Century home beauty and National Park draw people to bed and breakfast lodging
by Wendy Turrell
The Carter Manor house and The Cuyahoga Valley Inn stand side-by-side on Brecksville Road. Roberta Kolby opened the Carter Manor in 2015 and Joyce Mihalik launched the Cuyahoga Valley Inn in 2019. Together the historic homes illustrate different eras of gracious living in 19th century Richfield.
John Newton, a lawyer from Connecticut built the Carter Manor in 1820. He lived there with his immediate family until 1874, and during that time they moved and incorporated an 1816-meeting house into the home.
Kolby purchased the house from a member of the Carter family, whose ancestors had owned the home since 1917. During the early twentieth century Homer Carter not only lived there, but it was also the location for the West Richfield Telephone Company, with the switchboard equipment housed in the basement.
Mihalik’s Cuyahoga Valley Inn was built in 1867 and is listed on the Federal Registry of Historic Places. Its official name—the Orson Minot Oviatt House—reflects the families who built and lived there over much of its existence. This Italianate Victorian home boasts an impressive floating staircase with crystal chandelier, spacious public rooms, and ornate décor.
Carter Manor has three cozy bedrooms on the second floor that share a bathroom. The first floor contains a formal parlor and dining room, an airy garden-inspired room, and the rustic meeting-house addition that overlooks the back yard. There, guests will find a snug place to curl up with a book, board games, or Roku TV in front of the newly installed gas fireplace.
Kolby and Mihalik furnished the homes from several sources. Both have received period furniture donations, and they keep an eye out for authentic additions. Estate sales are a good source, and Kolby said she has gotten many accessories at the annual Richfield Garage Sale days. Mihalik has acquired most of her furnishings from auctions at Traditional Design in Broadview Heights and unique pieces from Stitches & Stowaways Boutique in Richfield.
Both homes required significant exterior rehabilitation due to their age and Mihalik and Kolby located companies that could handle those expensive, century problems. The Richfield Town Trust provided grants for both projects.
Kolby rents her property entirely through Airbnb.com. Most of her guests come from out of state, many of them drawn by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the opportunity to stay in a home that is over 200 years old. She has hosted guests from as far away as Russia and the Netherlands, as well as an Ohio State ornithologist who used the Carter Manor as her headquarters for bird-watching research.
A regular return guest from Indiana likes to stay at Carter Manor when he attends business meetings in the area. She has held one small wedding so far, which utilized the entire downstairs.
Mihalik describes The Cuyahoga Valley Inn as a four-bedroom boutique bed and breakfast. The bedrooms have private bathrooms, although not necessarily ensuite. Most of her rentals are by direct reservation through her website https://cuyahogavalleyinn.com/.
Mihalik said most guests are attracted by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and its outdoor activities. She believes her location near the Ohio Turnpike is also a convenient halfway point between the Midwest and the East coast. She has many repeat guests, who use The Cuyahoga Valley Inn as headquarters when visiting their families several times a year.
Mihalik hosts intimate weddings for up to 20 guests and would like to grow that part of her business. She has held weddings for brides aged 20 to 70. Mihalik obtained her officiate’s license, so she can provide the ceremony. The beautiful surroundings are ideal for pre-wedding activities like dressing and photography. A caterer of the bride’s choice serves the wedding meal in the formal dining room.
Both innkeepers agree that running a bed and breakfast is a labor of love. Mihalik remarked, “To do this well, it takes significant commitment.”
Mihalik and Kolby both live on their properties and are hands-on managers with the help of family, friends, and the occasional aid of experts in restoration, maintenance, accounting and marketing.
Kolby opened The Carter Manor with the idea it would become her “retirement job.” She summed up her inn keeping experience so far when she said, “This has turned out to be an expensive hobby, that I truly enjoy.”
Mihalik previously owned The Fitzwater House bed and breakfast in Brecksville, which she sold in 2017. She says, “Cuyahoga Valley Inn is my ‘hobby job’, and now as an empty nester with grown children, I guess you can say that I like to keep quite busy.”
Kolby and Mihalik are also still employed in demanding full-time jobs. Kolby is in technical sales for the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Mihalik holds an engineering degree from Ohio State University and is COO for NOPEC aggregate gas and oil supplier.
In the intimate surroundings of a bed and breakfast, guests enjoy warm hospitality not available in even the smallest hotel. Mihalik and Kolby take pains to make guests feel at home, serving lovingly homemade breakfasts, sharing knowledge about local attractions and activities, and ready to go the extra mile to make sure their guests have a stay to remember.
Kolby shared a story that graphically illustrates the difference between even the most expensive hotel concierge and the truly personal touch of a bed and breakfast. A guest from Russia had booked a bus from Akron to New York to catch her flight home. Kolby took her to the bus station, where they found that her bus was first delayed, and then canceled entirely. Kolby found her guest a bus to New York, leaving from Cleveland at 2 a.m.
Kolby explained, “We all went back to the Carter house and set an alarm clock so she could get to the bus station and take care of ticket transfers. Fortunately, we were able to help her get back to New York, and eventually she arrived home in Moscow safely.” ∞