The Fairhope Inn

Tucked on South Church Street in downtown Fairhope, Alabama, The Fairhope Inn occupies a wood-frame farmhouse that has watched over the corner for more than a century. The building went up in 1906 as the Beckner house, back when Fairhope was still finding its footing as a single-tax colony that drew idealists and populist thinkers from around the country. For over fifty years a fish market ran out of the back of the house, where locals came for oysters, flounder, and blue crabs pulled straight from Mobile Bay.

The property earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, a recognition of its architectural bones and its role in the town’s early story. A decade later, around 1998, the farmhouse was reworked into a creole cottage-style restaurant and bed and breakfast, setting the template for what guests find today. Chef Tyler Kean spent years building the kitchen’s reputation before selling the property to Paige Dawson in 2019.

Dawson’s arrival kicked off a 100-day renovation that touched the restaurant, the courtyard, and the four guest rooms upstairs and off the courtyard. Designer Lila Bailey led the redesign, working alongside local artists Sarah Otts and B’Beth Weldon, whose pieces now hang throughout the rooms and common spaces. The result is a set of light-filled suites with casually elegant decor, exquisite bedding, and well-appointed details rather than a generic hotel feel.

Four rooms make up the inn’s lodging side. The Tree Top Suite, upstairs with a courtyard view, pairs a king bed with its own en suite bathroom and runs $300 a night. The Moonlight Suite, also upstairs, offers a queen bed, a comfortable sitting area, and a full en suite bath for $275.

The Carriage House sits at ground level and opens directly onto the courtyard, with a queen bed, an en suite bath, and its own living room area, also priced at $300. The Sunset Suite rounds out the lineup upstairs with a queen bed, a sitting area, and a private bath just across the hall, at $225 a night.

Every stay includes the inn’s classic Southern breakfast, served before guests head out to explore. That exploring does not take long to start: Church Street sits in the center of downtown Fairhope, a short walk from the bluffs above Mobile Bay and from the boutiques, cafes, and the town’s celebrated indie bookstore. South toward Point Clear, guests can find the decades-old Grand Hotel, an eighty-year-old candy store, and a network of bike paths that trace the bay.

The inn has been recognized as Best Bed and Breakfast in Alabama in the Best of Bama Awards, a nod to the hospitality that carries over from its restaurant side. Reservations for rooms are handled by phone at (251) 928-6226, and the same property also operates a full restaurant and hosts private events in its courtyard and dining rooms, though the lodging experience stands on its own with a distinct check-in and set of suites.

Guests who book the Carriage House get the closest thing to a private cottage on the property, with direct courtyard access and a separate living area that suits longer stays or travelers who want a bit more separation from the main house. Those in the Tree Top or Moonlight suites are steps from the courtyard staircase and close enough to the kitchen to catch the smell of breakfast on their way down. Given the building’s age and its historic designation, rooms fill quickly during Fairhope’s busier festival weekends, and calling ahead is the most reliable way to lock in a preferred suite.

The grounds have their own charm apart from the guest rooms. A 2,000-square-foot walled courtyard holds a restored fountain, a gazebo, and mature landscaping, and the side porches carry the traditional Southern haint blue paint once believed to ward off wasps and unwanted spirits. Inside, the Polo Bar displays paintings by B’Beth Weldon, a Fairhope artist whose polo-themed work has shown in galleries around the world and who grew up watching matches at the nearby Point Clear Polo Club in the 1960s. The four dining rooms and courtyard views give overnight guests plenty of ground to explore without ever leaving the property, on top of the walk into town.