Meritage Meadows innkeepers create a home away from home

Published 10:11 am Friday, July 26, 2013

Bob Spencer moved around a lot when he was young and growing up as a “service brat,” but he still remembers the move that changed his life.

When he was 10 years old, he and his family moved to Paris. His mother began studying at Le Cordon Bleu and their at-home dining went from Chef Boyardee to gourmet meals. This opened Spencer up to the world of food, and that love of food has stayed with him until now as owner of the Meritage Meadows Inn in Redmond, which he runs with his wife Karen Spencer.

With his experience cooking through high school and college, Bob — who had a previous career as a chemical engineer — is the bed and breakfast’s cook as well as the landscape and maintenance staff. Karen — who worked for the U.S. Geological Survey before becoming a stay-at-home mom for their two sons — manages the rooms and hospitality.

The couple opened Meritage Meadows in June 2010. They had wanted to purchase property around Woodinville and closer to that city’s winery district, but what they found was not easy or convenient for guests to locate.

The inn is located at 21407 N.E. Union Hill Road, less than 10 miles from the heart of Woodinville’s winery district, but there is also a winery onsite. Bob is one of Cinq Cellars’ five winemakers, along with four of his friends who share his interest in making and tasting wine. The winery offers tastings and Bob said he also likes to talk wine with guests and direct them toward more wineries and tasting rooms in Woodinville.

Meritage Meadows is a 6,000 square-foot building that was previously a private home and has five rooms for guests, each of which continues with the wine theme.

“All the rooms are named after the wine-growing areas in Washington,” Bob said.

Meritage Meadows, which won Best Date Place in the Reporter’s Best of Redmond contest this year, gets a variety of guests.

Bob and Karen said they are popular with couples. They get many new parents who are getting away from their babies for the first time. They also get many parents-to-be on “babymoons,” who are having one last weekend together before their new baby arrives.

Despite being a popular destination for couples, the Spencers said Meritage Meadows also gets a number of families and even have a room designed specifically to accommodate families with younger children. The room, Walla Walla, is separated from the rest of the rooms in another area of the inn so other guests won’t be disturbed if a baby starts to cry in the middle of the night. There is also a small kitchenette area and TV to keep youngsters entertained.

Bob said the other rooms don’t have either of these, but they do have a TV room and kitchen in the bed and breakfast’s common areas.

Other guests at Meritage Meadows include grown children visiting their parents who have downsized their homes and have limited space. The Spencers said they also get a lot of parents visiting their adult children who live in apartments or condominiums or parents from other countries who are visiting their children who are interning for Microsoft.

As innkeepers, the Spencers said they are often asked about places to visit. Bob said he enjoys being an ambassador for Redmond and the greater Puget Sound area, especially as he and Karen will visit some of these places, as well, to be able to give their personal recommendations.

“We get a great kick out of this,” he said.