My earliest impression of a bed and breakfast came from television. Thanks to Dick and Joanna and the Stratford Inn on Newhart, I learned about the craziness surrounding the life of an innkeeper. Of course not every inn has diva housekeepers, forgetful handymen and a trio of entertaining backwoodsmen barging in at every moment.

Fully jumping into my new position as the marketing and public relations manager for SuiteExchange.com’s parent company, Convoyant, I wanted to immerse myself in the bed and breakfast world. And what better way than by watching movies and television shows featuring, or inspired, by inns.

Having so much fun in my “research,” I thought I would share my finds from both the big screen and the boob tube. First, let’s tackle bevy of b&b beauties on film.

Groundhog Day

This Bill Murray favorite captures the comedy of staying in a bed and breakfast with nosy fellow guests, chatty innkeepers, over-abundance of antiques and doilies, and more. Although portrayed as warm and inviting, the inn is also hilariously stereotypical of the bed and breakfast of the last century.

Royal Victorian Manor Bed and Breakfast located in Woodstock, Ill., was renamed “The Cherry Street Inn” for the 1993 movie. This majestic painted lady is a celebrated as a historic and cultural vacation retreat in a town known for being the picturesque backdrop for Groundhog Day. The town does regularly gather in Woodstock Town Square each February 2 for a day full of activities.

Nights in Rodanthe

Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel, Nights in Rodanthe introduces audiences to The Serendipity, an inn located in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. When asked by a friend to “house-sit” her bed and breakfast, Diane Lane’s character is merely looking for a long-deserved break from her stressful home life. What she finds, however, is an incredible connection to the inn’s only guest, Richard Gere.

Now known as the Inn at Rodanthe, the gorgeous b&b has had an incredible journey since co-starring in the 2008 film. Hurricanes, encroaching waters and eroding sands left this stunning structure in jeopardy of being destroyed. With the help of new owners, the building was actually shored up and physically moved nearly a mile from it’s original location, allowing visitors to continue enjoying the inn they fell in love with during the movie.

Dirty Dancing

This iconic movie not only starred a young Jennifer Grey opposite her rugged dance teaching lover Patrick Swayze, but sharing the film’s spotlight was the story’s setting — the holiday resort known as Kellerman’s in New York’s Catskill Mountains.

The lush backdrop of the cult-classic was actually filmed at the popular Mountain Lake Resort near Roanoke, VA, an inn where you can embark on a Dirty Dancing weekend adventure with a location tour, dance lessons, trivia contests and even Dirty Dancing every evening.

Bed and Breakfast

The first of two movies by the same name was released in 1991 and starred Colleen Dewhurst and former Bondman Roger Moore. Colleen, in her last film role before her death, stars as the matriarch of three generations of women struggling to run a failing bed and breakfast. All three women’s lives are happily turned upside down when a mysterious stranger (Moore) enters their lives.

Bed and Breakfast: Love is a Happy Accident

What begins as a property dispute over a soon-to-open bed and breakfast in California’s wine country, quickly turns into a romantic comedy in this 2010 film starring Dean Cain. Amid the legal tension and bickering, Cain’s character eventually succumbs to the charms of the Brazilian saleswoman played by Juliana Paes. This movie is a fun romantic romp with a comedic backstory of struggling to manage a successful inn.

Leap Year

After Anna’s boyfriend fails to propose to her before he leaves on a trip to Dublin, Ireland, she decides to follow him and to the proposing instead. Energized by centuries-old Irish folklore that allows woman to propose to their men on Leap Day, she decides to follow him to Ireland and do the question popping herself.

When her plane is forced to land in Wales due to bad weather, the determined Anna recruits an ornery yet handsome innkeeper, Declan, into driving her to Dublin. Despite the inconvenience, Declan is eager to earn some extra money to help save his inn.

Set among the picturesque villages of Wales, this romantic comedy offers a unique international twist to the innkeeping industry.

Holiday Inn

This Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire classic that first introduced everyone to the beloved classic “White Christmas,” is still on my must-see list. In my research, however, here’s what I’ve learned about the bed and breakfast backdrop of this oldie but goodie.

Many scenes from the movie were filmed in at Village Inn in Sonoma, California’s wine country. Originally built in 1906 as a summer vacation home for a family in the timber business, the building was gradually improved as San Francisco summer travelers visited the area. Shortly after the film was released in 1942, the inn was renamed Holiday Inn to capitalize on the big-screen connection.

Here are some more movies that feature or were filmed at stunning bed and breakfast inns.

• Twilight — Near Portland, Oregon instead of Forks, Washington, the View Point Inn was the setting for many scenes in the teen vampire love story.
• 5 Year Engagement – Beltane Ranch in California’s Sonoma Valley is the setting for several scenes in this newly released comedy. The working ranch takes on the name The Drunken Pig in the movie.
  
• Wedding Crashers –Inn at Perry Cabin in Michaels, Maryland, was the setting for a lavish wedding hosted by Christopher Walken and promptly “crashed” by playboys Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson in this 2005 comedy.

Television has also been a popular showcase for many homey hideaways.

Newhart

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the series Newhart, starring comedian Bob Newhart, was set at a quirky  bed and breakfast, the Stratford Inn in rural Vermont. Scenes of the exterior of the inn were actually images of the Waybury Inn in East Middlebury, Vermont.

Built in 1810, the Waybury Inn was originally built as a boarding house and tavern by John Foot and for more than 200 years, the inn has continued to host guests visiting the Green Mountains. Visitors to the inn will find little pieces of Newhart memorabilia tucked here and there.

Grimm

The majestic Lion and the Rose Victorian Bed & Breakfast Inn and it’s lush gardens in Portland, Oregon, become the Bramble Haus Bed and Breakfast in the “Lonelyhearts” episode of this new NBC series.

When investigating a string of female disappearances and deaths, two Portland Police detectives are led to the Bramble Haus where they meet mysterious innkeeper Billy Capra, a man who has a way of placing women under a powerful love spell, luring them back to his romantic inn and then caging them up in the basement so he can later impregnate them.

Tori and Dean Inn Love

Admittedly, Tori Spelling’s reality TV show Home Sweet Hollywood was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me a few years back, but I had to laugh when I found a few video clips of their first foray into reality tv and running their first inn.

Known for her role as Donna in the ’90s teen drama Beverly Hills 90210, Tori Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott, just weeks before the arrival of their first baby, decided to leap into the innkeeping business by opening Chateau La Rue in Fallbrook, California.

The series, which aired in 2007, chronicled all the crazy ups and downs, disasters and dilemmas, triumphs and more that are inherent when prepping and opening a chic bed and breakfast. This clip, “What About the Guests,” is a hilarious example of how two Hollywood-types cope with innkeeping stress.

The Office

Yes, even an episode of the crazy Scranton, PA office of Dunder-Mifflin featured a bed and breakfast, although not one that would likely be too popular — The Schrute Family Beet Farm Bed and Breakfast.

Jim and Pam, who thrive on tormenting Dwight, decide to book a weekend at the themed b&b and are treated to a bedtime storytelling as Dwight reads from Harry Potter to Jim, Pam and Dwight’s brother Mose.

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Now I’m sure I’ve forgotten many other TV shows and movies featuring inns, so maybe you can help. Leave a comment to share your favorite b&b moment on either the big screen or little.