Valentine’s Day will see the rebirth of
one of San Diego’s most resplendent historic landmarks. The Queen
Anne-style Victorian mansion, built 118 years ago for the then princely
sum of $3,000, has benefited from a $6 investment resulting in the grand
Britt Scripps Inn with nine rooms that marry old-world styling and
elegance with modern conveniences. Guests will feel transported to the 19th century as they gaze upon the
charming multi-gabled house with striking turret and wrap-around porch.
Guests enter into a vestibule area with 12-foot-high ceilings. Ornate
wooden-beaded fretwork accents hallways that lead to the opulent parlor,
quaint dining room and stunning hand-carved oak grand staircase with
adjacent music alcove, where an historic Steinway Art Case piano, circa
1883, resides. All of this is framed by a dazzling two-story stain glass
wall comprised of three panels depicting morning, afternoon and evening
settings.

Each of the Inn’s nine rooms is uniquely adorned with period-appropriate
furnishings that will have guests waking and wondering if H.G. Wells and
his time machine abducted them during the night. Each room’s bathroom is
equally adept at bringing the 1880s to mind, with many sporting claw-foot
bathtubs and pedestal sinks.

Artfully hidden in each room is the 21st century, in the form of high
speed, wireless Internet access, flat screen televisions and multi-line
telephones. The bathrooms have towel-heating racks.

To offset this jolt of necessary convenience and reality, the Inn’s
amenities return to the age of opulence with 1,000 thread count bed linens
and Aviana bathrobes with felt-like lining. Even the Inn’s remarkable
Kiehl’s bath products draw guests back to the era as the shampoos,
conditioners, bath gels and lotions have retained the subtle smell and
texture from the company’s founding in 1851.

The manicured lawn area with brick patio, romantic fountains and wedding
arbor is available for special events, such as wedding ceremonies, social
happenings, and elegant sit-down dinners. The grounds feature a Camphor
tree planted in 1865, the first in North America.
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