Historic home becomes boutique bed and breakfast

by Laura Straub

Take a walk into the past – and stay a while – at the Cuyahoga Valley Inn. In early October, Joyce Mihalik began welcoming guests to the historic home once owned by General Orson M. Oviatt, which she has converted into a bed and breakfast.

With a large collection of books, this is called the Library Room at the Cuyahoga Valley Inn.

Mihalik said she was familiar with the area and when the property went up for sale, she stopped by to see it, immediately falling in love with the floating staircase, terrific craftsmanship and overall grandness. She closed on the 5,200-square-foot Italianate, Victorian-style home on July 26. Soon after, she began making improvements that turned it into an upscale bed and breakfast.

“We had to create separation for the guests, and all the rooms needed to be set up as if it was a five-star hotel with all of the amenities,” she said.

As an accredited wellness expert, it was important to Mihalik that the home be a comfortable and a safe environment for guests. She worked closely with local officials, including the Richfield zoning, police, safety and fire departments to bring it up to par.

Joyce Mihalik is the new owner and innkeeper of the Cuyahoga Valley Inn.

Today the boutique bed and breakfast consists of four bedrooms that house up to eight guests. Mihalik said she usually accepts two reservations at a time, for two bedrooms and a bath each.

“I’ve already had so many wonderful guests because the Cuyahoga Valley National Park receives over three million visitors per year,” she said. “There’s plenty of visitors to the area for us inn keepers.”

The Cuyahoga Valley Inn is also a perfect home away from home for area residents to host families visiting for the holidays.

The piano room provides a delightful setting in the Cuyahoga Valley Inn.

“If you don’t want your inlaws to stay with you, they can always stay with me,” Mihalik joked.

She hopes to start hosting small and special-occasion events, like showers and bridal parties.

And if any issues with the property arise, Mihalik is a bell’s ring away. She and her boyfriend live in their own private quarters in the back.

“My sister gave me her bell collection,” said Mihalik. “And I tell guests they can always ring.”

This is not Mihalik’s first foray into the hospitality industry. She has owned and operated the Fitzwater House bed and breakfast in Brecksville for two years.

“I’ve been really enjoying hospitality and meeting people,” she said. “I’m an empty nester and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Mihalik invites her visitors to place a pin at the site of their hometown on a map.

“Guests love to see who else has been there,” she said. “It gives a community feel.”

She said she finds special joy in accommodating military families reuniting after a tour of duty.

With a background in the energy and utilities industry and in a real estate investment firm, Mihalik’s work experience has helped her with the business side of operating a bed and breakfast.

“The hospitality part is just baptism by fire,” she said. “You learn with every guest what works and what doesn’t.”

Mihalik is seeking a buyer for the Fitzwater House, so she can focus on the Cuyahoga Valley Inn. However, she doesn’t see herself being its owner forever.

“I’m just a caretaker for this property that was built in 1868 by Orson Oviatt,” Mihalik said.

According to Frank and Lorraine Merrill’s daughter, Beth Dixon, whose family owned the home before Mihalik, the property has changed hands just four times, to their knowledge.

“Each new owner made significant changes to the interior of the home,’’ Dixon said. “Yet amazingly, there is a surprisingly close resemblance of the exterior of the house to the picture that appears in the plat book of 1891.”

In the 1960s, the home was converted to a two-family dwelling, sacrificing much of its original charm. The Merrill family worked hard to restore it, making changes where necessary but never losing sight of the original design.

“Particularly noteworthy are the exceptionally high windows – eight feet,’’ Dixon said. “The story goes that General Oviatt was 6-feet-4 inches tall and liked to look out the windows.”

Now Mihalik is working hard to honor that history and is in the process of completing her nomination to put the Cuyahoga Valley Inn on the National Register of Historic Places.

“That really brings home the feeling that I’m just the current caretaker that’s going to be here for a decade or so, and then someone else will become the caretaker,” Mihalik said. “This house and all of its stories will live on after me.”

Reservations for the Cuyahoga Valley Inn can be made through AirBnB, Expedia, Hotels.com, Trip Advisor or directly through Mihalik. The address is 3758 Brecksville Rd. in Richfield.

Featured image photo caption: A home built in 1868 by General Orson Oviatt will continue to be preserved in luxurious fashion as a bed and breakfast and will be marketed to Cuyahoga Valley National Park visitors.