Every year, hundreds of guests choose Spencer House for a romantic getaway, anniversary celebration, family visit, business trip, or vacation exploring Erie. Some leave with wonderful memories, and many take a few extra minutes to share those memories with others by writing a review. Those reviews are the reason Spencer House has now earned TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award for seven consecutive years.
Unlike many awards, Travelers’ Choice isn’t decided by a panel of judges. It’s based entirely on consistently excellent reviews from real guests over the previous year, making it one of the most meaningful recognitions a hospitality business can receive.
Seven consecutive years of that recognition feels like a good reason to pause and think about what actually earns it, year after year.
It isn’t a strategy. We don’t have a formula for five-star reviews taped up in the kitchen. What we have is a fairly simple idea about what a guest should feel like when they walk through the door: like they’ve arrived somewhere they’re genuinely welcome, not somewhere they’re being processed.
It Starts with Treating the House Like a Home
Lisa and I don’t run Spencer House the way you’d run a hotel. We live here. This is our home, and when guests walk through the front door, they’re stepping into it much the same way a friend would.
That distinction shapes almost everything we do. It’s why we remember names, ask about the trip that brought someone to Erie, recommend restaurants and attractions based on what each guest enjoys, and why the front porch almost always has an open chair waiting for anyone who feels like sitting down for a conversation.
A hotel is built to deliver consistency on a large scale. A bed and breakfast, when it’s doing its job well, is built to create a personal experience on a much smaller one. That’s a trade we’ll happily make every single day.
Our goal has never been simply to provide a place to spend the night. We hope every guest leaves Spencer House with a memorable experience. Sometimes that memory comes from celebrating an anniversary, exploring Erie for the first time, or learning about the history of this 150-year-old home. Other times, it’s something much quieter: finally slowing down, enjoying an unhurried breakfast, sleeping deeply in a comfortable bed, and returning home feeling rested and refreshed.
We never want anyone to feel like just another reservation. If guests leave thinking, “That was exactly what we needed,” then we know we’ve done our job.
We especially enjoy welcoming guests who are experiencing their first bed and breakfast stay. It’s rewarding to see them discover what makes the experience different and to hear them say they wish they had tried a B&B sooner, sometimes while already talking about coming back.
Those moments are especially meaningful to us because we still remember our own first bed and breakfast experience. What began with that first stay eventually became a long-term dream of owning a B&B ourselves. That dream became a reality in August 2018, when we became first-time innkeepers with the purchase of Spencer House.
In a way, when we introduce someone to their first bed and breakfast experience, we’re reminded of where our own journey began. We never know when one of those stays might become a memory that stays with someone for years, just as ours did with us.
The Small Things Aren’t Small to Us
Breakfast has never been something we simply check off a list. We are usually up long before our guests, preparing breakfast from scratch each morning. Whether it’s stuffed blueberry French toast, cinnamon chip Pancakes, baked pears, or one of our seasonal favorites, breakfast often becomes the place where conversations begin, friendships are formed, and guests start planning their next visit before they’ve even finished their coffee.
Over the years, we’ve learned that the things guests remember most aren’t always the big ones. Often, they’re the little touches and personal moments that make a stay feel special: a warm welcome at the front door, a restaurant recommendation that turns out to be exactly what someone was looking for, or taking a little extra time to share the history of Spencer House and Millionaires Row because someone is genuinely interested in hearing more.
None of those things are particularly grand on their own. But together, they can be the difference between simply having a nice place to stay and having an experience worth remembering.
We Never Take the Streak for Granted
Seven consecutive Travelers’ Choice Awards represent seven years of guests deciding their stay was worth writing about.
That isn’t something we earned once and get to coast on. Every season starts back at zero.
The reviews that earned these awards came from people who stayed in a particular room, enjoyed a particular breakfast, celebrated an anniversary, visited family, attended a wedding, or simply needed a relaxing weekend away. Every review represents a unique experience, and every new guest gives us another opportunity to earn that trust all over again.
We know visitors to Erie have many lodging options, and we never take it for granted when someone chooses Spencer House. The fact that so many guests return year after year and recommend us to their family and friends remains one of the greatest compliments we could ever receive.
Our plan remains exactly the same as it was when we first welcomed guests through these doors in 2018: to make every person who stays here feel like they belong.
We like to think that’s what many of those reviews are really about. They’re not just ratings for a room or a breakfast. They’re reflections of how people felt during their stay. If guests leave feeling welcomed, cared for, and with a memory they’ll carry home with them, then the five stars simply become a result of that experience.
To everyone who has stayed with us, celebrated special occasions here, shared a kind review, recommended us to friends, or simply trusted us to be part of your Erie memories, thank you.
This award belongs just as much to you as it does to us, and we look forward to welcoming many more guests through our doors in the years ahead.
