As a retired US Army officer, I had the chance to live and work on four  continents.  However, Europe always held the greatest fascination for me.  Of the 16 countries I lived in, the Czech Republic has been the  country with the most magical magnetism to keep drawing back again and again since 1990. 

Our fascination caused us to immediately search for a place of our own after our first trip to Czech in 1990.

Over 40 years of communist neglect had sorely tarnished the villa by the time we bought it in 1993.  Consequently, we spent nearly two years restoring and refurnishing the 12-room villa. The acre and a half of terraced grounds provided a challenge too! 

Finally, we opened for business as a B&B in 1995.  We were able to divide the 4000 sq. ft. villa into four apartments.  For guests, we had a two bedroom unit and a one bedroom unit both with separate living and dining areas. 

We were able to provide a couple who serve as our house and grounds keepers a two bedroom apartment.  We ended up with a two bedroom apartment offering a large eat-in kitchen, living room and a sunny balcony.  All of our apartments have their own bath and a washer and dryer to accommodate lengthy stays. 

Refinishing the beech and oak parquet floors wasn't easy but the results were gratifying. Painting the 11-foot ceilings was a stretch, but they looked so good when we hung our antique light fixtures. 

It was a real treat to scour all the bazars and shops in a 20-mile radius to find the furnishings and hunting trophies we needed to compliment the villa's age and country style.

It wasn't too hard to get guests to come by given or excellent location along Czech's primary east-west corridor, B-6/E-48 or the Prague-Karlsbad highway. All we needed was plenty of road signs. These signs brought us plenty of Dutch and German tourists who usually stayed only two nights.

We wanted more international guests and Americans to start visiting our B&B, so I started writing articles for magazines like International Living, Retreat and Revele and Living Abroad.  These articles helped a great deal. We began to have guests who truly loved our quiet, country B&B. Our great central location allowed guests to access Prague, Karlsbad and the northern and southern regions of Czech within an  hour's drive or less. 

Our greatest boon came through the internet. It is amazing what a web-page can do.  About three years ago, I hooked up with Escape from America and then EscapeArtist.Com.  Since then, our results have been great.

The internet has cut our advertizing costs in half.  We no longer use roadside advertizing.  We no longer cater to drive-by guests. Their two-night stays were working us to death.  Now, our internet guests stay on average for five nights. 

They get to enjoy the wooded hills and hopfields surrounding the villa.They get to explore our small village and enjoy our local pub.  Our wonderful Czech neighbors often stop by for a visit and often invite our guests to their homes. 

This is what helps our B&B to really earn its name, Villa Favorite.  We have only been open for seven years, but we have had a dozen guests make their fourth return visit. 

With the help of EscapeArtist.Com, the 2002 season has been our best ever.  We have had guests from America, Canada, England, Holland, Ireland, Russia and South Africa all as a result from seeing us on EscapeArtist.Com.