Windsor bed breakfast. (Windsor) Ontario bed breakfasts reviewed by Janette Higgins

One of the best bed and breakfasts in Windsor Ontario,
as recommended by Janette Higgins.

Southwestern Ontario

Kirk's Bed and Breakfast

Barbe and Jim Kirk 406 Moy Avenue Windsor, Ontario Canada, N9A 2N4
Phone: 519-255-9346
Toll Free:1-888-271-2624
This 1920s duplex in Windsor's pleasant Walkerville neighbourhood is now a fine bed and breakfast.


Click Mapquest for Windsor, Ontario map

Review by Janette Higgins

author of The Best Places to B&B in Ontario: A Selective Guide

Six editions of the book were published to critical and popular acclaim. Janette now publishes her B&B reviews and holiday reports online.

Note 1 to reader: Every Ontario bed and breakfast receives my consideration. I travel incognito, pay where I stay and write reviews of the top 5%. Kirk’s Bed and Breakfast is one I recommend in Windsor, Ontario. Janette Higgins

Kirk’s Bed and Breakfast, eponymously named after hosts Barbe and Jim Kirk, is a great value B&B located in a pleasant, leafy part of Windsor’s old Walkerville neighbourhood. The bed and breakfast is just a block south of Riverside Drive and the Riverfront Trail both of which follow the Detroit River. Eight blocks or so west on Riverside Drive you’ll find the tunnel to the U.S. near Casino Windsor. Continue further along and you’ll reach the Ambassador Bridge opposite the University of Windsor. So any Snowbirds who stay here overnight on their way south have no chance of getting off course!

As I pulled up to the bed and breakfast I was struck by the attractive fenced gardens. Turns out the gardens, indeed the whole bed and breakfast, are a joint effort of these two down-to-earth hosts. I was first shown around by Jim and he explained that they’d purposely chosen this 1920s duplex to make over as a bed and breakfast so both they and their guests could enjoy privacy. As we went up to the 2nd and 3rd floor suites I was struck by the whimsy, not to mention excellent condition, of the funky 1960s pink, yellow and turquoise linoleum which covered the stairs. Hmmmm… it could go either way. Turned out that leaving the linoleum was intentional and that Barbe indeed has a love of decorating as evidenced by some of the many current magazines I found in my suite which included everything from the decorator's nirvana, Veranda, to the thinker's choice, The Walrus.

I stayed in a suite with the original oak arch between the living room and the bedroom. Another smaller room off the bedroom opened onto a full-width porch complete with an outdoor dining set. The bathroom was the other way and it had a door that opened onto a second(!) balcony. Another 2nd floor suite has two bedrooms and a bathroom; handy for two singles or parents and children travelling together. Most times, though, you would choose either bedroom for your stay and have a private bath. A third possibility awaits on the third floor and is reached by way of narrow back stairs. The walls are sloped and all is completely fresh and new including the bathroom.

Breakfast next morning is taken in the Kirk’s dining room. We had fresh fruit, followed by scrambled eggs with bacon and a croissant. Barbe varies the menu so yours could be, say, a creamy baked potato/ham hash with sharp cheddar cheese. And good news for foodies. In going to Windsor, I’d wondered if I’d be able to sleuth out a restaurant with a modern take on food. Well, I did. Mezzo on Windsor’s Erie Street strip of old-style Italian restaurants satisfied completely, especially the divine curried apple-squash soup with a Chambord reduction and pistachio croquette. Nearby, you’ll find a couple of other contemporary restos and further afield, Chinese, Lebanese and Vietnamese.

Note 2 to reader: I appreciate your support of the continuation of my research by letting Barbe and Jim know you read my review of their bed and breakfast on this bbontario website. Many thanks! Janette Higgins, Travel Writer

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Kirk's Bed and Breakfast, Windsor, Ontario

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Website:

http://www.kirksbandb.com

Languages:

Season:

S $70-99, D $79-109 (includes 6% GST tax)

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Restrictions:

Children welcome; smoking on porch only; no guests' pets

Facilities:

3 suites. 1 with queen bed, sitting room, dressing room, porch and balcony; fridge and TV; 1 with queen bed, TV, en suite full bath with shower, and 2nd bedroom suitable for children or two singles travelling together; 1 loft with queen bed, en suite bath with Jacuzzi, fridge, TV. Wireless internet, central air

Parking:

3 cars in drive. Legal over night on street.

Breakfast:

Full

In Residence:

Freckles the friendly feline, Chloe the shy one and Wooley the outdoor cat.

Location:

This bed and breakfast is centrally situated in Windsor's pleasant Walkerville neighbourhood, 1 block from the river.

Directions:

From Ontario Highway 401 take Exit 4 (Walker Road). Follow Walker Road north to Riverside Drive. Turn left and drive 4 blocks to Moy Street. Turn left on Moy. Go 1 block to bed and breakfast. From either the tunnel or the Ambassador Bridge turn left (east) on Riverside Drive to Moy Ave. Turn right and go one block.

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Check out Janette Higgins' other site www.gardendesigncoach.com