The Fairbanks House

The Fairbanks House is an 1885 Italianate villa in the Fernandina Beach historic district, and it is one of the more substantial bed and breakfasts on Amelia Island.

The building

Italianate, built in the mid-1880s — which places it squarely in the boom that followed the railroad, when Fernandina's port money was building the houses that now make up the fifty-block National Register district.

It is a villa rather than a cottage: three storeys, a tower, and grounds. Accommodation is spread across rooms in the main house and separate cottages on the property, which is a meaningful distinction — a cottage gives you privacy and a front door of your own in a way a room on a landing does not.

What sets it apart from the other downtown inns

A pool. Rare for a historic downtown inn on this island, and genuinely useful in July when the beach is a drive away and the afternoon is 95 degrees.

Cottages. For couples who want a B&B breakfast without a B&B's shared-landing intimacy, or for anyone staying more than two nights.

Scale. Larger than most of the district's inns, which usually means more consistent staffing and more likelihood of availability at short notice.

Breakfast

Included, and cooked. That is the standard at this level of the market downtown, and it is a genuine part of what you are paying for — a made breakfast on a porch in a historic district beats a resort buffet.

The location

In the historic district, a short walk from Centre Street. From the door: twenty-plus restaurants inside eight blocks, the shops, the Amelia Island Museum of History, the Fernandina Harbor Marina and the working shrimp docks where the sunset happens — downtown faces west across the Amelia River.

Park once on arrival and walk, except for the beach.

What you give up

The beach, which is about two miles east — five to eight minutes to the Fletcher Avenue accesses or Main Beach Park. The pool takes some of the sting out of that, which is exactly why it matters here.

Golf, spa and children's programmes, which are on the south end.

Children

Historic bed and breakfasts commonly have minimum-age policies, and this is the sort of property likely to have one. Ask directly before booking if you are travelling with children — the answer may differ between the main house and the cottages.

Practical notes

Book months ahead for spring, the Shrimp Festival in early May, and the winter holidays. Minimum stays are common at weekends and during festivals.

Festival weekends close Centre Street to traffic — wonderful from inside the district, awkward if you need to move a car.

What we have not confirmed

The address, phone, room and cottage count, whether the pool is currently operating, breakfast arrangements, minimum-age and pet policies, parking, and the 1885 build date and architectural attribution.

We do not publish nightly rates — they move daily — or ratings, ours or anyone else's. See our editorial policy.