Thursday, Sep. 30, 2010

Stay Here: Grand Strand's Moore Farm House Bed & Breakfast

By Ashley Morris -

It's a hybrid coastal-country home away from home, accommodating guests from around the world that wish to see an historical perspective of the Grand Strand that's bred a little differently than the hotel high-rises along Ocean Boulevard.

The Moore Farm House Bed & Breakfast is nestled about 15 rural miles northwest of Myrtle Beach and steeped in nearly 100 years of history. The 1914 farm house and land was originally a gift from F.G. Burroughs to his sister, Mary Moore, and her husband, James Moore, and their family. Harry Pinner and Cathy Pinner purchased the home of heart pine in 2003 and converted it into a B&B. "The biggest part of the conversion was removing two general bathrooms and putting a private bathroom in each bedroom," says Harry Pinner. "We opened for business in October of 2003, with our very first guest being an educator from England."

The Pinners most recently welcomed renowned guitarist Larry Coryell and a houseful of his family and friends in early May, but their guest list runs the gamut of everyone from military couples along the East Coast looking to stay for a getaway weekend (there's a 10 percent discount for active military) or a women's bowling team from Nebraska to a family reunion from California and golfers from Germany - and just about everything in between. "We're providing an experience for our guests they might not find anywhere else in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area," says Harry. "Many of our guests have never stayed in a bed-and-breakfast, and we enjoy making their first experience one they will remember fondly."

Four bedrooms lovingly named after the Moore daughters - Alma, Celeste, Myrtle and Vera - are designed with both the Moore's and 21st century guests in mind. "We've tried to honor both the people who originally lived here, as well as the time period, so we're not a typical Victorian house with all kinds of wall hangings and small antiques laying around," says Harry. "While we do have many antiques, we try to present the house in a relaxing manner with all the amenities travelers expect, like private baths, whirlpool tubs, wireless and more, but within the setting of a historical farm house. We treat our guests as family and open the house to them for their use."

The B&B also boasts a well-stocked library that doubles as a billiards room, a cozy living room (pick one of the 100 DVDs and stay in for the night), a relaxing front porch for evening conversations and a dining room where complimentary gourmet breakfast is promptly served each morning. Specialty items on the menu include Egg-dipped Challah Bread stuffed with cream cheese and raspberries or The Moore Farm House Seafood Frastratta (baby shrimp, mild horseradish Monterey jack cheese and eggs baked in a hand-patted hash brown crust).

If you're "dying" to stay at The Moore Farm House, the Pinners offer a Murder Mystery Weekend experience for groups, featuring a script (written by Harry Pinner) that takes place in 1887. Regular summer room rates are $119 per night for Vera's room and $149 per night for the remainder of the rooms. Horry County residents receive a 10 percent discount during the summer.

For additional info and reservations, call 866-666-7322 or 365-7479, or visit www.themoorefarmhouse.com.