Our Guests Say the Nicest Things...

Dearest Lani,

. . . what a fabulous trip it was, largely due to your generosity and caring nature. Don't know where to start as so much to convey to you. . . . drove straight to Natchez, MS. There I spent an idealic existence and felt just like Scarlett O'Hara herself. Girl, that rose garden - just every color imaginable, all those beautiful angels, the grounds, the charming patio from my cottage that overlooked the set up for croquet, down to the glorious pond and that lush green, green grass!

I particularly relished in walking up to the courtyard/fountain area where one would meet for drinks. For me, one of the showstoppers, if you will, was entering the Quitman lounge and seeing that gorgeous portrait of the hansomest young man in his confederate uniform. Truly, I just stood there in that room reeking of history from a time gone by, and fell in love with that precious young man, whom I later learned a few days later from the docent that he was your grandson!

While taking all this in, I noticed the family photographs and believe the lovely ladies posing together must be you and your daughter. I felt so blessed that you would take the time to have been so gracious to me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

. . . I just fell in love with Hal, you could literally feel the warmth and caring nature from within this precious person. He made me feel at home and so very welcome from the moment I arrived. He so graciously told me about some of Natchez history and you could see how busy, busy, busy he is and how very much he loves Monmouth and what he is doing. Lani, that was so abundantly clear from all your staff! I did not know or realize until a day or so later that you/your husband are the proprietors of Monmouth and I was so deeply touched that you would be such a wonderful person. You see, Dearest Angel, I have worked for some very powerful, very wealthy and prominent lawyers for years, some quite wealthy and they could care less about the ordinary people. I've watched them be so callous over the years, unkind, mean spirited - fire staff on a whim with no notice, no severance and really no reason for doing so. It was with great pleasure to encounter someone that could be bothered. I know that there are great people in this world, angels that walk among us, but sometime they are few and far between. Okay, the morning that I had to leave, of course I cried cause I really did not want to leave!

But, of course, I am getting ahead of myself. I did dine the first evening there at the Plantation. To sit in that room - the ambiance, I just loved the china, the silver, the opulence of the large dining table. There was a couple celabrating their 20th anniversary, they looked so young and they had 4 children. I visited with them, they're from St Francisville and they were just darling! Across from me dined a gentleman, also alone, he was in his 50's, I think. We met up after dinner viewing the downstairs of Monmouth and, I can tell you, that neither of us wanted to leave, we both were so enamored with every single room and all the beauty and detail that went into every inch of revered space! You have done an outstanding job preserving this estate. The morning after my arrival, I attended the tour of Monmouth and was enchanted hearing the story of your arrival to Natchez by riverboat close to 30 years ago. I am so thankful that your husband bought Monmouth and that you have spent nearly 3 decades of devotion and care to maintain its splendour! It is such a gem, really beyond adequate description in words alone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You will always be revered and special to me for your kindness.

With affection and appreciation,

Cindy O.

PS. . . . Still basking in the splendour of it all.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Morning Smiles on the Carriage House at Monmouth

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Gifts for Dads and Grads

Our Gift Shop has unique items perfect for the graduate or for Father's Day. Always open - 7 days a week - 7 a.m. til 11 p.m.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Mornings Shine at Monmouth

Enjoy our full Southern breakfast in our spacious breakfast room or on the veranda overlooking the courtyard.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Father's Day is June 17th

It's about time to start thinking about Father's Day... it is just around the corner.

Why not treat dear old Dad to Monmouth's Golf Getaway? There's plenty for Mom to do too. Take a tour, shop downtown or catch up on some reading...

www.monmouthplantation.com

Artist Showcase

This painting, entitled "Monmouth Plantation, Natchez" by Mary-Pat Forrest is in private collection of the Italian Consulate at the UN in New York City. More of her work can be viewed at www.katrinaartists.com.

Mary-Pat and her husband had been living a gypsy life, but are now back on the Coast in their encampment in a FEMA trailer. To find out more about Mary-Pat or her work, e-mail marypatforrest@yahoo.com.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Swing Into Spring

Spring is the perfect time for golfers to get back into their game. With Monmouth' s Golf Package, you can do just that!

Monmouth's Golf Get Away

Golf is reserved at the Beau Pre Golf and Country Club for your pursuit. Enjoy two nights luxurious accommodation for 2 persons, with full southern breakfast each morning and one 5 course dinner on the evening of your choice with pre dinner Hors d’oeuvres and a tour of the mansion. Prices from $540 per room.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Our Guests Say the Nicest Things...

The place is magnificent. Your loving and beautiful touches are everywhere. The place speaks beauty, serenity, and love. Your staff, Peggy expecially, and Carol at the desk as well as so many people that I can't name made this vacation the best of our lives.

Diane's eyes glowed the entire time we were there and I hold you responsible for that. You have turned us into lovers of Natchez, and it's glorious history. We're hoping to bring some of our children with us when we return, but for sure we will return.

You have truly blessed us with you kindness and the love that you have brought to us. Thanking you is so inadequate, but from the bottom of both of our hearts we truly do thank you.

With loving thoughts,

Ken & Diane U.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Monmouth is honored to be featured on www.iloveinns.com...

If you have ever wanted to visit Tara in “Gone with the Wind”, then Monmouth Plantation in Natchez MS is a place you must stay!

A true Southern mansion built in 1818, Monmouth Plantation was the home of General John A. Quitman, a Secessionist sympathizer who – although he died before the Civil War – was sufficiently notorious that Union troops nearly destroyed the house in revenge.

Today, Monmouth Plantation has been restored to its Antebellum glory, and offers period furnishings in its rooms and suites; some of them belonging to the original mansion. Add 26 acres of beautifully-kept grounds and the best in traditional Southern hospitality, and Monmouth Plantation is a treasure not to be missed.

www.monmouthplantation.com

New York Magazine's Feature, "Road-trip from Memphis to New Orleans," pegs our restaurant as the place to eat!

Even if you don’t stay at the Monmouth Plantation in Natchez, make reservations for one of the formal five-course dinners with a daily changing menu that might include seafood gumbo, fresh Louisiana redfish, or a thick filet.

www.monmouthplantation.com

As Seen in New York Magazine...

Room 40 at the Monmouth Plantation in Natchez.
(Photo: Courtesy of Monmouth Plantation)

New York Magazine's feature, "On the Road Between Memphis and New Orleans," spotlights Monmouth Plantation as the place to stay in Natchez...

...Three hours south, in Natchez, Mississippi, check into the Monmouth Plantation (from $195), a Greek-revival-style mansion outfitted with wireless Internet, working fireplaces, and Jacuzzi tubs.

http://www.monmouthplantation.com/

Monmouth Gift Certificates Make the Perfect Gift

Pamper Mom with a Monmouth Plantation Gift Certificate, which makes the perfect gift and may be used toward accommodations and fine dining. Certificates are available in denominations of US$100, and are valid for six months from date of purchase. To order, call 800-828-4531.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Give the Gift of Luxury this Mother's Day

Monmouth Plantation's Mother's Day Package

Two nights where chilled champagne, tempting chocolates, and blooming flowers await her arrival. Package includes luxuriously appointed accommodations in a deluxe room for two people, with full southern breakfast each morning and one 5 course dinner on the evening of your choice including pre dinner Hors d'oeuvres and a tour of the mansion.

Prices from $470 per room, based on two sharing. Offer valid Sunday through Thursday May through September 2007, subject to availability. Weekends available at prevailing rate.
Email or call us today - 800-828-4531

http://www.monmouthplantation.com/

Treat Mom to Dinner at Monmouth for Mother's Day

This Sunday is Mother’s Day.
Why not let Monmouth’s award-winning Chef, Lanny Brasher, do the cooking ?


Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres
& a five-course gourmet dinner
under romantic gaslight chandeliers.


$48 per person

For reservations, call 601-442-5852

www.monmouthplantation.com

Monmouth featured in Press Release by National Trust Historic Hotels of America®

Title: Time to Take FiveRelease
Date: 2007-04-26

Creative Meeting Breaks and Team-Building Activities at National Trust Historic Hotels of America®

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 26, 2007—

Make history at your next meeting with a memorable break or team-building activity at National Trust Historic Hotels of America. Members of Historic Hotels of America have played host to every type of event—from meetings that have forever influenced national and world events to intimate weddings and family reunions. But often what happens outside the meeting doors is what attendees remember most.

For those looking to make a meeting stand out from the crowd, consider these creative ideas from some of America’s foremost meeting sites.

Monmouth Plantation in Natchez, Miss., celebrates the Old South with “The Garden Party Break.” Attendees can step outside the meeting room into the break courtyard with a splashing fountain and bursts of floral color. Guests can sit and relax on the wicker and wrought iron chairs or leisurely stroll through the lovely winding pathways. Traditional refreshments of iced tea and lemonade or champagne and mint juleps are passed on a silver tray. For a livelier break, a Dixieland Jazz Band can provide entertainment.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Enthusiasts of all types can also indulge their passions at Monmouth

Monmouth Plantation is anything but ordinary. In fact, this circa 1818 National Landmark turned four-star hotel is quite extraordinary when it comes to the many high-level services and amenities offered to our guests.

For starters, a stay at Monmouth affords guests a private oasis in their own 26-acre park, complete with wooded hiking trails, croquet lawns and peaceful sanctuaries tucked into enchanting winding pebble and brick pathways amid our heirloom gardens. Once guests have had the opportunity to unwind, they start to feel at home, which is, quite frankly, the whole point.

Want to go all out for the full “antebellum” experience? How about stepping back in time, donning period attire before sipping mint juleps on the veranda and enjoying a private dinner for two beneath gaslight chandeliers in the beautiful blue parlor? This elegant room is decorated with many of Monmouth's original antiques and showcases portraits of the Quitman family.

Enthusiasts of all types can also indulge their passions here. Gardeners delight in the artistry and beauty of the gardens of Monmouth, as exquisite as the city’s magnificent antebellum homes. Our own Master Gardener, Larry Stewart, has planted thousands of bulbs to add to the wonderful display of color at Monmouth and is more than happy to share his knowledge of heirloom bulbs and arrays of color combinations with guests for garden tours. The total numbers of bulbs in Monmouth’s gardens are unknown since many were there long before the current owners, Lani and Ron Riches, purchased and lovingly restored the mansion and grounds, nearly thirty years ago. “A calculated guess would be over 50,000 by this spring,” says Larry. “What we have strived to continue with here are the heirloom bulbs that have long been associated with antebellum gardens of the south.” To be sure, each season will be a feast for the eyes and senses!

Speaking of feasts, if gourmet cooking is your hobby, call on Monmouth’s award-winning Chef de Cuisine, Lanny Brasher, for some of his fabulous recipes, like “Crawfish & Andouille Cheesecake with Creole Mustard & Tomato Coulis” or join him in the kitchen for a hands-on culinary experience and discover the secrets of his famous Southern cuisine.

Sportsmen will be delighted with the variety of game to be found in the surrounding wilderness. Whitetail deer, turkey, dove, squirrel, quail and rabbit abound in the Natchez area. Natchez State Park is considered to be home to some of the best bass fishing in the state, and the current state-record bass was hauled out of its 300-acre lake. Private guides are available.

Thrill seekers are sure to love Monmouth’s Ultimate Southern Get Away package which includes a spectacular morning hot air balloon ride, weather permitting, over the historic town of Natchez, two nights luxurious accommodation, champagne, chocolate dipped strawberries, Hors d’oeuvres each evening, dinner for two on one night, full southern breakfast daily, tour of the mansion, romantic carriage ride, guided tour of three mansions, and in-room massage for two.

Obviously, history buffs will be in heaven at Monmouth Plantation, now in its third century! A proud member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, we take pride in our National Landmark status and we are as unique as the city of Natchez itself.

Each one of our rooms and suites has a unique size and shape and something to set each one apart from the next. Natchez is the oldest civilized settlement on the lower Mississippi River. Her rich culture, architecture and history bring the past to life. From the renowned pageantry of the pilgrimage to the antebellum splendor of her stately mansions, plantations and historic landmarks, Natchez offers a living history lesson like no other.

Budding authors, computer wizards or those simply interested in creative writing should know that Monmouth is not only a tribute to the past, it has some very modern aspects as well. We have a leading edge on today's technology with our free wireless high-speed Internet (WI-FI) access in all of our rooms, allowing you to use your laptop or other blue tooth device free of charge.Our BLOG is another technological advance enabling us to communicate with our guests and potential guests. We try to post items of interest and to offer updates on happenings in and around Natchez and daily life at Monmouth. We invite you to write about your stay and post it on our BLOG – indulge your creativity.

There truly is something for everyone at Monmouth! Our list keeps growing and the possibilities are as endless as our guests’ imaginations.

http://www.monmouthplantation.com/

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Come on...it's Friday :)

Just one of the many secluded spots for relaxing on the grounds of Monmouth Plantation.

www.monmouthplantation.com

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

Chef Lanny's Special Recipe - Monmouth’s Smoked Tomato Gazpacho

(Serves 6-8)

2 oz. Red Wine Vinegar

2 oz. Panko Bread Crumbs

1 oz. Pomace Olive Oil

3 Peeled whole garlic cloves

1 Tbs. Cajun seasoning (Paul Prudhommes Seafood Magic)

2 tsp. Cumin

1 Tbs. Crystal hot sauce

16 oz. V-8 Juice

1 lb. Hickory smoked tomatoes

8 oz. Very ripe organic tomatoes – peeled & finely diced

1 large Cucumber – peeled, seeded & finely diced

1 large Red Bell Pepper – seeded& finely diced

4 oz. Red Onion – finely diced

3 oz. Finely chopped scallions

1 Tbs. Finely chopped fresh basil

Salt & Pepper to taste

In a small skillet heat Olive Oil, Cajun seasoning and Cumin, over low heat until aroma can be detected.

In a blender on high speed add vinegar, garlic cloves and hot sauce. Pour in warmed seasoned Olive Oil. Add some of the bread crumbs. If mixture becomes too thick, add some of the V-8 Juice. Alternate until all of the bread crumbs and 8 oz. of V-8 Juice are used. Add 8 oz. of the smoked tomatoes. Pour this mixture into a stainless steel pot or container.

Finely dice remaining smoked tomatoes and add to the liquid mixture. Add remainingV-8 Juice and all the other ingredients. Salt & pepper to taste.

Chill until very, very cold. Ladle into chilled soup bowls, garnish with a small Tabasco pepper and basil sprig (sometimes we garnish with two large grilled shrimp).

Enjoy!

Lani & Ron

www.monmouthplantation.com

As seen in this month's issue of Southern Living...

"Great Houses Along the River"

- Back in the shadows of four exquisite homes on the Mississippi River, where seasnal plantings sparkle, it's time to seek out some of the mosot wonderful gardens in the South. Several stunning homes and gardens in Louisiana and Mississippi open their doors and garden gates to visitors. Pack your walking shoes, grab your camera, and get ready for a good time.

Monmouth Plantation - Natchez, MS

This 1818 Greek Revival home (also a 30-room inn) features 26 acres of gardens, ponds, fountains, and pebbled paths. Don't miss the immense wisteria-draped arbor. Walk the nature trails, and take pleasure in the snapdragons, jasmine, crepe myrtles, zinnias, verbenas and roses.

www.monmouthplantation.com