The Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast Inn is located in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. It's a group of buildings that form 18 distinct units, each of which surrounds garden land in the center of the property. Every unit has many amenities available for their guests. There is a breakfast served every day in the morning. The breakfast usually includes pancakes, egg croissants, and/or peach french toast. The bed and breakfast was once a motel, and earlier than that, it was a motor court. The current owners have owned the property since the year 2001 and have tried to keep it up to date ever since.
In the central region of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, there's a cluster of buildings that collectively make up The Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast Inn. Most of the buildings are separate units where the guests can stay. There are eighteen in total: Wild Rose, Ray of Sunshine, Blossom Time, Marsie Doats, Lavender Blue, Lavender Green, Vanilla Sky, Magnolia Room, Summer's Dream, Out of Africa, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Robin's Nest, Garland of Roses, Room With a View, Florida Room, Summer's Night, Lula Lake Room, and the Enchanted April Apartment. There are some amenities that are available in each of the different rooms, including WiFi access, televisions, private bathrooms, and air conditioning. Some of the homes have coffee stations, electric fireplaces, mini-refrigerators, and bathrobes. Though the decorations in each room vary significantly, most have some variety of flower or plant themes.
The property as a whole is widely inspired by nature, flora specifically. This is further accented by the layout of the Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast. In the middle of the different cabins, guests will find a small garden area, a small pond, and a fire pit. Other outdoor amenities include a pool, a gazebo (with a jacuzzi), and a sun porch. The property as a whole sits in a fairly residential area, but the houses are spread out in that specific part of town.
The breakfasts at Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast are served every day between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM. On Sundays, the schedule is a half-hour earlier, meaning that guests should arrive between 8 AM and 9 AM to eat their meal. If the weather permits it, breakfast is served outside on the porch. Typical dishes for the meal include chocolate chip pancakes, egg croissants, and peach french toast. The lastly-mentioned platter is always made from locally grown peaches. Certain ingredients vary based on the time of year; in the fall, the breakfasts include elements of pumpkin and spices, and during the holiday season, eggnog is a common flavor within the food. Accommodations are made for people with dietary restrictions, preferences, or choices, so long as enough time is given in advance. Guests are able to park as they please without the need for additional purchases or spot reservations. The Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast Inn does not have a traditional store, but they occasionally accept special requests such as putting rose petals on the bed or other similar services. These services are not included in the nightly rates for any of the rooms.
The primary culture of the Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast is its own unique environment. One of the owners, Erma Caballero, usually tries to emphasize the "unusualness" of the property. She does this by detailing some of the history of the property and the region. The area used to house a motor court, which is a term coined in 1925 to describe a series of rooms that face a single parking lot where each guest has their own parking spot. The fact of its history, combined with its courtyard-like structure, contributes to the "unusualness" that Erma is referring to. The property's location in the town's quieter district is also one of the components that add to its atmosphere. There is a pharmacy and a MAPCO mart within walking distance of the bed and breakfast, and there are plans for more commercial-style locations to spring up into existence within a few years' time. For the moment, however, the number of businesses in Lookout Mountain is relatively small.
Guest reviews of the property generally mention the breakfast at the property or the hospitality. One visitor said, "We stayed in the Robins nest cottage. This cottage has a very large soaking tub and a fireplace. Breakfast is served every morning and plated very pleasing. On warmer mornings, visitors have the option to have breakfast on the patio." The Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast Inn is open all throughout the year, and their busiest season is from June to October. The exception to this time frame is often September; Erma credits the small lapse in occupancy to the fact that people are starting school again, and thus it isn't easy to vacation. The area has been known for tourism since the 50s when large marketing campaigns were launched all throughout the country to promote a place called Rock City. Rock City is a series of garden trails on the east side of town, overlooking the surrounding area.
The Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast Inn was initially a motor court in the 20th century. Over time, it slowly transitioned to become a motel—mostly because the term "motor court" faded from American culture as the years went by. By 1999, the motel had virtually ceased all operations until a couple purchased the property with plans to convert it into a bed and breakfast. Their plan mostly worked, but for reasons that are not quite known, they soon afterward decided to sell the property to someone else. In 2001, another couple, Ed and Erma Caballero visited the property shortly following their arrival to Lookout Mountain.
Erma had been raised in the motel industry, yet she disliked it the most out of her three other siblings. However, after growing up and getting married to Ed, she developed an affinity for the lodging industry. They managed property in Las Vegas, Nevada, but after a handful of years, they decided that they wanted a change of pace. They visited the Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast because their daughter lived nearby, though, at the time, they had no real plans to purchase the property. Erma describes that the business "fell into our lap." The previous owners were so anxious to sell the property that they cut back on many of their financial pressures. Erma believes that this was done in part because the previous owners realized that Erma and Ed might be the most experienced buyers that they would see for a while. The Garden Walk Bed & Breakfast Inn derives its name from the garden trails that are spread across the property.
1206 Lula Lake Road
Lookout Mountain, Georgia 30750
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Erma & Ed Caballero
