Bed and breakfast named one of the nation’s best

The Inn at Tabbs Creek in Mathews County has been named one of the top 10 bed and breakfasts in the U.S. for 2013 by BedAndBreakfast.com.

The six-room bed and breakfast is one of two in Virginia that made the list (the other is Chestnut Hill in Orange). BedandBreakfast.com is a site for finding bed and breakfasts, representing more than 12,000 properties around the world. The selection criteria for the award included analysis of traveler reviews from the past year and inn listings on BedandBreakfast.com.

The Inn at Tabbs Creek is the only bed and breakfast in Mathews County, which had 8,897 inhabitants according to a 2013 U.S. Census estimate. Owners Greg and Lori Dusenberry purchased a former bed and breakfast in 2008 and opened it the following year. They moved to Mathews County from North Carolina to be closer to Lori Dusenberry’s family. Opening a bed and breakfast seemed like a good fit because there was a lack of lodging in the area, and the Dusenberrys felt they had the skill sets to pursue the venture.

“We had already jumped off the cliff and signed the papers so we had to move forward, and a big part of that was going ahead and investing in the remodel,” says Lori Dusenberry, reflecting on opening a business during the Great Recession. “We just knew we had to invest in that to get everything up to speed, and, you know, we always wanted to open being high quality.” 

The remodeling process included introducing green features wherever possible. That meant using sustainable building materials like cork, bamboo, and low-volatile organic compound paint and insulation. Since then, The Inn at Tabbs Creek has earned several awards for its green initiatives including being named “Green Facility of the Year” and “Green Travel Leader” by Virginia Tourism Corp. in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

The Inn at Tabbs Creek also works with local businesses to promote Mathews County as a tourism destination. For example, the Dusenberrys teamed up with Captain Trey Sower to provide boat and oyster cruises. Sower owns Chapel Creek Oyster Co., an oyster farm in the county.

“I think a goal for us … is touching on not only working with the small businesses but really promoting Mathews,” Lori Dusenberry says. “We are so in love with our area. We think it’s a great area to visit.”