Grand Manor
The 1842 Inn in Macon
by Jane F. Garvey

When Judge John Gresham, mayor of Macon, built his Greek Revival home in 1842, he couldn’t have imagined the course of developments that would attend its future. Today, it seems a vision out of Georgia’s antebellum past, with its 18 Corinthian columns, a dozen more than Gresham had originally arranged across its front.

The extensive changes that led to the grand setting it presents today were the work of the B. F. Adams family, who left behind a clear mark of their tenure I the house: the letter “A” etched on the glass door panels. The Adamses purchased the house in 1900 and added the side porches with six columns each, the oak-and-walnut parquet flooring on the first floor and the Victorian tile insets in the nine fireplaces, eight of which still work.

After serving as an apartment building from about 1930 to the early 1980’s, the building was purchased and renovation begun, leading to its rebirth as a distinctive, elegant small hotel whose 19 plush rooms capture the spirit of the 19th century

In addition to the handsome antebellum house, there is a 1900 Victorian cottage that originally stood on Vineville Avenue. Renovators cut it in half and m0ved it to its present site on the 1.75-acre plot occupied by the inn. Within are nine of the inn’s 19 rooms. Original finishes include heart pine floors lining the hallway and in some of the bedrooms. Even its mantels are intact and perhaps original. Between these two buildings lies a courtyard for socializing, relaxing and having breakfast on nice mornings.

When guests arrive, they find themselves in rooms that almost demand they not depart. Many have four-poster beds, and all have ample leisure seating, tapestries, rich carpets, antiques, TVs, warm colors and high ceilings, creating an environment that invites digging in and staying curled up for a long time. Individual rooms are named for significant Georgia-connected themes or important period figures, such as Sidney Lanier. The name of naturalist and ornithologist William Bartram honors the door of one of these deluxe rooms.

A few years ago, I stayed in the Bartram room, located upstairs to the rear of the main house. Leaving friends downstairs lost in song and after-dinner drinks, I went off to bed early and, once inside the room, heard not another sound. Rooms upstairs off the main hall feel like private cocoons, where closing the sturdy doors insulates a guest from other visitors. And the somewhat smaller rooms to the rear of the property have a comforting intimacy and distance from the main house.

If you choose to stay indoors, just order a cup of tea from downstairs, don one of the plush robes hanging in the closet, pull out that unread book you tucked into your suitcase, and prepare to unwind from whatever stresses may have come along for the ride. Four rooms – the Mercer, the Dogwood, the Georgia Belle and the Cotton Merchants – have single-person whirlpool tubs, making them ideal for a restful getaway. Or, if you choose to socialize, the front parlors provide the setting for daily hospitality, when guests enjoy complimentary hors d’ oeuvres and drinks from a cash bar that’s available until midnight.

Current owner Nazario Filipponi bought the inn with Edmund E. Olson in 1999. Filipponi brings to the operation his 35 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. Almost from the moment he arrived in Macon, he knew the inn fit his requirements for a small luxury property. “I always wanted to have something like this,” he says. “I started to ask the previous owner if and when he put it up for sale to let me know. After three years, we went about chatting about other things and I didn’t bring it up again.”

Then it happened. Former innkeepers Phil Jenkins and Dr. Richard Meils wanted to move to Savannah, where today they own the Foley House. “It was a quick thing,” says Filipponi. “Everything fell into place without too many disruptions.”
Other than painting and keeping things in good condition, he doesn’t anticipate making any changes. “The inn is beautiful the way it was,” he says, adding”[It was] well decorated, and it reflects what we still want to do – give a warm feeling and satisfy people’s needs.”

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