Smethport Web — by Nathan Muller

TripAdvisor has honored the Mansion District Inn B&B in Smethport, Pennsylvania with its 2016 Travelers’ Choice® award as one of the Top 25 Best Bed and Breakfasts in the United States. This six-suite boutique inn, owned and operated by Ross and Jovanna Porter, placed Number 1 in Pennsylvania and Number 9 nationwide.

Top 25 B&Bs and Inns — United States

According to the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, there are about 17,000 B&Bs in the U.S., with an estimated value of $3.4 billion.

To be recognized by TripAdvisor two years in a row in this very competitive market demonstrates a complete understanding of guest needs by the Porters as well as their unique ability to deliver an exceptional experience — not just most of the time, but every time.

This review posted on TripAdvisor by a couple who stayed at the B&B in November is representative of the hundreds of excellent guest reviews the Porters have received:

My husband and I spent two relaxing nights and two wonderful breakfasts with Jovanna and Ross and we couldn’t have had a more enjoyable stay. Their warm hospitality and beautiful home was really a special treat. Their home has so many treasures to enjoy and the view from every room was so lovely. It was our first time in Smethport and Ross was so knowledgeable about the history of the town. I know that we will definitely return. I feel like we really made friends. I must tell about the breakfast, It was a feast for the eyes and well as being very delicious. We had dietary needs that were no problem for Jovanna. She made us feel like special guests. God Bless them both.

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel website, with more than 290 million reviews and opinions by travelers around the world. Now in its 15th year, TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice awards honor the world’s best accommodations, earning their reputations from those who know them best – real travelers. This year’s Travelers’ Choice Awards are based on reviews and opinions collected in 2015 from among more than 950,000 reviewed hotels, B&Bs and specialty lodgings on TripAdvisor sites worldwide.

“We weren’t expecting to even place on the TripAdvisor list this year,” said Ross Porter. “It’s not something you apply for and typically there is a lot of turnover on the list.”

The award-winning B&B was once the home of Reverend John Heber McCandless and his wife Emma Hamlin McCandless, daughter of banker/businessman Henry Hamlin, who was reported to be the wealthiest private banker in the United States in 1892. The home was built in 1891 and remained within the Hamlin family until 1992. It was purchased by the Porters in 1995.