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Travel
back to Yesterday
Inn offers quiet getaway right on lake
Lake Wylie Magazine
Volume 16, Issue XXXV
November 2, 1999
by Gene Rogalski
Lake Wylie Magazine Editor
On a quiet cove at the
northern end of Lake Wylie sits Victorian Villa, a bed-and-breakfast
inn that transports guests to an earlier era when gingerbread and
gazebos were normal features of a house.
 Built
in the early 1920's, the house once resided on Wilkinson Boulevard
in Charlotte before Chan Thompson decided to move it to his family's
waterfront property on Sadler Cove off Paw Creek in 1980.
"It took about 25
people to move it - very slowly," said Thompson, during a
recent visit to the inn. At one time, the only dwelling on the
one-acre site was a cabin when his parents lived there; the property
has been in the family for 48 years, he said.
Thompson fretted over
what to do with the house. He studied Victorian-style homes in Savannah
Ga., and Charleston during visits there and finally hired an
architect to redesign the Villa based on what Thompson had seen and
liked.
In March of 1994,
Thompson decided to turn the house into a bed-and-breakfast
inn. Because of the many rules and regulations of Mecklenburg
County, the Bed and Breakfast Association encouraged him not to do
one, Thompson said. In order to qualify, he needed seven
permits - and all of the accompanying inspections.
But Thompson, who resume
included contractor, persevered.
In October of 1997,
Victorian Villa, with its six unique bedrooms, opened.
"It was kind of
slow at first," Thompson said of business, "but it's
gradually gotten better and better."
Today, the inn is a
favorite destination for wedding parties, business meetings and
travelers.
"I've had people
from all 50 states stay here," said Thompson, who also hosts
quite a few Europeans.
Thompson says Swiss and
German visitors have told him they hear so many horror stories about
American motels that they'd rather stay in a bed-and-breakfast.
Many local people, once
they found out about the inn, also have visited. "I was
surprised how much business I've gotten locally, "said
Thompson. "A lot of people are looking for a place to get
away - for an anniversary or a special date."
On a recent Saturday
evening, guests included a couple from California, one from Form
Mill and one from Greensboro.
The California couple,
Lisa and David Kuznitz, was staying for a week. Kuznitz flew
into Charlotte to buy equipment for his company and get trained on
using it. Lisa, mother of four children, agreed to accompany
him, so they could vacation together.
And how did they find
Victorian Villa? "Through the Internet," Lisa said.
That's how many guests
have found Victorian Villa, according to Thompson, His web site,
www.victorianvillainn.com
, is linked to the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce site as well as
the Charlotte Visitors Bureau.
The inn's close
proximity to Charlotte-Douglas Airport helps business also.
Victorian Villa is located off Old Dowd Road on Windy Grove Road
which dead-ends at the lake.
The neighborhood is
residential, but Thompson has turned his acreage into commercial
property.
"I went to each of
my neighbors before I started and said I would like to have your
blessings. Everyone said "Go for it," he said.
When the inn hosts a big
wedding party, he asks participants to park at the nearby Berryhill
Elementary School and shuttles them to the Villa by van. He
also won't let guests park on the road. "I don't abuse my
neighbors. I treat them like I want to be treated," said
Thompson.
The inn has hosted big
and small gatherings, from 25 to 150 people.
First Union and
BellSouth, among others, have used the Inn's 35-by-20 foot banquet
room for meetings. And company executives have stayed in the Inn's
six bedrooms, which boast such names as
The
Elizabeth Room,
The
Alexander Room,
The
Romeo Room,
The
Juliet Room and
The
Chandler Suite, (a two-room unit at the top of the stairs that
shares a common bathroom.)
Each of the other suites
has its own bathroom and climate control unit as well as television
and VCRs. One, The Juliet Room, also has a Jacuzzi, king-size,
antique bed and fireplace. The Romeo Room has a unique vaulted
ceiling and kitchenette. Several on the poolside, have
spectacular views of the lake.
The antique furniture
which occupies the Inn was collected by Thompson during his travels
in the Southeast working in the family business, installing pay
telephones.
One antique couch in the
sitting room near the Inn's main entrance was bought in Gastonia
from the Garrison family. The other, an almost identical mate,
was found at an antique shop in Rutherford, N.C.
"I've taken each
room and tried to give each it's own character," Thompson said.
Many of the Inn's
features came from nearby: the slate on the roof came from a  Baptist
Church in Charlotte as did the roof ornaments; stained glass came
from area homes that were being demolished; the
entranceway
doors with a "V" etched in the glass came from the
Elizabeth house in Charlotte. But the French doors in the
entryway came from an airport in Paris.
The floor is made of
200-year-old heart pine which came from a house in Georgia, Thompson
said. He wanted to use heart pine because it is stronger, he
feels.
Most of the work on the
home was done by Thompson and family members. The slate roof
was installed by Thompson and his father-in-law, painstakingly,
piece by piece. Thompson also built the mantle in the sitting
room, where scrapbooks line the fireplace chronicling the history of
Victorian Villa - from its move from Charlotte - to wedding
celebrations.
Thompson and wife,
Nancy, and teen-age daughter, Amy, lived at the Inn until this year,
when they bought the house next door. Thompson would cook his
guests breakfast in the morning.
"I like people and
thought it would be so fun to meet all the people that have come
through here," he said.
Now that the Inn is
slowly, but surely, becoming a success, Thompson has his sights set
on entertaining his guests in a different way. He is working
on staging an Agatha Christie-type murder mystery weekend, where
guests act out parts and have to solve a "who-done-it."
Thompson said he is
excited about the possibilities and has been touch with a drama
professor at Davidson College to help with arrangements.
Even though running an
inn is a constant upkeep, Thompson says he would not trade the
experience. "This has been the most fun thing I've done in my
entire life," he said.
He gets the most
satisfaction, he says, from the grateful guests he hosts.
"Grandmothers have
come up to me after a wedding and just hugged me and squeezed my
neck. That kind of reward is priceless," says Thompson. |
