The Lafayette Inn’s picturesque dining room.
Photo by Anastasia Cintron ‘17
Think of the quintessential bed and breakfast, a beautiful brick mansion built in the late 19th century with a rich history and a blithe personality, dearly loved by its owners as well as its guests. The Lafayette Inn is this place. A mere two blocks away from the busyness of Lafayette College, it is an elegant escape in time.
The mansion was built in 1895 by Elizabeth Wagner Leary. She later sold the property to the Elder family, who later expanded the house. However, by 1929, the home had to be broken up into private apartments due to the financial effects of the great depression. It ceased to be the Elder family possession in 1937 and changed owners several times. In 1958 it was purchased by a Lafayette College fraternity. The Sigma Chapter of Pi Lambda Phi became the newest owners of the home until 1982 when the fraternity’s decline placed the soon to be Lafayette Inn back on the market. This time, a group of investors saw the mansion’s unfulfilled potential and renovated it into a bed and breakfast, which opened its doors on December 16, 1986.
Almost 100 years since it’s construction, the Georgian mansion finally became what is today the lovely Lafayette Inn. Today, the gorgeous home contains 18, individually decorated rooms and serves homemade breakfast daily. It is furnished in accordance to the period the mansion was built, creating a charming and comfortable atmosphere. Its innkeepers, couple, Laura and Paul di Liello, purchased the property nine years ago and have loved being a part of the hotel’s history. Their favorite part of being the Inn’s owners is “helping people discover Easton, what there is to do in Easton, and the great places to eat,” Laura said.
Both Paul and Laura agree that right now is a great time to be a part of Easton’s community as the town has truly bloomed in the past several years.
As for what the Inn offers to the Lafayette College community, the delicious breakfast is unfortunately not open to non-guests, but if parents stay at the charming hotel, their children are more than welcome to join.
The Lafayette Inn prides itself on having a close-knit relationship with the college.
“We have a fantastic relationship with Lafayette College, we host lots of guest speakers, guest artists, guest professors…we work with the trustees, have lots of parents who come and stay for football and family weekends,” Laura said.
Her husband added, “we enjoy getting to know the guests’ background and the school has some international students so we have some international parents come stay with us,” Paul said.
The Inn offers special promotions such as the “Mid Week Mini Getaway” for one night of pampering for the price of $179 as well as a “build your own” promotion package which includes a massage at the Inn, breakfast in bed, as well as a romantic basket of flowers and chocolates if you want to pamper your significant other. Not to mention their fresh homemade banana walnut bread that sits in the parlor as a tempting and delicious indulgence daily. So next time your parents decide to come visit, or you wish to be spoiled, I recommend staying at the Lafayette Inn for a delightful getaway for your whole family.