Aurora, A Relaxing Movie Night “Inn” Update

This is an update to our Aurora, A Relaxing Movie Night “Inn” package. I have mad a visit to Aurora, NY as well as Buffalo where I saw some Frank Lloyd Wright houses and we stayed at The Roycroft Inn and I visited the Roycroft Campus. I also changed the bubbles that go with this package.

I heard about this pairing and was skeptical about it. Popcorn and Champagne? That's crazy! It really is a great pairing. Aurora, A Relaxing Movie Night “Inn” adds to that pairing with another classic, popcorn and a movie. The package is just $20.00 and is a great addition to your stay at The Craftsman B&B. A bottle of our Bin #06 Cristalino Brut Cava N.V. with a bowl of fresh made popcorn. You'll be sipping in 2 Keepsake Craftsman B&B Flutes while you enjoy snuggling and watching a DVD from our collection. Most people travel with a laptop computer and they can watch a movie, but if you left it all behind for a relaxing weekend, we have DVD players for you.

Cristalino comes in a 375ml bottle, perfect for a few glasses. This wine was rated #3 in wine.com's top 100 wines on 2007. Not the #3 bubbles, the #3 wine overall.

Aurora, more exact, East Aurora, New York is the home of Roycrofters. I mentioned them in the Asheville package as they furnished the Grove Park Inn. This guild of craftsmanship and philosophy lead to the rise of the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States. Elbert Hubbard was inspired by William Morris. Morris had his own press, Kelmscott Press. Hubbard's was called the "Roycroft Press" by latter-day collectors and print historians, the organization called itself "The Roycrofters" and "The Roycroft Shops."
The name comes from the printers, Samuel and Thomas Roycroft, who made books in London from about 1650-1690. And beyond this, the word roycroft had a special significance to Elbert Hubbard, meaning King's Craft.

Hubbard edited and published two magazines, The Philistine and The Fra. The Philistine was bound in brown butcher paper and full of satire and whimsy. The Roycrofters produced handsome, if sometimes eccentric, books printed on handmade paper, and operated a fine bindery. The guild also included a furniture shop, and shops producing modeled leather and hammered copper goods. They were a leading producer of Mission Style products.

A quotation from John Ruskin formed the Roycroft "creed": "A belief in working with the head, hand and heart and mixing enough play with the work so that every task is pleasurable and makes for health and happiness".

The Roycroft Campus, a National Historic Landmark and was placed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation on its 11 Most Endangered Places. The Roycroft Campus Corporation (RCC) was established to preserve and restore the Campus. They successfully rehabilitated The Roycroft Inn. The RCC now plans to embark on a $50 million acquisition and restoration of the remainder of the campus. Its ultimate goal is to preserve the unique architectural setting of the Campus, but moreover, to bring back to life the Roycroft community and ideals by re-introducing working artisans on the campus; developing comprehensive, compelling, and multi-faceted interpretative and educational programming; and encouraging the development of a center for creativity and innovation in the decorative arts, fine arts and literature.

In 1915 Hubbard and his wife, noted suffragette Alice Moore Hubbard, died in the sinking of RMS Lusitania.

So what did I learn after my visit? We'll the buildings of the Campus are all intact and being used. The city of East Aurora has their offices and police station in 2 of the buildings. One building is now a gallery for Roycroft craftsmen. Another building is used as an antique store and furniture repair shop. The RCC really needs some money to restore this place, think about that the next time your at a silent auction and are bidding on something you don't really need or want. Send a check to the RCC.

So the strangest thing I noticed at The Roycroft Inn was all the furniture was from Stickley. Now I'm not saying Stickley is wrong, but Roycrofters made furniture and have many furniture makers currently in the guild. I think as time went by, the Roycroft pieces were sold off and when they opened the Inn, they needed a commercially made line to fill all the rooms. Travel tip: Stay on the top floor at The Roycroft Inn, squeaky floors everywhere.