must be investing serious money on bedding, which smells like lavender, because it feels like strictly high-end stuff.  Also, the breakfast is everything the reviews said: delicious.  And Judy is your server!  The place is very clean and tastefully decorated.  Large front porches on both floors with high-back wooden rocking chairs.  Booking online is very easy.

From Garden Manor, you can follow a brochure that guides you on a walking wine tour of Grapevine's numerous vineyards and tasting rooms.

Take a virtual tour, book your reservations or read reviews at www.gardenmanorbandb.com.  Tell Judy and Gunther that Gary sent you.

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