Cashtown Inn:
1325 Old Route 30, P.O. Box 103, Cashtown, PA 17310, 1-800-367-1797, 1-717-334-9722 - www.cashtowninn.com
When we decided to return to Gettysburg after our first trip, we knew exactly where we wanted to stay. We had seen this inn on various websites and watched a full episode of Ghost Hunters about it. We wanted to stay at the Cashtown Inn, one of the best known haunted B&Bs in the country. We planned to keep a tighter budget on this trip, so our plan was to stay one night at the Cashtown Inn, then go to the Quality Inn at General Lee's Headquarters for the second night.
First problem. Cashtown Inn, like all the other B&Bs in Gettysburg, has a two-night minimum on weekends. Okay, fine. We'll go to Gettysburg first and be in town Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so we can stay there one night. Second problem. Cashtown Inn was booked those three nights. Sigh. In looking at the occupancy information, I noticed that Room 6 - Pender Suite was open on Friday night, but not on Thursday or Saturday. That got me excited - surely they'd let us get that room for one night since it couldn't be booked for two nights anyway. And surely they did. We got the reservation.
By the time we got to Gettysburg we were already kicking ourselves for getting only one night. Actually, I don't think we could have reserved two nights anyway; I think Saturday night was fully booked as well. The Cashtown Inn is a very popular place. We arrived on Friday afternoon and were greeted by Maria and Jack, and Maria had exciting news. Someone had canceled and our suite was available for two nights. Wahoo! We had two nights at the Cashtown Inn!
As I said before, we stayed in the Pender Suite. This is essentially two rooms and a bathroom, located in an addition on the back of the inn. The living room offers a TV with DVD/VCR, a sofa and a couple chairs. The bedroom has a bed, dresser, nightstands and a Bose Wave radio that serves as the alarm clock (damn, that thing has a great sound). The suite was beautiful - it was nicely decorated and very comfortable. The suite has two doors - the interior door leads to a hallway that goes to the dining room. The exterior door goes to a wonderful covered porch with rocking chairs and convenient parking.
The building itself is great, with a wonderful wraparound porch that no one builds any more (sadly). The front lobby and bar/breakfast areas are small but beautifully decorated. They have a large sign "Cashtown Hotel" on the wall in the bar; you'll see this sign behind a column of Confederate soldiers marching along in one scene of the movie Gettysburg. The larger dining room area is also very nice - we didn't eat there but we did walk through it a couple times.
It's pretty clear that Jack and Maria run a tight ship. Maria seems like a really sharp lady and Jack runs his tail off. We were sorry that we didn't get more chance to talk with them, but they were recovering from a car accident earlier that week. They were troopers for just continuing to keep the place running after getting badly banged up, and we definitely understood if they weren't around to chat. We hope they're both feeling better very soon!
The room comes with breakfast each morning, and both days breakfast was delicious. The first morning we had a four-cheese omelet. The second morning we had banana French toast with chocolate. The lady who served breakfast took great care of us, remembering little details about us on the second day (like the fact that we don't drink coffee and some of the things we planned to do that day).
I've heard great things about the restaurant, but we were touring Gettysburg late into the evening each day and didn't get the chance to try it out.
When talking to someone who stayed at the Cashtown Inn, the discussion naturally turns to ghosts - did they have any unusual experiences. The answer to that question for us was, yes. We didn't have Robert E. Lee come floating through our wall or anything like that, but we did have some neat things happen. Check out our Gettysburg Ghosts page for more information.
The Pender Suite costs $175 plus tax per night. The other rooms go for $140 - $185 per night plus tax. We priced several B&Bs in the area and these prices are commensurate with what you'll find elsewhere. Their website has a lot of information about the inn and provides occupancy information. Unlike other places, I'm betting that Maria keeps her occupancy information pretty well up to date - like I say, I think Jack and Maria are really on top of things. I'd love to redesign the look of their website though - that would be a fun project.
All in all it was a great experience to stay at Cashtown Inn. We loved it and want to go back. I don't know if we can justify a third trip to Gettysburg so we can stay there again . . . but we're trying.
Here are a few of the pictures we took at the Cashtown Inn:
Loved
the wrap-around porches
The
bedroom portion of the Pender Suite
The
living room in the Pender Suite
The
Cashtown Inn's dining room
The
front lobby
The
bar / breakfast area
View
all photos of the Cashtown Inn here 
.
Return to the Gettysburg National Military Park trip report.
Civil War Trip Reports
Civil War trip report (general notes) - Many of our observations applied to more than one battlefield or to the trip in general. This was particularly true with regards to planning and booking the trip and the items we brought with us on our vacation. Rather than duplicate those comments in the Antietam, Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg trip reports, I've included a separate page for these general comments here.
Antietam National Military Park trip report - We spent one and a half days touring Antietam National Military Park. Read this trip report to learn about our cabin, a great restaurant . . . to avoid, suggestions for improving your visit, and much more.
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park trip report - We visited Harpers Ferry National Historical Park for a half day. While we weren't there for too long, we still had a good time and identified several tips and observations that might help you as you plan for your vacation.
Vicksburg National Military Park trip report - We spent a fast two days in Vicksburg to travel the battlefield in March, 2010. We spent a great deal of time traveling around the battlefield, and stayed overnight in Vicksburg. Good tip for a hotel, not so good experiences with restaurants unfortunately. But you can learn from our mistakes.
Living Civil War History - Civil War Reenactment in Jefferson, Texas - In May, 2010 we traveled to Living Civil War History a civil war reenactment in Jefferson, Texas. This trip report describes the event and provides reviews of two restaurants you don't want to miss.
Texas Civil War Museum - Fort Worth Texas - We have driven past this facility literally hundreds of times - it is within 10 miles of our house. Every time we see it, one of us will say to the other, "We need to check that place out - is it open?" Well, we finally broke down and went for a visit on February 27, 2010. Yes, it is open. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was inside too! Check out the trip report from the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Gettysburg Battlefield Travel Photographs
We have linked to several photos from Gettysburg
National Military Battlefield on this trip report page . . . but not ALL of the
pictures we shot. After you've read the trip report, be sure to check out the
Gettysburg National Military Battlefield Photos to see all the great tourist sites
and get excited about your trip! View
Gettysburg National Military Battlefield travel pictures .