When Not a B

I want to object to the designation as B&B; of hotels like the Old Monterey Inn or the Casa Laguna Inn. Both were mentioned in Letters, May 4. No amount of flowers and no size of popovers make a hotel a B&B;, especially at the three-digit rates quoted by your readers. A B&B; is, by definition, a private home renting a couple of rooms and serving breakfast, the rate being considerably lower than the price of a hotel or motel room.

It is entirely misleading to represent luxury inns with luxury prices as B&Bs.; People are perfectly within their rights to spend $125 a night and to enjoy their stay and the amenities such prices buy, but they should refrain from claiming that these inns are B&Bs; or inexpensive; they aren’t.

FRANK DESSAYER

Glendale