Castle in the Country
Our journey leading us to our Allegan Bed and Breakfast began in November, 1990 when we moved from Holland, MI and purchased the Victorian mansion nicknamed “The Castle.” The property had been built as a summer home by John H. and Caroline Wurtz in 1906, and designed by a well-known architect from the area. Even with serious neglect, the beauty of natural hardwoods, original tiled fireplaces and quartersawn oak trim shone through the decades of dust and clutter. We were thrilled to be the sixth owners of this diamond in the rough and determined from the beginning to open it as a Bed and Breakfast within our home.
We named the business Castle in the Country and in July 1992 opened with four rooms, offering comfortable Victorian Bed and Breakfast accommodations. Herb continued his career in the corporate world and supported all four of us, as well as the home which we affectionately called the “money pit”. Ruth dissolved her consulting business to market and run the bed and breakfast business. After about 5 years, with an expansion to the back section of the building, our Allegan, Michigan bed and breakfast became a five-room bed and breakfast with three jetted tub/fireplace suites and two classic private bath rooms all on 5 acres of lawns and gardens.
Ruth & Herb Boven, Owners & Innkeepers
In July of 2002 Herb left his corporate position outside of the business and joined Ruth as a full-time innkeeper. Entirely self-taught, Herb’s focus and passion is cooking and baking for our guests. He loves the science behind good food, and with his background in inventory control and materials management, he enjoys the challenge of producing great meals for our guests daily. He chooses only the best ingredients gathered from local farmer’s markets, bakes his own homemade sourdough bread and grows fresh herbs in order to make every morning breakfast an amazing experience for our guests.
Castle Keep
In November of 2004, we expanded our business yet again through the acquisition of the adjacent property, which was called “The Inn at Froggy’s Pond.” This property was the original acreage that John and Caroline Wurtz had owned and used as their summer home estate.
Our Michigan Inn and Spa is a collection of two magnificent buildings, the original victorian Castle and the Castle Keep a modern farmhouse, house 5 guest rooms/suite as well as a commercial kitchen, dining room, sitting areas, a spa area, book nook and gift shop. All of the accommodations at our Southwest Michigan Bed and Breakfast have private baths and most have jetted tubs and fireplaces. Both buildings are surrounded by 65 beautiful acres of manicured lawns and gardens and natural woodland settings. A gazebo in the woods borders a five-acre water-lily pond and a screened porch and dock provides access to a private 80 acre lake.
When your travels bring you to this beautiful, rural location in Southwest Michigan, we recommend following GPS directions to Castle in the Country near Allegan, MI. Please feel free to contact us about specific driving instructions from your point of departure.
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Location
Address
Castle in the Country near Allegan, MI
340 M-40 South, Allegan, MI 49010
Latitude, Longitude:
42.44474133638783, -85.86708068847656
Driving Directions
Take I-94 East to M-40 exit 60 (Paw Paw, MI). Proceed north (left) on M-40 approximately 16 miles. Our inn is located on M-40, 3/4 miles past 102nd Avenue on the west (left) side.(Approximate driving time from downtown Chicago is two to two and a half hours; from the Michigan/Indiana border at I-94 we are about one hour and 15 minutes driving time)
Take I-94 West to M-40 exit 60 (Paw Paw, MI). Proceed north (right) on M-40 approximately 16 miles. We are located on M-40, 3/4 miles past 102nd Avenue on the west (left) side. (Approximate driving time from Ann Arbor is two hours; from Detroit area; we are about two and a half to three hours driving time)
Take US 31 South to M-40 South (to Hamilton/Allegan). Proceed south on M-40/M-89 approximately 20 miles until the Cedar Street stoplight. Turn right and proceed to next stoplight, M-40 South (right) to Paw Paw. Proceed for approximately 6 miles. Our Allegan Bed and Breakfast is located on M-40, 1/4 mile past 104th Avenue on the west (right) side. (Approximate driving time is one hour and 15 minutes from Muskegon; from Holland, we are about 30 minutes)
Take M-43 west to M-40. Turn right (north) on M-40 and proceed for about 10 miles. Our inn is located on the west side of M-40, 3/4 miles north of 102nd Avenue and south of 104th Avenue. (Approximate driving time from Kalamazoo is about 30 minutes driving time)
Take Blue Star Hwy (A-2) south (towards South Haven) to M-89 east (left). Proceed through the town of Fennville to M-40/M-89 South (right). Proceed on M-40/M-89 to Allegan to the Cedar Street stoplight. Turn right and proceed to next stoplight, M-40 South (right) to Paw Paw. Proceed approximately 6 miles. Our B&B is located on M-40, 1/4 miles past 104th Avenue on the west (right) side. (Approximate driving time is 30-40 minutes from Saugatuck; from Fennville, we are about 20-25 minutes driving time)
Take US-131 South to the Allegan-Martin exit 55 (M-222) proceed west approximately 10 miles to Allegan to the Cedar Street stoplight. Turn left on Cedar and proceed to 2nd stoplight, M-40 South to Paw Paw. Proceed on M-40 South for approximately 6 miles. The inn is located on M-40, 1/4 mile south of 104th Avenue on the west (right) side. (Approximate driving time is 40-55 minutes from Grand Rapids)
GPS Users
Enter our business name, “Castle in the Country” into your GPS device. Google Maps will get you to us if you enter our name plus the phrase, “near Allegan, MI.” If you enter our address into a GPS or internet mapping, please be aware of the following: We are located on M-40 between 102nd Ave and 104th Ave. Please look for our sign on the west side of M-40 six miles south of the town of Allegan and five miles north of the town of Gobles, between 102nd and 104th Avenues.