The Azalea Inn

Description:

• The furnishings of this B&B are a little richer, its colors a bit more evocative, and its decor more appealingly cluttered than those of many of its nearby competitors. The setting is an Italianate house (ca. 1889) set less than 2 blocks east of Forsyth Park, within a "historically correct" garden laid out as a garden might have been in Victorian times, contrary to the modernity of its swimming pool. It was originally built for Capt. Walter Coney, an army officer whose fortune derived from a then-flourishing maritime supply company. Rooms are furnished with period antiques, and each has its own distinctive Victorian-era decor. Especially appealing is the Gentleman's Parlor, a ground-floor guest room once dominated by men discussing manly things, which still carries a hint of bourbon and cigars. More frilly and feminine is the Magnolia Room, while the Cotton Exchange guest room features a massive four-poster bed and a deck overlooking the swimming pool.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010