Ryan Mansion Bed & Breakfast

The innkeeper is a wealth of information about the area and also the Civil War Era. Interesting guests, great food -- what more could you ask for?

My husband and I wanted to stay in Galena for our 25th Wedding Anniversary, as we wished to return after about 10 years, so we researched some bed and breakfasts in the area, and the Ryan Mansion just stood out, and I have to tell you that it was a beautifully, exquisite experience, more wonderful than expected. Greeted by the gracious butler William, we began the tour of this lovely mansion. We truly felt like we went back in time, as the tour made it easy to envision the lovely Ryan family that had once lived here. We stayed in the beautiful cottage garden house, which we were told was once used as the summer kitchen, in the warm months they cooked there to not heat up the main house. The cottage was so lovely, beautifully decorated and so comfortable and most important private and romantic, with views of the pond and the lovely gardens, with a beautiful arbor, and the cottage with its own little deck! The breakfast were delicious and we found ourselves not even ready to eat into well into the afternoon. We will definitely be returning someday soon to this lovely bed and breakfast and rumor has it that the ballroom is being reconstructed, so that would be a another lovely reason to return!

We spent a weekend at the Ryan, and I must say that we were very impressed. The rooms are large and feel private, the sitting rooms are cozy, and the breakfast was fantastic. Outside, there's plenty of space to take a romantic stroll while enjoying the exterior of this grand house. There is also a historic tour during the day which we plan to take next time.

The Ryan Mansion will certainly bring you back in time! Its almost museum-like in its authenticity, but as comfortable as staying with family or friends! When we arrived, the butler and maid of the house gave us a tour of the mansion as if we were guests of the Ryan family in the 1800's. It really set the stage for our whole weekend. They have a lot of humor in the way they present the history of the house. The library is full of wonderful old and new books and parlor amusements. Our breakfast was served in the beautiful dining room (by the butler) with old dishes and silverware! It was presented beautifully and was plentiful and delicious! Everything is so fancy and old, but the hosts really make you feel comfortable while embracing the history! The rooms are so elegant and charming, and very quite!! The whole house exudes romance with all the elegant details and the way they are presented. We had a wonderful, wonderful time!

The Ryan Mansion is awesome, so many unique details in the orginal Architecture and the historic decorations added by the owners. We enjoyed the check in tour by the Butler and the Head Housekeeper at 3pm both dressed for the 1800s. Many fine amenities, the modern items like TVs and refrigerators hidden by subtle decorations. The Innkeepers were readily available by phone and on site most of the time. The first floor parlors were wonderful for group visiting. Loved the morning sunlight through the Ruby Glass windows, breakfast and walking the grounds with a cup of coffee.

Just spent the first weekend in April at the Ryan. Everything about this old house was outstanding and our host and hostess were very accomodating. Can't imagine anyone not truly enjoying thier stay. Old homes do tend to make us wonder about sounds etc but isn't that what it is truly all about. Immaculate acoomodations'

The Ryan Mansion is absolutely gorgeous! Everything from the outside of the building to the elegant rooms, staircases, and whole interior is just breathtaking. However, we were very unpleased with the lack of ammenidies it had to offer. We stayed in the Ryan Suite and loved that it had the additional sitting room. We didnt like that the tv was located in the sitting room instead of the bedroom since its more relaxing to us to lie in bed and watch tv rather than sit up in a parlor room. We also had no refridgerator. Ordinarilly this wouldnt be a big deal, except that we bought a good amount of things from town to take home as gifts...things that needed to be kept refridgerated...that we ended up having to throw away because we assumed the room would have one since every other room we've been in did. We also bought a few bottles of wine from town and wanted to sit and relax and enjoy a nice glass of vino. We searched the entire house...in the dark I might add...for a wine key and never found one. All the lights in the house were off and we felt as we sneaking around in the dark doing something forbidden. It was a very creepy and uncomfortable feeling. Luckily for us, there was a 24 hour Walmart down the street that we made a trip to for everything else we needed (wine bottle opener, ice, dvds, bottled water, ect.) When we got back, we finally settled in the sitting area with our wine and a movie. As my husband took a sip from his glass, he noticed some kind of brown, winged insect. I wouldnt say the rooms were infested with them but we did notice a few more flying around. The worst part was the bedroom was about 10-15 degrees hotter than the sitting area. We had no thermostat or ceiling fan or any way to adjust the temperature. It got so hot during the night, we actually considered just leaving the house and checking in to the hotel next door! Needless to say, we will not return.

Our stay was just lovely! We stayed in the Ryan Room because we liked the idea of having a sitting area in addition to the bedroom. The rooms were surprisingly large, which was hard to determine just by looking at the pictures on their website. I expected smaller room size, and this was a wonderful surprise. I loved this room! Our room featured a sparkling clean, updated bathroom and whirlpool tub and overall, was very comfortable and spacious. Staying at the Mansion, took us back in time. The dramatic, high ceilings, large rooms and windows were just beautiful. We visited in the winter and had a heavy snow-fall, which made our stay very scenic. The full breakfast was delicious! The overall service and experience exceeded expectations. The Ryan Mansion is a wonderful way to experience Galena and the history it has to offer.

My husband and I were looking for something fun to do for our tenth anniversary. We decided on Galena, as we had never been there. As there are quite a few bed and breakfasts, I let him choose to surprise me. What a wonderful surprise. The Mansion is just beautiful, and you can tell that the owners and staff truly love this place. The staff is usually in costume and from the 1800's, so be prepared to interact with them appropriately! We stayed in the garden cottage, it was clean,cozy and very romantic. The breakfasts were exceptional. We took the tour, the history of this place (and the whole town) is amazing. My husband is a little on the picky side, and he says he would definately go back again. And for anyone who hasn't tried a B&B, try this one!