Greencrest Manor: Battle Creek’s remarkable secret

Posted by Bill on Wednesday, May 5, 2010   |   4 Comments

A closer look inside

The Manor’s current owners have quarters in the full basement of this sprawling 12,000-square foot home. That leaves all the rest of the house for guest accommodations.

The common areas are very large, some of the largest I’ve seen in a B & B, in fact. Ditto for the dining room. Special touches here include portions of Kathy’s silver collection.

Although the house is French-Normandy, the furnishings are very eclectic. In addition to the first-floor common areas, dining room and kitchen, the Manor’s main floor also has an impressive entrance hall/foyer flanked by two restrooms near the front of the house.

When I inquired about their staff, Kathy said it’s just the two of them, a revelation that floored me. This place is big, and it’s hard to believe that the two of them can take care of it all.

She did mention a couple of family members who help out, but the bulk of the real work of running Greencrest Manor seems to fall to the VanDaffs. Whoever does the work, pride shouts from every room. Everything is sparklingly clean, and I would have gladly eaten off any floor I saw.

Is it haunted?

I had to ask. “Well, when we first came, we got letters from people about a ghost named Sara. ‘She’s a good ghost so be kind to her,’ they said. We, have been. We named a guest room after her.” Although Kathy admits the whole Sara story is probably a prank, she did relate a more inexplicable story.

“When we were working in here, I wanted a fire in the fireplace. We looked all over the place but could find no paper to start a fire. When I came back in the room, there was a newspaper, from a few years earlier, on the floor in front of the fireplace.

“To this day, I have no idea where it came from. I probably should have saved it, but I used it to start a fire.”

Gracious hosts

If the time I spent with Kathy is any indication, the pair makes very gracious hosts. Remember, they’ve been quietly surprising and delighting visitors since 1989. Well, I say “quietly.” But Greencrest Manor has been featured in lots of local, regional and national media outlets, both print and television.

What’s more, the Manor has welcomed celebrity guests on more than one occasion. Pricilla Presley slept here. So did Stone Phillips of TV’s 20/20. The celebrity list is much longer, but, “we probably shouldn’t mention the others,” Kathy said with a smile.

A few years ago, the Manor was the site of frequent weddings (“One or two a week,” according to Kathy.). That may explain why GM was featured on Oprah as a site for “Perfect Celebrity Weddings.”

Of course, as a functioning B & B, a good deal of the Manor’s business is overnight guests. The VanDaffs continue to host weddings, attend to the needs of corporate clients and offer golf packages for guests who want to combine stellar accommodations and ample golf on any of the several nearby courses.

Greencrest Manor is available for receptions and catered banquets. Its spacious rooms and grounds will accommodate up to 200 guests, and its elegant setting and four working fireplaces make it ideal for wedding receptions, anniversary dinners and cocktail parties.

During the Christmas holiday season, the Manor is the site of choice for festive corporate parties and special dinners. “Christmas is a big deal for us,” said Kathy.

The guest suites are huge and warmed by lots of personal touches. The feel is lot more like a guest room in a friend’s home than guest accommodations at a B & B open to the public. The VIP Suite, the Burt Suite, the Trumpet Suite, Sara’s Room, Fern’s Room and Francesca’s Room all have private baths.

The Geranium and Lilac Rooms each have an in-room sink, but they share a bath which is across the hall. Overnight accommodations start at $135 and average around $190 per night. Included, of course, is a complete gourmet breakfast in the downstairs dining room.

Do yourself a favor. Discover Battle Creek, Michigan’s best-kept secret.

Photos courtesy of Greencrest Manor.

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