Amish Homestay Bed & Breakfast
The Amish Homestay Bed & Breakfast offers the most authentic Amish experience, and the greatest amount of interaction with the host couple of all our lodgings. This Old Order Amish “farmette” (not a farm) offers in-home lodging with breakfast provided. The guest bedrooms are located on the 2nd floor of this home with a shared bath. Lodging includes tour of property & discussion of Amish life & culture.
This is a 3 acre rural property with horse & buggy, goats, chickens, large gardens, fruit trees, barn, etc. located near Ephrata in Lancaster County. Lodging is in the home of an Amish couple (in their 60’s) and their adult son. There are a few lamps which run on battery power but there are no electrical outlets in the guesthouse. This is a great lodging for guests who desire an authentic Amish experience with opportunity for interaction and discussion about the Amish way of life. This is not a good option for those requiring the usual amenities and luxuries of a modern bed & breakfast. You should be prepared to enter what feels like a different time & culture!
- 2 rooms available w/shared bath (Room 1 sleeps 3, Room 2 sleeps 4)
- $95 per/night plus tax & booking fees (for 2 guests)
- $15 each additional guest
- tax of 7% and booking fees not included in above rates
- book online at this link
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My partner and I had dinner with Ben and Emma late in April. We had a fine meal with them, and a long chat afterwards. I was fascinated to listen to them and had lots of questions; I just hope he didn't think that I was asking too much!
Many of his comments about Amish life were very thoughtful and insightful. We learned a lot.
They were remarkably open, friendly and helpful. It was great to view Amish life from the inside, as it were.
Highly recommended!
Our stay with Ben and Emma was not bad, but we left feeling a bit disappointed and like this was just about them making as much money off of guests as possible. The short version is that we were sold a tour that basically just takes you to a few very touristic spots and nothing more, and paid for a horse and buggy ride that was little more than a 15 minute trip around a parking lot. More details follow.
The two night minimum is off-putting. We almost didn't reserve, but the allure of staying in an actual Amish home (as opposed to a guest house) was strong, so we decided to do reserve for two nights. Staying in the house is not actually that different from a guest house, though. There is electricity courtesy of generators and batteries, so you are in a home with a refrigerator, lights, etc. Lack of wifi is about the only difference you're likely to experience.
It's worth noting that although they have a two night minimum, you only receive breakfast after one of the nights. I've never in my life been at a bed and breakfast that does not serve you breakfast after each night.
Ben is very gracious with his time, willing to talk and answer questions - we really appreciated that part. However, soon after we arrived, we received a sales pitch to sell us additional aspects of the visit, and this is where we were really disappointed.
The extra services offered for a fee were a home-cooked dinner, a horse and buggy ride, and what we were told would be a 2-3 hour tour of Amish country. Especially for the latter, it was advertised to us as going to places we wouldn't normally encounter, to get more of an inside, local look at Amish life.
The tour actually was about 1.5 hours, and 20 minutes of that was waiting for Ben while he ran errands (that we drove him to, without him asking if it was okay). So really, it was more like an hour and 15 minutes. We saw very little that you wouldn't see on any drive through Amish country, and our three stops were a touristic farm that is just like any other farm you've seen, minus more modern machinery, and two VERY touristy stores. When I say the were tourist stores, there were tour buses outside them. We were so disappointed to pay someone to direct us to exactly the types of places we try to avoid.
The horse and buggy ride was just 15 minutes, and 10 of it was around a parking lot. Yes, a "modern" parking lot, through rows of cars. Not exactly the ambiance one imagines for a horse and buggy ride.
The meal was fine, we had no complaints about that.
We booked two nights with Ben and Emma and brought our two young children as a cultural learning experience, which I think is so important. We chose this bed and breakfast since we wanted as much interaction with our hosts as possible. We were definitely not disappointed! Ben and Emma treated us as friends and answered our questions without making us feel foolish. Ben brought us on a buggy ride and taught the kids to play shuffleboard. We all played board games together and spent the evenings talking and sitting around the fire. Emma made the most delicious meals and her meatloaf with homemade ketchup was to die for! Definitely take advantage of booking a dinner at the house. The second night we went out to eat and were regretting it the whole time.
Thank you for your informative review. We're glad you enjoyed your Amish Bed & Breakfast experience!
This was an incredibly unique and valuable experience. Ben and Emma were so incredibly nice and accommodating. They treat you like friends not strangers. A beautiful farm and lovely surrounding countryside and farmland.
My sister and I stayed two nights with Ben and Emma and we really enjoyed our time there. I promise you really won’t miss electricity unless you are glued to your electronics. If you really want to know more about the Amish and their way of life, this is the place to be. We plan on going back to visit.