Telegraph House

Description:

• The rooms in this 1861 hotel right on Baddeck's bustling main street are divided between the original inn and motel units on a rise behind the main building. This is where Alexander Graham Bell stayed when he first visited Baddeck, and the units are still rooming-house small. Four rooms on the top floor share two bathrooms between them, an arrangement that works fine for families but might give others a bit of pause. The larger, if unexciting, motel rooms in back (especially room nos. 22-32) are actually better -- some with small sitting decks and glimpses of the lake outside their front doors -- unless you want to watch the town's coming and goings. For that, guests can linger on a front or side porch (there are several sitting nooks) and watch the commerce on the main drag. The dining room serves traditional meals at lunch and dinner. Expect shepherd's pie, meatloaf, turkey, fish cakes, and big desserts.

• © Frommer's 2012