Alexander Mansion Bed and Breakfast

Alexander Mansion, A Distinctive Bed and Breakfast in Winona, Minnesota

This turn-of-the-century Victorian mansion, once home to Winona's elite, has been restored to its full splendor with every attention to luxury and historical detail. The mansion celebrates the legacy of life lived grandly along the Mississippi while providing modern-day comfort and amenities.

The Alexander Mansion offers five guest rooms, each with private baths, European-quality linens, and tasteful décor with period antiques designed to tell the stories of each rooms' bygone occupants. The breakfast features fresh, local cuisine prepared in four gourmet courses.

Whether here for business or pleasure, you'll enjoy a restful night and a hearty breakfast, and then welcome the abundance of cultural and recreational activities this river town offers, enough to satisfy any personality and desire.

Built circa 1886, The Alexander Mansion Bed and Breakfast is an historic gem nestled in the scenic bluff lands along the Mississippi River in beautiful Winona, Minnesota.  This distinguished B&B will quickly become your favorite getaway to return to whether with friends or that special someone you share life’s adventures with. The Alexander Mansion is a true river town destination, completely renovated with exquisite decoration and antiques in high Victorian style. It features spacious rooms and suites, welcoming wine and cheese socials, evening turn down service, formal candlelight gourmet breakfasts, and much more. The Historic Alexander Mansion Bed and Breakfast provides a high level of comfort, privacy, and friendly service in an environment reminiscent of the quiet elegance of a bygone era.

Whether it’s the scent of the masses of old-fashion flowers in spring or the warmth of the crackling wood fire beneath the massive fireplace mantle that greet you, Alexander Mansion is sure to impress and leave you with fond memories.  Feel free to explore all the details of the opulent rooms that beckon to you.  There is a collection of old books in the Cherry wood library that you are welcomed to read, perhaps to enjoy on a lazy afternoon relaxing with your companion on the veranda or in that nearby nook nestled in an antique over-stuffed chair while listening to classical music.  The atmosphere you experience here is not found in the traditional hotel.  You will find no televisions or new-fangled gadgets, just an environment of a by-gone era of peaceful, stress free living that is harder to come by these days.

Room rate includes:
Wine and Cheese Social at Check-in (4-6pm)
Evening turn-down service when you step out of your room (6-7pm)
Formal gourmet breakfast served in elegant dining room (9am)
Free Wi-Fi

Fine Guest Amenities

We proudly feature Winona’s own J. R. Watkins Natural Apothecary lotions, body wash and lavender bath salts for our guests use.  You will also find fluffy thick towels, fine bed linens, luxury robes, extra blankets and pillows, alarm clock, hair dryer, radio,  free Wi-Fi, private bathroom, client-controlled air conditioning and comfortable seating in each of the rooms. 

The suites are grand-sized rooms providing the addition of a fire place, CD player, and iron with ironing board.  Flat screen television placed in your room per request only.  You are invited to complimentary coffee, teas, hot chocolate, bottled spring  water, soda pop and any candy and nuts you find in pretty dishes through out the inn.   Air pots of fresh coffee and hot water are set out each morning on the main floor in the sunny breakfast room/gift shop.  There you will also find a small refrigerator filled with complimentary cold beverages.  Those really wonderful mugs that are keeping your coffee so nice and hot, are hand thrown right here in Minnesota, at Deneen Pottery, and are available for purchase.  With our logo on them, they make a great souvenir to remind you of your stay with us and our great coffee!

Featured in Best of the Midwest 2011, National Geographic Drives of a Lifetime, Midwest Living's "Top 30 Bed and Breakfast Inns."

A bountiful gourmet breakfast is served daily in the elegant dining room at 9:00am.  There is also private seating for two available in the parlors and on the veranda.  Fresh coffee and hot water with teas can be found in the breakfast room for the early risers.  Breakfast at the Alexander Mansion is intended to spoil you while you are our guest.  We use fresh ingredients, mostly organic and from the local farmers market in season.  Several courses are served where we showcase the use of Watkins spices and extracts.  Our first course is a fruit dish followed by scones, muffins or fresh pastry from a local bakery, then by a savory egg dish like fresh vegetable frittata or quiche.  We often end on a sweet note with a dessert dish of creamy vanilla ice cream sprinkled with delicious Watkins cinnamon.

~  We are happy to accommodate special dietary needs, so please do not hesitate to mention them to us!

The gourmet, four-course breakfast at the Alexander Mansion is intended to spoil: We always use fresh ingredients, mostly organic and local and largely provided by our area family farmers. Our courses are designed to accentuate the all-natural spices and extracts from Winona’s Watkins Company. Breakfast is served at 9 am in our  elegant dining room. For those seeking a more intimate or fresh-air dining experience, seating for two is available in the parlors and on the veranda. Fresh coffee and hot water for tea is always available in the breakfast room for the early risers.

Note: We love everyone from meat-eaters (like your host, Fred) to vegetarians (like your hostess, Lynn). We are more than happy to accommodate any dietary or allergen needs. Just let us know when you make your reservation.

PRELUDE
Any remarkable breakfast begins with beverages: The second you sit down at the table, you have the option of savoring steaming hot coffee, hot or iced tea, or our trademark juices, served with a slice of orange and a leaf of mint. All drinks are bottomless, of course, so don’t hesitate to ask for more.

FIRST COURSE
Our first course is a sensuous and delicately spiced fruit dish that will tickle and tease your taste buds.

SECOND COURSE
Our second course, whether a scone, muffin or other bakery item, is always a delectable pastry created either by local bakers or from scratch in our own kitchen.  It’s a complement to what came before, a prelude to what will come.

THIRD COURSE
Our third course is the heart and soul of our breakfast, often a savory egg dish ranging from a fresh vegetable frittata to quiche. Revel in the mixture of fresh vegetables and savory spices, cooked, as always, to perfection.

FOURTH COURSE
Our fourth course ends on a sweet note, with a dessert dish of creamy vanilla ice cream sprinkled with delicious Watkins cinnamon.

FINALE
Set your napkin down. Sigh. Look around at your fellow diners. Smile. This breakfast, after all, was an event to remember, a celebration to share. This breakfast was not something simply consumed but something loved, from the moment it was created to the moment you idly passed your fork across the last of your plates, thinking there might yet be one bite left. Allow the silence to settle, if only for one passing moment, and then set your napkin on your plate, sigh once more, and stand to embrace the possibilities and beauties of the day still before you.

Parlor

Music Room

Library

Dining Room

The East Room

Dreams Really Do Come True!

For those seeking a uniquely elegant location for a memorable wedding, the Alexander Mansion Bed and Breakfast is the perfect place!  We specialize in offering warmth and hospitality not readily found today that allows family and friends to gather in a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere for your wedding. Together we will help you experience a ceremony and reception that will delight both you and your guests. Once you have reviewed the wedding information listed below, let us show you how we can help make your wedding a special and memorable one and why a setting unmatched in elegance, caring service, and top quality are the attributes most often expressed by those whom we have served in the past. Officiant~ Frederic Wm. Ihrke Frederic has had the pleasure of performing about fifty non-denominational weddings in recent years.  He would be honored to meet with you to customize a ceremony for the two of you.  We will be happy to provide you with references.  Charge for Frederic’s full ceremony service is $500 for weddings held off-site /  $300 for weddings held at the Alexander Mansion.

The Grandest of Affairs

This grand affair is a weekend package for the wedding couple planning an event for up to fifty guests, offered during the months of May -October.  Anyone reserving the inn for this event to also required to rent all the guest rooms at regular room rates for the nights preceding and following their event.  What an honor it will be for the family and friends you chose to stay in our luxurious suites!  We have five beautiful guest rooms that combined will accommodate 12 guests.  We suggest saving the wonderfully elegant and spacious Maude King Alexander Suite for the bride’s use and bridal portraits on her wedding day.  There is an additional flat fee of $1500 to hold this event at the Alexander Mansion.  This fee includes space to set-up for your ceremony and dinner reception.  We provide you with information and assistance to arrange your caterer, table and chair rentals, canopy tent rental,  florists, photographers, etc.   We team with  professional business services experienced in providing you the very best available with attention to every detail.

$1500 event fee plus room rentals

An Intimate Affair

Our cherry wood library can accommodate up to thirty guests for a smaller more intimate wedding any time of the year, or you may choose the beauty of our lawn and gardens, weather permitting.   As with larger events we require the rental of all five rooms at regular room rates for the nights before and following your afternoon event.  Weddings held in the evening after 7:00pm require one nights rental of all five rooms at regular rates on the night of your event.  There is a $500 event fee for this package that provides an elegant space for your wedding ceremony, set up and use of thirty crystal champagne flute’s for a sparkling beverage  toasting reception to be held in the elegant and candle-lit East Room, and an abundance of stunning surroundings for taking your wedding day portraits and photographs.

$500 event fee plus required room rentals

Elegant Elopement

All you need is Love…..and a marriage license.  A beautiful ceremony for just the two of you, and your two witnesses, performed by our very own Innkeeper/licensed officiant, Frederic Wm. Ihrke.  This package includes ceremony followed by a complimentary champagne toast, Alexander Mansion souvenir flute’s for the bride and groom to keep, a delicious wedding cake, seasonal bridal bouquet, wedding night in one of our beautiful suites specially prepared for the new “Mr. and Mrs.” with breakfast brought to your room the next morning.   Additional consecutive ‘honeymoon’  nights may added to your stay for only $99 per night.  Wedding can be held in the mansion anytime of the year or in the beautiful gardens, weather permitting.  We are happy to provide you witnesses if needed.

Total package $500.

Thank you for considering the Alexander Mansion for Your special day.

Visit our gift shop for the perfect Alexander Mansion B&B Souvenir! We are proud to carry a fine selection of the  J. R. Watkins Company Natural Apothacary line, along with their most popular natural and organic spices and extracts.  These make a great little gifts to say “thank you!” to grandma for watching the kids or for the neighborhood dog-sitter who put your mind at ease and let you get away for a while.

We now provide natural, hand-crafted, made in Winona, guest soaps by Be Kind Naturals.   Assortment of bath size bars  available for purchase. We have beautiful, durable, hand thrown Minnesota coffee mugs from Deneen Pottery with our logo embossed on them. What a great souvenir to remember your stay with us and our great coffee! That luxurious robe* you slipped into after that wonderful lavender-scented bath is also available for puchase to take that pampered feeling back home with you.  Dries fast, saves energy!

Winona is one of the most beautiful places on earth, nestled between the covered limestone river bluffs that rise 500 feet and the majestic mighty Mississippi River. The historical architecture and cultural opportunities give Winona a soul that is living, breathing and growing. Still, Winona and its wealth of recreational activities, arts and culture is relatively undiscovered.

Winona was founded in 1851 by a steamboat captain. Positioned on a large island in the Mississippi, the lumber industry helped it grow quickly and by 1900 Winona had more millionaires per capita than any place in the United States. Winona’s history lives on in architecturally significant historic buildings and vintage homes that thrill history buffs with the Alexander Mansion has a prime example.

Today, Winona is driven by a strong entrepreneurial spirit that has given birth to a city that has built its future by embracing its past. There is a strong arts movement, nature preserves, lively shops and art galleries, several renown museums, historical sites and a variety of restaurants.

In many ways Winona is still an island in the wilderness waiting to be discovered again. Eagles fly overhead, deer sleep in yards and on the outskirts of Winona you can hear the sound of coyotes on still summer nights. All of this is waiting for you. Make your plans today for a stay at the Alexander Mansion and discover Winona, the historic island city.