Lodging

“Some people are very excited about the fact that it’s rumored to be haunted,” owner Susan Sinsley says. “Others have canceled their reservations as soon as they walk in the door. But that’s only happened once or twice.”

Paranormal activity has drawn plenty of guests to this bed and breakfast, but the ghosts are just one aspect of a visitor’s trip back in time, Sinsley says: “We want [guests] to feel like they’re immersed in the 1880s and know a little about what life was like back then.”

“When you walk in, you’re instantly transported into a completely different architectural environment,” says Demion Clinco, CEO of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, which acquired the house in 2019. “In some ways, it’s very modern and modest, and in others, it’s very beautiful and expressive. And it’s one of a kind.”

In their past lives in Flagstaff, Marnie was a doctor in family practice, while Steve worked as a radio announcer and pilot. For a change of scenery, they lived in Vermont for three years. “Our neighbors around the corner had a B&B and started sending us their overflow guests,” Marnie says. “That was where we learned about doing a B&B.”

The couple returned to their Flagstaff home, which had a spare building that had been used as a workshop and office space. They added a bathroom and a bedroom to make it a 450-foot suite, and in late 2011, Elden Trails was born.

Co-owner Maggie Kohanek opened the B&B in 2001 with her siblings. The family wanted to take care of their mother as she battled Alzheimer’s disease, and they bought the Gardens as a way to have an income while looking after her needs. “We had never done anything like that,” says Kohanek, who lives on the property and attends to guests as they come and go. “We didn’t know how to run a bed and breakfast or what to do.”