Aldrich Guest House

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Aldrich Guest House

Aldrich Guest House in Galena, Illinois - 2023 winners of the TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Best of the Best Award.
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07/01/2025

Being innkeepers of Aldrich has been a dream come true and an amazing journey. We've been able to accomplish all of the goals we set out to and then some! We are honored to have been your home away from home on all of your visits to Galena and for you to all have been part of our story as well.

The day has come! After exactly 10 years and 9 months of being the innkeepers/owners of Aldrich Guest House, we are excited to be passing the keys on to new owners, Will and Tom!

Thank you all for being such supportive and wonderful guests! We will cherish our memories of Aldrich Guest House and Galena fondly!

Always grateful!

Robert and Douglas, (former Innkeepers/Owners)

**Please note that any replies to this message will go to your new innkeepers, Will and Tom, introduced below!**

Originally from South Bend, Indiana, we’re a husband-and-husband team whose journey to the Aldrich Guest House has been shaped by a shared love of hospitality and an enthusiasm for great food. Tom is a graduate of Kendall College in Chicago and was previously the kitchen manager for a popular Midwest diner chain. Will brings a wealth of experience from hotel sales,
operations, and banquet management, and he also once ran his own micro-bakery—where his passion for baking truly came to life.

When the opportunity to take over the Aldrich Guest House arose, we saw it as the perfect chance to blend our skills and make our dream of warm, story-filled hospitality a reality. Guests can expect a welcoming environment with plenty of homemade goodness, shared laughter, and maybe even a few surprise treats.

- Tom & Will

06/27/2025

With our week of before & after posts we can't forget about two of the most important rooms for entertaining in the house. The parlor and dining room have seen big changes too! We wanted to let as much light and air into these spaces as possible. That happened with removing layers of shades from the windows so that we could open them up. More wallpaper removal, plastering and painting were also in store and reupholstering the furniture gave new life to our beautiful settees! Again it was all about letting the gorgeous architecture of the house be the spotlight✨✨✨

06/26/2025

In our time here we have had some amazing experiences that helped spread the word of Aldrich Guest House! In this reel you'll find:
🚈 Us being some of the faces of Galena for the Helluva Half Mile campaign on a billboard on the El in Chicago (a stop Douglas used to use everyday in college!)
🍽 When our potato waffles won 1st runner up in a national breakfast competiton
🏆 One of our first Travelers Choice awards
📰 Our write up in the Saturday Evening Post (as big fans of Norman Rockwell this was epic!)
📰 Our first time in Midwest Living Magazine. Magazine articles have been such a fun thing, we have even been writen up in different languages!
💰 The time we were a featured prize on Wheel of Fortune
🟢 And of course our recent achievement of being named the #5 BnB in the country on TripAdvisor!

06/25/2025

🌳 We didn't just make big change to the inside of our house over the years, the outside has seen some big changes as well! One of our proudest accomplishments in the yard was adding trees. We always wanted to add shade back to the landscape like it once was, so for our first anniversary of owning the house we planted maple trees that were once shorter than Robert and are now as tall at the house!

🌸 We also transplanted Mrs. Bench's peonies that once grew along the driveway to the opposite side of the yard. It is so fun to see them happy and blooming on the property they have lived on for nearly 70 years!

🌿 At the back of our property we also tamed the wild that once was under the black walnut trees. It took a lot of sweat and pulling (we even broke a pitch fork in the process weeding out roots) to create the lawn and perennial gardens that grow under the trees today!

06/24/2025

Over the years we have put on some really fun events at Aldrich Guest House and been a part of others in Galena. Getting to have the home on tour for the History Museum's Tour of homes in 2017 was a fun way for a couple thousand people to see all of our restoration. All of the years we were on the Mistletoe Stroll were so fun to show off the house done up for the holidays! We have also hosted artists and displayed their artwork and held an amazing Chamber Music concert for the Juliani Ensemble.
Working with the Women of Courage and Commitment allowed us to have a dinner hosted by Mrs. McClellan herself and then we helped produce the Women of 3rd Street event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote!

When we added The Potting Shed to the business we were able to host events to celebrate 420. It was so fun to incorperate many local business in these events and really give our guests the best Galena has to offer. Unique experiences like talks from professionals in the cannabis world, infused cooking workshops, and an infused dinner were some of the highlights. We also had several news stations out to film and interview us about being the first cannabis-friendly lodging in the state!

06/23/2025

Taking a walk down memory lane with a look back at the before and after shots of our guest rooms. It was so much work to remove the old wallpaper, re-plaster the walls, and paint (several times over the years!) but it was also a lot of fun to bring our vision into this incredible house! Our goal was never to replicate history but always to honor it, make the original features stand out, and make Aldrich relevant to today's travelers.

06/20/2025

Happy 1st day of Summer 🌞 two of our favorite places to take in the solstice sunset is on the deck at Chestnut Mountain Resort and from the council circle at Horseshoe Mound .

Hope you make the most of your longest day of the year and enjoy your summer!

06/18/2025

It's International Sushi Day and Galena is lucky enough to have a wonderful sushi restaurant right on Main Street, Little Tokyo 🍣🍱🥟🍤 They've got it all from raw to cooked and always give you a great meal!
Who else has been? Who needs to try it out?

06/15/2025

Today, we're sending out a big Happy Father's Day to all the remarkable dads! At Aldrich Guest House, we know how special it is to create lasting memories. We hope you're spending the day feeling appreciated and loved, just as you deserve.

06/13/2025

Our late spring flowers are looking wonderful this week! Our peonies finally popped out and we have been able to keep the deer off of our couple of roses we have...why are pretty things like candy to them!!! 🌹🦌🌹

06/12/2025

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈We've got pride all year long but especially fun to celebrate during Pride Month here in June! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈
Who's ready for the Galena Pride Picnic this weekend?

06/11/2025

The Strawberry Moon over Aldrich Guest House 🍓🌝

Address

900 3rd Street
Galena, IL
61036

Telephone

+18157773323

Website

https://aldrichguesthouse.com/

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