The Hatter Country Inn

The Hatter Country Inn sits on Alabama Highway 117 in Mentone, a small bed and breakfast built around two whimsical guest suites and a companion cafe that shares its Alice in Wonderland inspired branding. The inn pairs its rooms with The Hatter Cafe next door, giving guests a place to eat without leaving the property, and the whole operation trades on a playful theme that fits a town already known for its arts community and offbeat character.

The two suites take their names and decor from the same storybook world. Mentone Dreams is built around a king bed with a private en suite bath and a reading sanctuary tucked into the room, meant for two guests who want a quiet retreat rather than a large group setup. The Royal Suite leans into a Queen of Hearts theme and sleeps up to four, combining a king bed with a twin trundle and a pull out twin, along with its own large private bathroom. Both rooms open onto a private porch fitted with a two person jacuzzi hot tub, one looking out over the countryside and the other tucked closer to the back of the property, and both are priced at a base rate of $179 a night with an additional cleaning fee, pet fee for guests traveling with animals, and local taxes applied at checkout.

What sets The Hatter Country Inn apart from a standard bed and breakfast is its explicit embrace of theme over neutrality. Instead of the usual quilted, farmhouse aesthetic common to mountain inns, the rooms lean into color, pattern, and storybook references, an approach that has made the property a favorite for guests celebrating anniversaries, proposals, or simply looking for something different from a chain hotel room. The private porches and hot tubs give each suite its own outdoor space, useful during Mentone’s cooler months when the mountain views are at their sharpest and during the warmer season when the porch becomes the best seat in the house for watching the sun go down over the countryside.

Extra guest fees apply at $20 per person beyond the base two guest rate, worth noting for anyone planning to book the Royal Suite at full capacity with all four sleeping spots filled. Guests booking either room typically pair the stay with a visit to the attached cafe for breakfast or coffee, a convenience that separates this inn from properties where guests have to drive into downtown Mentone just to find a meal in the morning before heading out for the day.

Mentone itself plays into the inn’s pitch to visitors. The town bills itself as the gateway to the Appalachians and hosts a spring Rhododendron Festival and a fall Colorfest that draw regional crowds, while winter visitors head to nearby Cloudmont Ski Resort and summer guests cool off in the area’s rivers and swimming holes. The Hatter Country Inn markets itself as a basecamp for all of it, close enough to DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon National Preserve for day trips but private enough that guests are not sharing a hallway with a dozen other rooms.

The inn is reachable at 4277 Alabama Highway 117 in Mentone, by phone at (256) 634-2018, or by email through its website, which also handles direct booking for both suites. As a single small property with two rooms and an attached cafe rather than a multi property rental operation, The Hatter Country Inn represents the kind of independently run lodging that keeps Mentone’s overnight options varied, standing apart from both the area’s cabin rental businesses and its handful of traditional bed and breakfasts by leaning hard into a distinct, memorable theme rather than a generic mountain aesthetic.