Page 32 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2015

COASTNOTES
FRONT BEACH
COTTAGES
Amazing Beach Hotel gets Yahoo! Travel honor
story by Susan Ruddiman photos courtesy of Ben Fant
Front Beach Cottages (FBC) was featured as one of the “10 Amazing Beach Hotels for Under $100” published by Yahoo! Travel in August.
The article read: “Who doesn’t dream of an escape to a small and charming hotel near the beach. Even better if
the rates are under $100 a night. We combed the country for some of the most amazing — and affordable — hotels in beachy locations.”
The Ocean Springs cottages made the list along with other treasures in California, Maine, South Carolina, North Carolina, Hawaii, Florida, Oregon and Michigan. This national honor and exposure caught FBC co- owner Cathy Mackenzie by surprise. She learned about it when a colleague read it on Yahoo! Travel and notified her by email.
“It was a very pleasant surprise. Since the article was published in early
August, it made what is usually a lackluster month very brisk. That was great,” Mackenzie said.
She and her husband, Jason Mackenzie, are both Mississippi Gulf Coast transplants. She is a native of Miami, Fla., and he is from Phoenix, Ariz. They both fell in love with the area and decided to stay, acquiring the property on Dewey Avenue in downtown Ocean Springs with the idea of converting the 1940s era fishing cottages behind their main house into a bed and breakfast.
Each of the historic cottages represents places Mackenzie likes
to visit. The Bellande Cottage was inspired by Ocean Springs, the NOLA Cottage and Lagniappe Cottage by New Orleans, and the Key West Cabana by the southeastern most tip of the United States.
They opened FBC in October 2011.
“Within six months, we started having repeat customers. They found that Ocean Springs is an incredible place to be, and they liked the ability to walk to Front Beach or into town for the shops, restaurants and bars,” Mackenzie said.
As innkeepers, the Mackenzies don’t set schedules, thus allowing their guests freedom and privacy. The cottages have kitchens, coffee, water and even monogrammed bathrobes. Guests can help themselves to kayaks and bicycles to explore the city.
“It was a passion of ours to introduce people to Ocean Springs, and the fact that it’s working is the icing on the cake,” Mackenzie said.
32 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • October 2015
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
Front Beach Cottages
207 Dewey Ave., Ocean Springs 228.215.0969 www.frontbeachcottages.com
LEFT: THE BELLANDE cottage. MIDDLE, TOP: THE KEY WEST Cabana. MIDDLE, BOTTOM:
A BEDROOM in the Lagniappe Cottage. RIGHT, TOP: The Bellande living room.