THE HOUSE
A Georgian House Beside the Basin
Built around 1817, Bailey House is a Georgian inn with just four individually furnished guest rooms beside the Annapolis Basin, in the old town of Annapolis Royal.
Bailey House offers something increasingly uncommon: the quiet of an inn welcoming only a handful of guests, the character of a genuine historic house and the ease of life beside the water. It is best experienced with time enough to become familiar.
A House Furnished for Living
Bailey House is furnished with antiques and traditionally made pieces spanning the centuries between the first settlement of Port-Royal and the building of the present house. Chosen for their materials, craftsmanship and connection to the region’s history, they remain part of everyday life rather than a formal display.
No two rooms have been made to match. Each has its own character, shaped by old furniture, portraits, books and objects intended to be used as well as admired.
The House Today
Built around 1817, Bailey House closely follows the vernacular Georgian tradition of Nova Scotia, with Federal and Regency influences characteristic of the period. Modern plumbing, electricity and heating have been introduced with as little disturbance as possible to the house’s architectural character.
Research suggests that the present house stands on the site of a waterfront Acadian building dating to at least 1688, probably associated with the seigneurial estate. The manor itself appears to have stood immediately beside it, which helps explain why the histories of the two sites have sometimes been intertwined.
The rooms are furnished with genuine antiques, while contemporary additions are chosen quietly for comfort and remain secondary to the historic interiors.
Life Beside the Basin
Life at the Bailey House is shaped as much by the Annapolis Basin as by the house itself. From the windows, changing light, tides and weather become part of the day. Across the quiet street, the private waterfront garden is reserved for guests—a place for morning coffee, an afternoon book or the last light over the water.
Annapolis Royal’s historic streets, galleries, gardens and restaurants are within an easy walk. The house offers the rare pleasure of staying beside the water while remaining part of a small town with an unusually rich cultural life
An Old House on Older Ground
Bailey House stands on ground whose recorded history reaches back well before the present house. Port-Royal was settled in 1605 and expanded in 1610, on lands that later formed part of its French seigneury.
The present house was built around 1817, after Port-Royal had become Annapolis Royal. Federal in form and Regency in character, it belongs to a town already shaped by its years as a colonial capital, fortified settlement and seaport. Those earlier layers remain visible in the streets, fortifications and waterfront surrounding the house.
Here, history is not an excursion from the inn; it is the setting of the stay.
Mornings begin within the old house; afternoons may be spent among the gardens, galleries and historic streets of Annapolis Royal. By evening, the light returns to the Basin and the waterfront garden across the road. Bailey House is best enjoyed with time enough to become familiar.
• 150 Saint George Street, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
2026 Bailey House Inn