The Villa – A Bed and Breakfast Inn

The Villa Bed & Breakfast is a historical mansion located not far from downtown Tacoma and the restaurants/​recreational areas along the shore. Also is close to the Univ. of Puget Sound. Our hosts Toni and Martin took such good care of us! The breakfast was delicious, and we were able to decide when we wanted it to be served. (Toni also asked us about our dietary preferences.) We had what I believe is the smallest room, but it was very comfortable and had a lovely, large vintage bathroom. We were able to use the beautiful parlor and garden rooms downstairs in our free time for reading, playing piano, and relaxing. Toni and Martin are happy to converse and offer suggestions for sightseeing in the area. I believe they are planning to redo the gardens outside this spring, which will add another dimension to the hotel. We will definitely be returning.

Great Value for the money. You really get what you pay for. They were very hospitable and accomodating. Breakfast was wonderful and filling. They went out of their way to make sure we had a great time. We will definitely be going back.

Absolutely adored this place! Can’t wait to return! Breakfast was fabulous! I cannot imagine any way to improve upon our experience. I could have cozied up by the fire and watched football with Toni all day. I’m dying to return for a mother/​daughter staycation.

We chose the Villa to celebrate our 25^th anniversary and couldn’t have been more pleased with the choice. The mansion is beautifully decorated and the hosts make you feel at home the second you arrive. Our room was spacious and unique complete with a terrace (with a hammock) and beautiful view of the lovely neighborhood and the Sound. What really makes the Villa special is the host. They went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable and that the breakfast was tailored to my husband’s diet and delicious! They chatted with us and another guest from Switzerland and treated us just like family! I would highly recommend the Villa for unforgettable experience in a lovely, historic part of town, will delightful hosts.

Great location! Great hosts! I stayed here with my family and it was fantastic. The rooms were perfect, the views were terrific. This place is within walking distance to many great places. Toni and Martin were so accommodating and gracious.

My second stay here in less than a year!!! I can’t say enough how much I love this B&B. they don’t have 2 night minims like most and there is a bathroom in every room! That’s what originally attracted us to this one. We got the room with the jacuzzi tub and it was just fabulous!!! The owners are some of the nicest people I have met. They remembered us and our conversations from 8 months ago! They were personable and truly care about making their customers happy. The breakfast is seriously to die for. We had some of Toni’s amazing parfait which… God… No words for it. Just amazing. Then we had French toast, coffee, orange juice and BACON!!! I go into more detail on my other review, this is an update… to update you on the fact that after the second stay we are 100% happy with The Villa!!! STAY HERE! Also, plus, they give military discounts!

My wife and I stayed at the Villa bed and breakfast for our 22^nd wedding anniversary. The room was great, and the food and conversation around the table was very nice. It is a marvelous building on the inside, and Toni and Martin went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. They had wanted to get this place for their very own for a long time, and finally did earlier this year. The previous owner left them a lot of work, so the outside and grounds are still a work in progress, but this did not detract from our overall great experience, nor should it yours unless you’re a master gardener :-).

We recently stayed in the Sorrento room which was upstairs in this charming 12,000 square foot house. The Sorrento room is a large bedroom with an ensuite bathroom. The suite was clean and comfortable.
The next morning we had a breakfast which we enjoyed. It was a fruit parfait that had many different fruits with granola and yogurt. This was followed with a baked egg dish and toast.
The new owners, Toni and Martin, were very warm and friendly. We would stay there again!
Barbara from Vancouver, BC

The Villa has recently been taken over by new owners, Toni and Martin, who are the sweetest people on earth. The house is absolutely gorgeous (each room is more spectacular than the one before, especially the large upstairs rooms), and will be even more so after they take care of some apparently long deferred maintenance (which they will, since they are absolutely thrilled about living there). They are not experienced inn-​keepers, which just adds to the charm: they go way above and beyond to ensure that all of your needs are taken care of, just as tho’ you were guests in their home — Toni even packed breakfast for us to take to our college-​aged daughter every day: we don’t even spoil her that much!

The Villa BnB, originally the McCormack Mansion was built in 1925 and is now on the Tacoma Register of Historic Places. This luxurious 12,000 sq ft home nestled in old town Tacoma reminded me of the guest house for the estate I cared for while in tenure as a butler on Palm Beach, FL five years ago, right down to the red painted walkway and lone palm tree in the lush front yard. Our check-​in time was between 3 and 4pm and there was another couple from Frankfurt also staying in a room down the hall from us there at that time. Upon entering we were greeted by a lovely scent of home made french toast, or maybe it was snickerdoodle cookies, well, nevertheless it was a delicious scent of all kinds of yumminess… I was thinking man I can’t wait for breakfast! Kristy must be some kind of amazing pastry chef, I just assumed she made everything from scratch…
We opted to stay in the Sorrento which is the largest suite at this estate and felt quite at home. I wish the weather had been better so we could have had our breakfast outside on our private veranda. The room had a separate toilet, shower, and claw foot tub. The claw foot tub claimed it would fit two people; midgets maybe, because I was unable to contort my 6′-3″ body in there with my 5′-3″ girlfriend– maybe if the water downspout would have been located in a different location… But I digress.
Now for the negatives:
First it seemed to be very difficult to reach Kristy or Aaron via email. My girlfriend left several emails requesting the Sorrento and other rooms that we were interested in to no avail. Apparently her computer died, and she was unable to retrieve her emails. Well, unfortunately these things do happen, but most emails get saved to some kind of web based email server– not normally «the computer» itself. I guess I got lucky when I left a voicemail and she called me back.
When we were let into our room, the door was already unlocked, when my girlfriend went to the toilet and opened the lid, there was yellow in the bowl, GROSS!
When we were leaving for the evening neither of the keys would work with our door when I went to Kristy to exchange keys she said the door was already locked, even though I was unable to lock it. So was she saying the room is haunted and a ghost locked it for me?
The Breakfast:
Even though I was stuffed, the breakfast had me wanting more– probably that french toast that I had smelled early the previous day. For starters we were given a yogurt and berry parfait, out entrée was a baked croissant stuffed with havarti, pear and apple surrounded by a warm berry drizzled crème anglaise.
It was actually tasty, but I had to ask if the croissants were fresh from the oven and I was especially intrigued with the crème anglaise, as I have made it in the past and there is actually quite a process which goes into making that type of custard sauce.
WELL, sadly, they were not homemade, infact none of it was. Kristy herself told us that the croissants were bought at Costco and the crème anglaise was infact jello vanilla pudding with a little milk added for extra creaminess. Who knows, there may have even been some MSG added to the trickery.
Another Unilocaler posted that there was wine being served during their stay. We didn’t hear about any wine being served unless they don’t have that anymore. I didn’t like that I didn’t know where I was and where I was not allowed to go in the house. I went to the communal kitchen area looking for ice and couldn’t find any. So my gf had to phone up Kristy who told us to take some from the owners fridge. I guess I would think that an ice maker would be a little more accessible than that.
In conclusion, we enjoyed our stay, except for a few minor inconveniences. Next time, I may want to try a different room, but also with a veranda and I might opt to skip the faux homemade breakfast and go to the Southern Kitchen restaurant located down the street for breakfast instead.

Stangest (and worst) B&B experience of my life, and I’ve had many. I will say that the house itself is beautiful & I’d try it again under new ownership.
Made reservation for our wedding night. Called Mon before our wedding to change rooms, no call back. Emailed Tue morning & called again in the afternoon. No responses. Called again on Wed, no response. On Thur I decided I better physically pay a visit to see if they were still in business. Was met by owner’s son, nice guy. Kristy took a long time to appear (shabby looking in oversized sweats). She claims to have gotten none of my communication attempts & said something about a problem with their phone system. «Email is best.» Told her I did that too. Got my room changed and confirmed that we’d be arriving at 6:30pm on Sat evening.
Fast forward to Sat evening about 6:40pm. Again, greeted by the son, who was in the living room with some friends. He went to get Kristy and she headed into the living room, apparently thinking that his friends were the guests he told her about. He then redirected her to the lobby where she staggared in (again, sloppy looking & messy hair) with a blank stare and said with with a bit of drunken slur, «uh, checking in?» I said yeah, I was here a couple days ago. She ignored that altogether, acting as if we’d never met. She then asked what room, we told her. She walked into the other room to ask her son if that room was cleaned and ready. She then came back and told us that the room was NOT ready yet. When I asked how long she seemed to think with great effort and slur out «probably about an hour.» So, our room wasn’t going to be ready for us until 7:40? The son and one of his buddies headed upstairs real quick to make up our room. Kristy was drunk off her butt to boot! She gave us keys to the room and simply pionted upstairs explaining where the room is located. I asked if we could go look so we would know when we came back. She said yes but didn’t accompany us. When we returned there was nobody around, we let ourselves in and went to our room. The following morning about 10 til 8 Kristy was fumbling around in the kitchen. I told her we were headed out and she said «Oh, I thought you wanted breakfast at 9» I told her I had no idea what the breakfast schedule was, nobody had talked to us about that or told us anything about what to expect. We left and went to have a wonderful breakfast at the Renaissance Café in Tacoma on Pacific Ave.
Bottom line, I would NEVER go back here unless it was under new ownership!

The Villa is a great B&B right in the heart of Old Town Tacoma! We stayed one night in the Caserta room, which was nicely decorated and quaint. We chose that room because it had a two person jetted soaking tub.
Everything was very clean in our room as was the remainder of the Inn. The owner, Kristy House greeted us upon arriving and she was vvery pleasant and helpful. Apparently they offer evening wine, which we did not partake in. We chose to spend the time in our own room with wine and cheese that we brought along.
One thing I loved about the room was the usage of spa robes and the European bedding. It was so comfortable! Also as mentioned in the prior review, you don’t have to stay more than 1 night… although two nights would have been great!
The Villa is in walking distance of a lot of businesses and restaurants. Though it is not a very short walk, but doable. Enoteca wine bar is about ½ mile down the street. That is a great place to go for a nightcap!
I would definitely stay here again and maybe try some of the other rooms out.

For our wedding night we booked the Sorrento which was this amazing 800 sq foot room with apple green walls, king sized bed and fireplace with sofa and lounger. I’m sorry I forgot the owners name but he welcomed us into the place after our wedding and showed us around. One other thing I like about this b&b is that they don’t have a minimum 2 night stay like some other b&b’s do.