#1 Best Rated Bed and Breakfast in Galena on Google & TripAdvisor since 2017.

The Taj Mahal of Bed-and-Breakfasts!!!
"TripAdvisor ranks Jail Hill Inn in Galena, Illinois, as the No. 1 bed-and-breakfast in the United States and the No. 2 bed-and-breakfast in the world. Unless you have spent one night or two or three at innkeeper Matthew Carroll's version of the Taj Mahal, you might have some doubts. But we don't. And apparently, nobody else does, either. Because check the inn's website if you don't believe it; since Jail Hill Inn opened in 2016, nobody has submitted a negative review. Nobody.

As a TripAdvisor reviewer for the last 10 years, I find that to be an extraordinary achievement. Not even the Plaza Hotel in New York City can make that statement. Or Chicago's Alinea restaurant. Jail Hill Inn is situated around the corner from Galena's tourist-crazy Main Street with its 100 restaurants, boutiques, antique emporiums, bookstores, art galleries, ice cream parlors, historic sites and specialty shops. The 135-year-old, four-story brick building that served as the county jail for nearly 100 years, was completely renovated in 2015 by 42-year-old owner Matthew Carroll, who is a virtual one-man staff. He arranges for reservations, cleans six rooms, prepares gourmet breakfasts and cheese/fruit/cookies/snacks/wine trays daily and also serves as a landscaper.

If you live in Chicago or Milwaukee or Des Moines or St. Louis or Indianapolis or Minneapolis or anywhere in between, my wife and I recommend a three-day visit to Galena as a recipe for fun and relaxation. With a dose of history tossed in for flavor. And what better destination to serve as the centerpiece of the getaway than Jail Hill Inn. After being forced to cancel three trips in two years because of the COVID pandemic, we finally connected in July. We chose Room 201 with its 800 square feet of luxurious space, 14-foot-high ceilings and nine-foot-high windows. Divided into three large rooms, it features a living room with a large leather sofa, leather lounge chair, table with two chairs, refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker, an oversized bathroom with whirlpool tub, walk-in shower and two sinks and a bedroom with king-sized bed and 48-inch flat screen TV. There is reserved parking in front of the building.

Did I mention breakfast? How about a fricatta or omelet with pork sausage and potatoes, fresh squeezed orange juice, chocolate croissant and fresh fruit bowl? Then roasted pear with strawberries, blueberries and granola, freshly made Danish roll and two (not one) Eggs Benedict with poached eggs, Canadian bacon and hollandaise sauce on English muffins. Finally, we indulged in oatmeal and Bananas Foster, freshly baked cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting and home-made quiche with twisted bacon with brown sugar and potatoes. In fewer than six years, Matthew Carroll has converted a dilapidated relic into an international standard of the bed-and-breakfast industry. Each of the six guest rooms covers 800 square feet so nobody feels cheated. And you certainly don't walk away from breakfast feeling hungry. So does Matthew Carroll feel pressure to maintain his lofty ranking? "It keeps you on your toes every day," he said. And his guests are the beneficiaries."

- Taylor