From Altamont to Glens Falls, New York: Meet B&B Owners Bill and Nancy Turner

Power couple sold their Altamont B&B to open Bed and Breakfast in Glens Falls

Bill and Nancy Turner grew up down the street from each other in the Village of Colonie, New York, and now have been married for 46 years. Bill served in the Navy and made three trips to Vietnam in the early 70’s.

Family brought them to Glens Falls

Bill and Nancy were living in Altamont, New York, where together they owned the Altamont Old Stone House Inn bed and breakfast, as well as a wine shop and a coffee shop. “Our daughter, Kate, is a teacher at Glens Falls High School and her husband, Joe, manages a resort on Lake George,” says Nancy. “They bought a house in Glens Falls and started a family.”

“I began making the trip to Glens Falls when our grand daughter was born in 2011,” she continues. “I went home on weekends, but Bill stayed behind to manage our businesses. Then our second granddaughter was born. It didn’t take us long to realize that we were living in the wrong place and started to think about a move to Glens Falls.”

Bill says, “We put our house/bed and breakfast up for sale, looked for a property here to open a bed and breakfast. We found the perfect house and our house in Altamont sold fairly quickly.”

About the Bell House Inn

The Bell House Inn is located at 153 Bay Street, within a ten-minute walk of downtown Glens Falls. The bed and breakfast featured five rooms, each with their own private bathroom and fireplace, and includes King or Queen sized beds with top-of-the lined mattresses and luxurious linens, free high-speed internet, a flat-screen HDTV, personal closets, in-room climate control and a mini fridge. Bill, who has years of experience in construction, did all of the restoration himself, bringing the mid-19th-century building to its original elegance with extensive renovations in 2015, repurposing many of the original materials.

There is a sitting area with reading chairs, as well as the dining room which has unique stained glass and a fireplace. Breakfasts include fresh baked pastry, fruit, juice, Oscar’s Smokehouse sausages, and mimosas by request.

The Bell House Inn’s rooms are named after Nancy and Bill’s grandmothers and Nancy’s mother, respectively: Sadie, Lillian, Florence, Beatrice and Dorothy.

The building has a unique feature: A tower with a roof shaped like a school bell. A contractor who was proud of his three daughters, all teachers, designed and built these towers on three houses in Glens Falls.

Community’s greatest strength: Its residents

Bill and Nancy immediately became involved in the community, networking and volunteering while they opened up the Bell House Inn.

“The greatest strengths of our community are first, the friendly people who live here. Glens Falls also has a strong professional community that work together for the benefit of the each other. We also see a city with a well run government working for us,” says Nancy, who is Membership Chair and Board Member with the Glens Falls Collaborative. She also heads up the annual Hometown Holidays celebration. Bill takes care of many tasks for the Collaborative, including overseeing the sandwich boards around downtown Glens Falls that advertise events and encourage folks to shop locally.

Glens Falls’ walkability and museums an asset

“The city is so walkable, and we enjoy walking downtown visiting with people and grabbing a bite to eat at one of our outstanding restaurants or do some shopping at one of downtown’s unique stores,” says Bill.

“There are so many diversified programs for children,” adds Nancy. “Since I provide the childcare for my grandchildren, I am always looking for something for them to do especially when they were pre-schoolers. Crandall Public Library provides story times, the Hyde Museum provides programs for children and adults, and the World Awareness Children’s Museum is always a fun place to go. Crandall Park helps you get in touch with nature. We could go on forever and still forget something wonderful. And within minutes of the city, you have access to beautiful lakes, hiking trails that are well maintained, picnic areas, and beaches throughout Warren County.”

Why should people relocate to Warren County/Glens Falls?

“It is the best place to have a business, raise a family and live in a community that is not necessarily small but gives you the sense of a small town feeling. Glens Falls was rightly named Hometown USA.”