When was the last time you stayed at a bed and breakfast? Are you planning to do it again soon? Or are you one of those travelers who have become so addicted to collecting points for “free” stays through hotel loyalty programs that you’d rather put up with monotonous chain hotels than visit smaller but more original properties?

If you are, then we are very much alike. The last B&B I stayed at was up in the Shetland Islands, in the very north of Scotland, 14 years ago. During the past decade, I’ve convinced myself that monotonous is not necessarily bad — in fact, although one could hardly distinguish hotels from the same chain in different cities or even countries, one always knows what to expect…