NICE, Calif. – Ghosts, residents of the United Kingdom, the editors of USA Today and visitors to www.BedAndBreakfast.com have found a lot in common in the past month as all of these groups have recognized the Featherbed Railroad Bed & Breakfast Resort in Nice with awards.

Visitors to www.BedAndBreakfast.com, the leading Web site for bed and breakfast resorts around the world, recently voted the Featherbed Railroad as the best themed resort in the country.

While there are hundreds, if not thousands, of themed bed and breakfasts, the Featherbed Railroad was chosen from among them as a favorite. The voting was based on response to a survey mixed with favorable guest reviews on the site.

“With all the choices they have, we are totally thrilled that the readers of BedAndBreakfast.com chose us,” said Featherbed Railroad’s co-owner Peggy Barthel, “We were thrilled when we found out!”

Just in time for Halloween, the Featherbed Railroad was recognized as “One of the 10 Best Places to Sleep with a G-G-Ghost” by the editors of USA Today.

While many don’t support a belief in the supernatural, the publicity of being on the front page of the travel section haunted the resort with phone calls and e-mails from across this great nation.

The story goes that several guests reported that they had seen a gaunt figure in striped pajamas in the room, leading to speculation that this might have been a railway worker who left his job unexpectedly. Of course, the majority of the guests who stay in the Celebrations room report total relaxation, an enjoyable soak in the Jacuzzi tub for two and a wonderful breakfast in the morning.

Across the Atlantic ocean the Featherbed Railroad was featured on the television program “Three in a Bed.” This popular English show pits the owners of three bed and breakfasts against one another in a competition to see who comes out on top.

Like other reality television programs, this one has some interesting drama in the mix and it was an interesting experience for owners Tony & Peggy Barthel to participate in the filming of this episode.

While contractual agreement prohibit the release of who won this televised competition, this was certainly a positive look at the Featherbed Railroad.

“We got a lot of interesting calls and e-mails after the program aired in the UK,” said Barthel, “I’m sure we’ll be seeing an even larger contingent of guests from ‘across the pond’ now that they’ve been exposed to us.” We gained a lot of fans on Facebook after the airing who divulged the results.

The Featherbed Railroad is a collection of nine rooms located inside retired and refurbished antique railroad cabooses. Featuring unique details and special touches including couple’s Jacuzzi tubs and lavish featherbeds and set in a park-like environment, the resort has been featured in television and print media and is a favorite for romantic getaway trips and rail buffs alike.

The resort has been a favorite destination for honeymoons, anniversaries and romantic getaways. In addition, rail fans have traveled across the country and from abroad to stay in a caboose, a very unique experience.

A guest who stayed at the resort recently had changed the couple’s plans and detoured over 100 miles just to sleep in a caboose. The pair were avid rail fans and had planned to ride the Napa Valley Wine Train when they stumbled across the Featherbed Railroad’s new web site. “It was totally worth the trip from San Diego,” bubbled the guest. “I have to stay in all nine cabooses now.”

Another made his way from England to sleep in a caboose, visit the California Rail Museum and ride the Skunk Train. The Featherbed Railroad is a perfect destination for rail fans as there are so many unique rail destinations within a few hours’ drive.

Many guests have returned regularly to try out each unique caboose. The cabooses are each individually themed with no two alike. Themes include Wine Country, a celebration of the local vintners; Easy Rider, a tribute to the open road and the Harley Davidson motorcycle; La Loose Caboose, a New Orleans theme and Casablanca, a tribute to that film complete with a piano in the caboose. The cabooses are about as large as a typical hotel suite and feature climate control, in-room refrigerators, coffee makers, cable TV and all the ingredients necessary for a romantic getaway.

But no hotel suite started life on the tail end of a freight train and few feature second-story cupolas with seating for two and views of Clear Lake.

Owners Tony & Peggy Barthel pride themselves in the use of sustainable and locally-sourced ingredients for their lavish breakfasts as well as earth-friendly solutions in the cleaning of the resort. The resort is very earth-friendly, being crafted from recycled railroad cars. Solar water heating for the pool and centuries-old trees for shade are part of the “green” nature of the resort.

What’s more, local farmers are called upon for the fresh ingredients in the breakfasts. Some ingredients come from the Barthel’s own organic garden.

Featherbed Railroad history

The Featherbed Railroad was the combined vision of Kelly and Sherry McLean and Len and Lorraine Bassignani. McLean thought he could build a resort of railroad cabooses right on the shoreline of Clear Lake and found the cabooses as various railways discarded the historic rail cars.

Using his experience in the moving industry, McLean arranged to have the cabooses trucked to Nice where expert crane operators carefully lowered them onto their rails and secured them permanently to their foundations.

The cabooses then came under the eyes of the Bassignanis who cleverly redecorated each one with a unique theme. Several community members including Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce President Melissa Fulton helped in the decorating efforts.

Today the cabooses will stay, but that wasn’t always the case. Bidding against the Barthels was a partnership whose goal was the take the cabooses to Utah. The McLeans and Bassignanis didn’t want to see their dreams disappear so they worked closely with the Barthels to ensure that the resort remained in place.

Now the Featherbed Railroad is safe and the Barthels are looking forward to meeting all the return guests as well as the new visitors. In addition, Tony Barthel will use his 22 years in the event planning business to help bring weddings and other celebrations to the resort again.

“I’ve written a book on weddings so I can definitely help brides with theirs,” said the author, whose book Wedding Horror Stories and How To Avoid Them has been a big hit on Amazon.com.

Peggy Barthel, a geologist, is working hard to make sure the Featherbed Railroad is one of the greenest resorts in Northern California.

The Barthels recently remodeled the main dining room and kitchen at the resort to prepare an exceptional breakfast experience for the guests. Accommodations for meeting planners were also included so that the dining room would be a popular spot for meetings and conferences of up to 20 people with its digital multimedia capabilities.

Visit the bed and breakfast online at www.featherbedrailroad.com/.