Train Inn

Train Inn is my favorite B&B mostly because the owner is so cool. He feels like a friend. We might invite him to our wedding. The Train Inn is in a perfect location, within safe walking distance to a variety of cute cafes, restaurants, and bars, not to mention the train station, which makes it a perfect destination for a weekend getaway from Chicago! The first time we stayed here we booked a last minute room on New Years Eve and were surprised that Paul had vacancy AND the rates weren’t inflated because of the holiday like most hotels or B&Bs. When we arrived Paul and his friend who came over for a celebratory NYE beer gave us lots of tips and then we headed out for the night… we stumbled on some incredible soul food and martinis at a nearby restaurant’s grand opening (the owners whole family was there from out of town to celebrate!), and we played pool at a dive bar with some non-​student locals when midnight hit, and then went back to the soul food restaurant for more martinis and fun times because it was so jolly good. (Even if you’re not a student you can have a fun unique getaway experience in Carbondale.) THEN we went back to the Train Inn and tried out the backyard hot tub which he gave us permission to use at our leisure– and discovered a color changing rainbow fountain setting which is probably the most beautiful thing we’ve ever seen. We felt SO comfortable (Paul’s fault), that we then stayed up watching movies and eating tomorrow’s breakfast from the fridge, and when breakfast time rolled around there was a NEW amazing breakfast waiting for us of crunchy French toast, yogurt parfaits, country ham, juices, great coffee, fresh fruit, and another couple who were interesting and fun to talk to, plus Paul was more delighted that we had a fun time than upset we lost control and raided his fridge. Paul guided us toward some hiking in the area (we had a car) and offered to let us come back to our room after check out time if we needed to kill time before my train to Chicago late in the day. We enjoyed the area and found things to do, but the offer was exceptionally kind! Our short rendezvous at the Train Inn was so fun we came back to Carbondale a second time just to stay here, and that time we did part of the «wine trail», which consisted of real gross local wine and beer but a fun and beautiful experience in the hilly forest area south of Carbondale nonetheless that I actually would recommend. The house itself is neat– Paul’s done a lot of artful restoration over the years– and Train Inn strikes a good balance with original features and antique décor, but updated kitchen and bathrooms, which is a really important perk! Never was a consideration until we stayed in some other historic B&Bs! Really can’t recommend this place enough. Enjoy!