GET AWAY FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE AT BED AND BREAKFASTS

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Imagine life with no alarm clock, no cell phone, no pager, no answering machine, no television and no noise. Just peace and quiet.

That life may be impossible to attain, but it can happen if only for a few days at a bed and breakfast --- an inexpensive commodity between $60 and $100 that can be found in Southeast Missouri.

The desire to get away led Barbara Hankins, owner of The Southern Hotel Bed and Breakfast in Ste. Genevieve, to begin the process of opening her own place. She and her husband, Mike, used to go to Ste. Genevieve from St. Louis because they wanted to get away for awhile.

"It was just far enough away that our beepers did not work," Hankins said. "But it was close enough to St. Louis that if they really needed to find us, they could."

Back then the Southern Hotel building was sitting vacant. In 1805 the building began operation as a hotel. In 1950, it was converted into apartments. The last tenant moved out in 1980 and the place stood vacant until the Hankins' bought it six years later. It took them nine months of intensive work to get the place open for business.

The furniture in the place is designed to keep with the Civil War theme. The hotel earned its reputation as a drinking establishment and inn during the Civil War era. Much of the furniture in the place is from that time period, but some of it is not.

"When we first bought the place there was nothing here," Hankins said. "We owned a great deal of furniture and we bought a great deal. Our goal was to stay with the flavor and make sure guests are comfortable."

She said when buying furniture, she did not want guests to feel like they couldn't sit on it or use it because of its age. The beds are old, but they have been reinforced for safety.

The hotel was famous for pool and in trying to find an old pool table, the Hankins' stumbled onto a small piece of history. One previous owner modeled the place after the Southern Hotel in St. Louis. And as the process of restoring an old pool table began, the Hankins' found out that their pool table was actually one of only two to survive the fire that destroyed the St. Louis hotel.

Pool has played an integral part of the history of the hotel in Ste. Genevieve. Legend has it that the hotel changed hands in 1822 as the result of a six-day pool game. And the records of the hotel are a little strange. Hankins said there was an unexplained change of ownership that has no record of a sale or anything.

"But it doesn't really matter whether it is true or not," Hankins said. "It just makes a great story."

The Southern Hotel has a history behind it. The old brick on the outside may look a little old and worn, but it still is a haven to go, and for just a little while get away and enjoy life. Back in the days of the Civil War, people congregated to drink whiskey and ale. Now there are wine and cheese hours, but the principle is the same. It is rustic, but comfortable and that is the way Hankins wants it.

"People in our society need permission not to be productive," she said. "That is what we provide."

The Steiger Haus

It was Col. Mustard in the kitchen with the pipe wrench. The Parker Brother's Clue game is a bit tame for the hardcore mystery buffs who gather at the Steiger Haus to play a sort of murder and mystery real-life role-playing game.

Rob Beckerman, owner of the Steiger Haus, started the murder mysteries because when he first opened up he needed something to attract customers in the winter time. His aunt gave him the idea and it took off.

"We decided, well we will try one," Beckerman said. "In the first year, we did 20."

Now 1,300 murder mysteries later, he has 70 scripts to choose from and tailors each one to the groups coming to the inn.

Guests are sent basic information about the story and each person is given a part. Then the story unfolds as the guests arrive and, of course, someone gets "murdered," leaving the guests with the task of solving the crime.

Sometimes not everything goes according to plan. One of the mysteries involves characters revealing their darkest secrets.

"One lady, she couldn't be a day under 65, had the dark secret that she was pregnant and didn't know who the father was," Beckerman said. "When it came time for her to reveal her secret, she was crying, she was laughing so hard."

But the stories usually work out for the guests and it is optional whether the guest want to participate in the mysteries.

The idea for the bed and breakfast came about as Beckerman was searching for a job after college. His degree was in business, and after a fruitless search for a job, he decided to try his hand at owning his own business.

He grew up in the Steiger Haus and bought it from his parents in 1987. It is an old farm house that at one time was just outside of town.

His parents sold most of the furniture that the Steiger family had in the place. But he has tracked down most of the family furniture and brought it back to the house.

The house has changed over the years, and Beckerman has tried to restore it to the way it once was. His parents had put orange shag carpet in one of the rooms of the house --- something he removed when bought the place.

He also has made some other improvements. Guests can get out of the heat by relaxing in the indoor pool in the barn. Beckerman said there still were horses in the barn when he was growing up.

"Guests see that we have an indoor pool and they keep looking in the house for it," Beckerman said. "I say, 'No, we keep it in the barn where everybody else keeps their pools.'"

Area bed and breakfast getaways

Rachel's B&B

Annapolis

(888) 245-7771

Rate: $41-$60

Victorian Veranda

Bonne Terre

(800) 343-1134

Rate: $61-$85

1909 Depot B&B

Bonne Terre

(314) 731-5003

Rate: $86-$100+

Annie Laurie's Cottage

Cape Girardeau

339-1301

Rate: Unavailable

Bellevue B&B

Cape Girardeau

(800) 768-6822

Rate: $41-$85

Neumeyer's Bed and Breakfast

Cape Girardeau

(888) 423-5184

Rate: $41-$60

River Walk Bed and Breakfast

Cape Girardeau

334-4611

Rate: $41-$85

Anderson House

Commerce

(800) 705-1317

Rate: $61-$85

Cordelia's B&B

Fredericktown

Rate: under $40

783-2568

Trace Creek Blues B&B

Glenallen

238-2878

Rate: $41-$60

The White House

Jackson

243-4329

Rate: $55

Trisha's B&B, Tea Room

Jackson

(800) 651-0408

Rate: $61-$85

Chateau Ste.Genevieve

Ste. Genevieve

883-2800

Rate: $100+

The Creole House

Ste. Genevieve

(800) 275-6041

Rate: $61-$100+

Falk House

Ste. Genevieve

883-5881

Rate: $41-$60

Inn St. Gemme Beauvais

Ste. Genevieve

(800) 818-5744

Rate: $61-$100+

John Hael Gasthaus

Ste. Genevieve

Rate: $61-$85

Main Street Inn Bed and Breakfast

Ste. Genevieve

(800) 918-9199

Rate: $61-$100+

Rocky Ridge Ranch Bed and Breakfast

Ste. Genevieve

483-2057

Rate: $61-$100+

Somewhere Inn Time

Ste. Genevieve

883-9397

Rate: $95+

Southern Hotel

Ste. Genevieve

883-3493

Rate: $61-$100+

Steiger Haus

Ste. Genevieve

(800) 814-5881

Rate: $41-$85

Source: Missouri Department of Tourism, staff reports