My husband and I recently had the pleasure of staying at Elaine's Band B overlooking Witless Bay and the Witless Bird Preserve. Had we known that Elaine's was such a short, pleasant drive from St.John's ( about 30 minutes), we would have stayed there longer and made a couple of day trips into the city. First, the view from Elaine's is spectacular - Witless Bay and out to the ocean, we chatted with other guests before dinner and watched humpbacks out in the bay! The rooms are beautifully decorated - we stayed in three of them during our four day visit. Our three rooms, except one which has a private bath across the hall, offered ensuite bath and comfy queen or king bed and view of the water. Two also had an electric fireplace for extra ambience. All baths provide fluffy towels, toiletries and Conair blowdryers. There is a great family room with red leather couches and woodburning stove and a large table for cards or dining. We travelled all over Newfoundland and have to say that Elaine served up the best, most varied breakfast every morning - a variety of cereals, fresh fruit, fruit salad, yogurt, homemade muffins, eggs any way, bacon, toast and Newfoundland partridgeberry and bakeapple jams. The family run Ecotours ,featuring zodiac whalewatching, were the best on the island. We went out twice and were up close and personal with five humpbacks, including one who swam under the zodiac. On our second trip, two dolphins swam with the boat, followed by two humpbacks swimming in tandem. The zodiac also offered us a closer view of the puffin and kittiwake colonies on Bird Island. Elaine's also is an excellent base for visiting the Irish Loop. A must see is Ferryland with the Lighthouse picnics. The lighthouse is about a 35 minute drive from Elaine's. It's a hike up to the lighthouse, but once there, one can indulge in prepared picnics of gourmet sandwiches, homemade lemonade and a variety of desserts. Picnic baskets and blankets are supplied. Elaine's is also within walking distance to the Irish Loop cafe, laundromat and shopping/banking. But the best thing about Elaine's is the goodwill and hospitality - Elaine's humour and kindness is also expressed by her husband Dan and their two adult children, not to mention Cheryl who makes all the rooms so fresh and inviting for guests' arrival. After our second day at Elaine's, our car broke down after our picnic at Ferryland. Dan arranged for Elaine to pick us up after work. In the days that we waited for a car part, Elaine lent us her car to pick up pizza, get more cash and groceries, and her son took us to our efficiency nearer the mechanic. The kindness shown to us at Elaine's during our visit greatly lessened our stress about the car and made us marvel at Newfoundland hospitality! Great view, great rooms, great food, great location, great value, and fantastic hosts! We would return in a heartbeat.

Elaine's is the perfect spot to get to from St John's airport, if you're off to drive the Irish Loop in the south. It was half an hour from the airport, 200 m off the highway, right on the ocean and it felt like going to your favourite relatives house. It was spotlessly clean, breakfast was superb and beds luxurious. Make sure you book one of the boat tours for the Witless Bird Sanctuary ( 4km away )

Our very first stay at a B&B was enjoyable to the tenth degree. Our three night stay extended to four nights when we were treated to comfort and a warm hostess. Elaine and her family set a high standard for us in the future at B&B's. Elaine's busy family always to the time to chat and make us feel like friends.
The ocean view was incredible from our room as well from most rooms in the home including the dining room where Elaine served our delicious breakfast. Elaine's humour also contributed to a memorable stay.
I heard no complaints from other guests which indicates that all the friendly people we met enjoyed the warm atmosphere as well.
I would recommend a stay at Elaines to anyone.
Thank you Elaine, Dan and Family.

I visited Newfoundland with four other bird photographers and spent the final night in Witless Bay at Elaine's Bed & Breakfast.

The first thing I noticed is the cleanliness and how new all of the furniture, floors and walls appeared. You know the expression "You can eat off of the floors", well that is absolutely true here. The next thing I noticed was how warm and relaxing the rooms were. We especially enjoyed watching the sunset out on the porch while looking out at the islands teeming with birds in the distance.

I would highly recommend taking the zodiac boat tour offered by Elaine and Danny. They provided us with a private charter customized to our bird photography needs for about the same price as what the larger tour companies would have charged us individually for being part of a large group tour. I cannot imagine having a better view of the Witless Bay bird life.

I highly recommend Elaine's Bed & Breakfast to anyone visiting the area.