The Red Rose Inn is a four-room bed and breakfast in an early-1800s Federal-style house at 209 East Stephen Foster Avenue, about two blocks from Court Square. Every room has a king bed and a private bath, breakfast is a hearty homemade country meal at 9 a.m., and the backyard has a deck and a koi pond. With a 4.9 rating on both Tripadvisor and Google, it is one of the best-reviewed small inns in Bardstown, and a quieter, more personal alternative to the bigger B&Bs.
Same house, new name
If you are working from an older guide, you may know this address as the Arbor Rose Bed & Breakfast, which innsite listed as an “1820 Home on Historical Register” with a garden terrace, koi pond and fountain. It now operates as the Red Rose Inn. The current innkeepers, Dan and Carrie Hill, moved to Bardstown from Washington state to be closer to family and slow down a little, and they bring backgrounds in property management, construction and cooking, per the inn’s about page.
The house is a Federal-style home from the early 1800s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Look for the five decorative fireplaces and the period woodwork the inn credits to master craftsman Alexander Moore. It is an old house with an old house’s character, which is exactly why people book it over a chain room on the bypass.
The rooms
There are only four, so the house never feels busy. All have king beds, private bathrooms with showers, cable TV, WiFi, ceiling fans and a seating area. The accommodations page describes each:
| Room | Floor | Bed | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Derby Room | First | Four-poster king | Two wingback chairs, large windows over the deck and backyard |
| The Garden Room | Second | King iron bed | Chaise lounge; views of the deck, yard and koi pond |
| The Magnolia Room | Second | King canopy | The largest room, with a full-size couch |
| The Bluegrass Room | Second | King | Two chairs and backyard views; billed as the serene one |
The Derby Room is the only first-floor room, which matters if you would rather not haul luggage up an old staircase. The Magnolia Room is the pick for space, and its couch makes a lazy afternoon between tastings easy. The Garden Room gets the best view of the pond.
All four baths are listed with showers, so if you want a soak, look at Bourbon Manor or the 1819 Room at Jailer’s Inn.
Breakfast and the backyard
Breakfast is included and served at 9 a.m. in the dining room. The inn describes it as a hearty homemade country breakfast on a rotating menu of comfort dishes, with biscuits and savory plates, so do not plan on skipping it. If you have a 9:30 tour at a distillery out in the county, say so when you book and ask what is possible.
The outdoor space is a big part of the appeal. The front porch has padded rocking chairs facing the avenue, and out back there is a spacious deck and a large yard around the koi pond. On a warm evening, a porch rocker and a pour you brought back from a distillery gift shop is about as Bardstown as it gets. Smoking is allowed only in designated outdoor areas.
Policies
From the inn’s policies page:
- Check-in is after 3 p.m.; earlier arrival can be arranged. Check-out is at 11 a.m.
- Cancel by phone at least 7 days before arrival. Inside 7 days you owe the whole reservation, refunded only if the room re-books. Whole-house bookings need 30 days.
- No pets.
- No smoking indoors.
- Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express are accepted.
Children are not addressed on the policy page. With four king rooms and no extra beds listed, this is really a couples’ and adults’ inn; call if you are unsure.
Renting the whole house
Four rooms and a 30-day whole-house cancellation rule tell you the inn is used to group bookings. For a girls’ trip, two couples on a bourbon weekend or a small family gathering, renting all four rooms gives you the porch, the deck and the dining room to yourselves. Our girls’ trip and group planning guide has more on booking for groups.
Where it is
The inn sits on East Stephen Foster Avenue (US 150), the road that runs from Court Square east to My Old Kentucky Home. That puts you in a sweet spot:
- Court Square, the Old Talbott Tavern and the downtown restaurants are about two blocks west.
- Circa 1856 Chicken Cock has its tasting room on the same avenue, closer to the square.
- My Old Kentucky Home State Park, with Federal Hill and the amphitheater for The Stephen Foster Story, is under a mile east, so you can walk to the summer musical and back.
Parking is not covered on the inn’s website, so ask when you book. The distilleries out in the county still need a car, a tour company or a designated driver.
A day on foot from the porch
The Red Rose Inn’s location lets you build a whole day without the car. After the 9 a.m. breakfast, walk east on Stephen Foster Avenue to My Old Kentucky Home, where guided Federal Hill mansion tours run on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (adults $18; the last tour is at 4). Tours cap at 25 people, so get there early on busy days. Walk back toward the square for lunch and an afternoon at the downtown tasting rooms, then rest on the back deck before dinner.
In summer, add an evening at The Stephen Foster Story, the outdoor musical at the park’s J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre, with 8 p.m. curtains from mid-June and adult tickets at $28 plus a $4 fee in 2026. You walk there, and you walk home, which is the best kind of commute. For the full plan, see our one day in Bardstown itinerary.
Is it worth it?
Yes, especially for couples. Red Rose Inn rates 4.9 out of 5 on Tripadvisor from more than 230 reviews and 4.9 on Google. A late-September 2026 weeknight was showing about $229, which lines up with the town’s other top B&Bs. Add roughly 10% for room taxes.
Choose it for a walkable, low-key base with a real breakfast and hosts who know the town. Skip it if you want a bar on site, a bathtub or a pool. For more options side by side, see our historic inns and B&Bs guide, or build the weekend around our romantic getaway ideas.
With only four rooms, fall weekends go early. Check the live map on this page to compare Red Rose Inn’s rate with other downtown inns for your dates.
