Events in Placerville, near our B&B

Need and reason to get away?

AUGUST 10th, Craft Faire, 8AM – 3PM. Sponsored by the Placerville Downtown Association. For info call (530) 672-3436.

AUGUST 16th, Girls’ Night Out, 6PM to 9PM. Sponsored by the Placerville Downtown Association. For info call (530) 672-3436.

SEPTEMBER 28th, Antique Street Faire, – 8AM to 3PM. Sponsored by the Placerville Downtown Association. For info call (530) 672-3436.

OCTOBER 5th, Hangtown Jazz Jubilee, 11AM – 5PM. For info call (530) 622-8186.

OCTOBER 18th, Art & Wine Festival, 6PM – 9PM. Sponsored by the Placerville Downtown Association. For info call (530) 672-3436.

OCTOBER 31st, Trick or Treat on Main Street, 4PM to 6PM. For info call (530) 672-3436.

NOVEMBER 28th, Festival of Lights, 5:30PM – 8PM. Sponsored by the Placerville Downtown Association.For info call (530) 672-3436.

NOVEMBER 28th & 29th, Merchants Open House, Extended Hours. Sponsored by the Placerville Downtown Association.For info call (530) 672-3436.

DECEMBER 7th, 31st Annual Christmas Parade, 1PM. on Historic Main Street.Sponsored by Jim & Cathy McIntire.For info call (530) 621-5885.

Of course you can contact us at the Albert Shafsky House B&B in Placerville to arrange a room at the inn.

More haunting in Placerville, CA

As promised here is more of the finding of the Gold Rush Ghost folks from their visit at the Albert Shafsky House B&B.

From Paul Dale Roberts:”After gathering all of the history about the Shafskys, I wanted to know the experiences of Rita and Stephanie. I wanted to know what the guests also felt in this spacious bed and breakfast. While I was getting the information from Rita and Stephanie, Nancy sensed their was a ghostly fuzzy white dog and a ghostly tabby cat that was still roaming around in the premises of this home. As the interview continued, I learn that Rita and Stephanie owned the home for 6 years, they absolutely fell in love with the enchanting personality of this home. They have both experienced hearing heavy footsteps on the second floor, books being flown off the shelves, lightbulbs being unscrewed. They will also find pennies laying about the house. Mrs. Shafsky was known to save pennies. Nancy was feeling the presence of a small child in the neighboring room. Later she feels that two kids are playing. Could this perhaps be the children of Albert & Kitty? Rita and Stephanie at times hear piano music playing in the lounge room. Sometimes they smell cherry pipe smoke from 7:30pm to 8:30pm in the evening. On this very night, the cherry pipe smoke aroma filled the room for a matter of a few minutes during the interview process.

I learn that during storms, the activity seems to increase, as if the entities may be drawing energy from the ion particles in the atmosphere. Guests have seen a man on the stairs, it has been suggested that the man is Albert Shafsky himself. Shoes have been placed in order underneath the bed by an unseen force. We later learn that Kitty Shafsky’s mother Thora Bean died in this home. Nancy conducting a psychic reading of the house, discovers that Albert Shafsky and his wife Kitty are here in this home. She also feels Alberta, Boyd and Bernice are still here. Nancy feels that it is Kitty, who is playing the piano in the lounge area room. Nancy picks up the fact that two dogs are buried in the backyard and the ghostly presence of the fuzzy white dog and tabby cat are also in this home. There was one more entity that Nancy picked up on, she said that Marian Wing a former resident of this home is still here making her haunting presence known.

Nancy picks up more energy signatures that indicate that Boyd had some kind of breathing problem and she could see Kitty beating on a rug outside on the porch. She said that Kitty was always concerned on the condition of her floors, she wanted the floors cleaned and tidy. Going through some old notes on the Shafsky, I found something comical. When Albert Shafsky was a little boy, he was on a ship with his father, he wanted to know what the time was and picked up an English dictionary to say “what o’clock is it?” and instead accidentally said “son of a b****”.

The entities of this home, seem to be completely benevolent, they mean no harm to the owners and only want to make their presence known at certain times. Since little children are seen, this home probably has a combination of residual haunting activity in which an act replays itself over and over again. Case example, the children playing in the adjourning room. The children could possibly be the children of Albert & Kitty Shafsky. There seems to be some intelligent activity with the books flying off the shelf, as possibly one of the entities is trying to make a statement or let the owners know that he or she is around. With this beautiful bed and breakfast there is absolutely nothing to fear. If you ever stay at this bed and breakfast, you will even be greeted by the cutest miniature dachshund named Lily. Lily has detected presences in this home too. She will bark at an area where there is nothing there to be seen.

The Shafsky House is pretty popular, since established people of Hollywood have stayed here. Such as the location scouts for the movie Memoirs of a Geisha and the Director of the movie trailer Pirates of the Caribbean has stayed here too. Steve Hanks the well known artist has comfortably stayed the night at the Shafsky House to rejuvenate from his travels. If there was a haunted home I want to live in, the Shafsky House is right there on my list! “

Recent Reviews on Tripadvisor

These are some of the wonderful comments our fabulous guests have made to us via Tripadvisor this month.

“I think that this is the best option in town, particularly if you are on vacation. Was actually in town for the business. Was looking for nice, quiet place. Good B and B, has only three rooms. Got to meet some interesting people who were staying there. Cookies in the evening were delicious. Unfortunately, had to leave early in the morning both days, so could not partake in the 9AM breakfast, but sounded really good. I had the upper bedroom. Nicely decorated, everything worked well. However, if you need a big desk and other things to do business work, this is not the place. Remember, this is a B and B. The only other thing, which is minor, is that house at corner of the street, and there are cars going by. However, very few cars after 10PM. Will only be problem if you are very sensitive to noise.”

We thank you all for your comments and look forward to hosting you again at our Placerville bed and breakfast! 

“Very charming old Victorian home. Rita was so kind and served up some wonderful breakfasts! Will stay there again if we are in the area. Felt very comfortable there.”

“We just spent three days at the Albert Shafsky House B&B in Placerville and had a wonderful time! The house is a registered Victorian, beautifully restored inside and out. The innkeepers, Rita & Stephanie, live in the house, which has only three rooms available for lodgers. Our room, the Gandy Dancer, was upstairs and adjacent to a busy road so traffic noise was noticable with the windows open. The room was very clean, the decor nicely done, and the bed quite comfortable and elegant. The breakfasts were really a treat: always delicious and far from ordinary fare. Our favorite part of our stay? Meeting and becoming friends with Rita and Stephanie. They were so welcoming and cordial that we soon felt like we’d known them for years! The bent over backwards to help us with dinner reservations (at wonderful restaurants they suggested) and anything else we needed. We highly recommend this B&B.

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Books for aspiring innkeepers

So many of our guests think that they would like to run and inn some day….when they retire…. Here are some books you should read if you think you want to run a Bed and Breakfast Inn–whether is is a California property or elsewhere. Keep in mind that while you may “retire” to run an inn, it is still a profession and does involve work…and more laundry than you can imagine! Innkeeping as a profession is a great, wonderful business, that will demand time, energy and effort–all to make it look effortless! That being said, visit your library or local book store to see if they have copies of ” So… You Want To Be An Innkeeper” by Mary Davies, et al. ” How To Open And Operate A Bed & Breakfast”, by Jan Stankus ” Start & Run Your Own B&B Inn”, by Ripley Hotch and Carl Glassman For a lighter, but still very serious look at innkeeping as a profession try the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Running a Bed and Breakfast, by Susannah Craig and Park Davis. We read all of these books and more before jumping in with both feet at the <a href=”http://www.shafsky.com”>Albert Shafsky Hous</a>e in Placerville. And feel free to ask questions here….We are always happy to answer.

Bed and breakfast inns (without children)?

Many people associate inns with antiques and peace & quiet, but there is certainly no “rule” about this. Our policy at the Albert Shafsky House B&Bis that only 2 persons are allowed in the room overnight….so if you want to bring your daughter or son, and that means there are now 4 in your party…you would need to rent 2 of our rooms. That is certainly fine to do, and if you are bringing your son or daughter as a single traveler, we would be delighted to have the 2 of you stay with us….

Here is the article in the paper that prompted me to post this….

Travel Q & A: Why are children not generally welcomed at bed-and-breakfast inns?

Article Launched: 06/23/2008 11:38:39 AM PDT in the San Jose Mercury News.

Why are children not generally welcomed at bed-and-breakfast inns? I would like to understand the rationale behind this rule. And it would be wonderful if you could write about inns that are kid-friendly.
- Kim Nguyen, San Jose Imagine all the couples sitting at B&B breakfast tables right now, reading this and choking on their freshly baked orange-currant scones at the very prospect of a rug-rat invasion!
But before banishing you and your little darlings to a campground, we decided to check with the California Association of Bed & Breakfast Inns for a little history and a policy update.
“Historically, B&Bs have been associated with romantic getaways and offer quiet, quaint retreats from the hustle-bustle of life,” said Stacy Rollo, spokeswoman for the California association. “Many inns still cater to this customer and want to be known as a quiet haven.”
But, like others in the lodging industry, B&Bs have had to change with the times. Parents increasingly want to take their children along on long-weekend getaways, and many crave a civilized inn experience.
In fact, for the past five years, Rollo says, the industry has heard from more and more families who want to shun the high-rise hotel experience.
So now, 25 percent of the California association’s 300 inns are family-friendly.