The crew at The Captain Merry Inn, Dining, Spa and Salon in East Dubuque, Illinois boasts they’ve struck the balance where urban luxury meets old-world charm, and they’re right. In May 2001, the Captain was purchased by husband-and-wife team Bob Johnson and Bethany Golombeski, and after an extensive renovation it is now operated as an unsurpassed restaurant, full-service salon/spa, and luxurious inn with the help of General Manager Zachary Hedstrom.

The History -

Built in 1867, the house is an exquisite example of fine Italianate architecture. Rumors and mysteries abound about the Captain Merry and the man who built it, Charles Hamilton Merry. Local legend tells tales of connections to Abraham Lincoln and Al Capone. The present owners are still trying to uncover the truths behind the rumors, but this is what they do know: Charles Merry owned a ferry service on the Mississippi between Dunleith, Illinois (now East Dubuque), and Dubuque. He also operated as an agent for the railroad that terminated in Dunleith from Chicago.  Effectively, all the goods shipped to the western states out of Chicago had to pass through Merry’s hands. Research has become a community-based project involving the owners, the East Dubuque Living History Committee, the Galena/Jo Daviess County History Museum, and local residents.

The house sits atop a hill on U.S. 20, at the base of the Julien Dubuque Bridge, as a prominent symbol of status. It was designed for the purpose of greeting guests and hosting parties, as the Captain retained high social ranking.  And although income from Merry’s ferry service would have made him a wealthy man, he may have supported his lifestyle with a little clandestine smuggling! This would possibly explain the unusual stone tunnel under the house.

With the building of bridges came the apparent financial demise of Mr. Merry. Although he was involved in several innovative schemes to move goods down the Mississppi to the East Coast, bypassing the railroads, he left the area in straitened circumstances. There is no record of Merry family in this area after the Census of 1880. He is said to have traveled relentlessly and spent much time with his five adult children in St. Louis, Washington State, Mississippi, and Texas in his twilight years. The last trail we have of him is residence in Yazoo, Mississippi in late 1889, the same year his wife, Sarah, died in the house. We have no record of where he is buried. Sarah left the house to her daughter, Mary, who never returned to the house and relinquished it in 1902.

Since the departure of the Merrys, the grand Italianate structure has been everything from an antique shop, a five-unit apartment complex, and a hippie commune. Local lore also mentions a seamier side: a house of ill-repute, a gambling den, and a jail. For many years, the Merry Building, as it was called, was uninhabited and left to the elements and squatters, who burnt balusters for firewood in the attic. An initial restoration by Joe and Maddie Schlarman in 1984 saved the structure from demolition, and now the Captain Merry stands tall once again as a premier inn, a cutting edge spa/salon and fine restaurant.

Merry Cuisine-

If the Captain was best known for his merry demeanor, his fastidious nature and impossibly high standards were legendary. Attention to detail reigns wherever in every taste of The Captain Merry, from the flatware to the barware to the wine list to the menu. Speaking of the menu, the quality of ingredients is the cornerstone. The best the Midwest has to offer is paired with specialties culled from as far away as Tasmania. Chef Kevin blend Midwest regional cuisine with Cordon Bleu sensibilities to create plates with broad appeal. Lunch is a light-hearted affair, where Dinner offers a multitude of possibilities: Thursday nights offer upbeat live music and a casual bar menu, in addition to the “Main” menu finer dining offerings. Saturday night live music is more laid back for a relaxing and romantic air. The Merry Bar is always a great place to relax with friends after a hard day’s work and enjoy a myriad of offerings from bottled domestic and imported beers, a 200-plus vintage wine list, dozens of fine tequilas, Vodkas, Whiskies, Cognacs or a Merry special cocktail, such as the Merry Berritini. The wines we serve by the glass are kept in a closed argon rare-gas system – so every glass is as fresh and perfect as the winemaker intended.

Merry Hospitality

The Captain Merry offers five guestrooms, each with its own distinctive decor. The French Suite includes Charles Merry’s actual bedroom and boast more than 600 square feet of Fin-du-Siecle opulence. The sitting room and separate bedroom feature American, French and English antiques purchased for the house by the owners in Europe and throughout the Midwest. The bedroom features the finest linens, luxurious draperies, wall-to-wall fine art, plush carpet and an original Carrara marble fireplace with operable gas insert. But you could spend your entire stay in the grand marble (Honed Inca Gold and Absolute Black) bathroom, with catalpa wood cabinetry, separate “throne room,” marble shower and heated floors, Kohler fixtures, two-person whirlpool, and gilded and beveled mirrors.

The English Suite is so proper, letting your hair down will make you feel extra wicked. The sitting room is exquisitely appointed with graceful English and American antiques. The 800 square foot suite was originally the private quarters of Mrs. Charles (Sarah) Merry and her children. The owner, Bethany Golombeski, a trained architect, selected an elegant pale yellow hand-printed English wallpaper to compliment the antique birch and Carrara marble fireplace in the bedroom.  Mahogany and rosewood furniture, including queen-sized bed, dates from the mid 1800s.  Fabrics are carnelian-hued, accented with blues and greens. The “minty-fresh” sitting room is modeled after an English Morning Room, includes a Carrara marble fireplace (original to the house) with operable gas insert.  The bathroom is finished with Rojo Coralito and Michaelangelo (also called Portoro) marble shower and heated floors, Kohler fixtures, two-person whirlpool, separate marble shower and custom-made red elm vanity. An overstuffed, high-off-the-ground fourposter requires you literally “climb into bed.”

The Garden Room proves that accessible doesn’t have to mean uninviting. Or unimaginative. Or unpretentious. This room is loaded with luxury, from the outrageous bedding to the eye-catching carpet to the dramatic wallpaper, to the original walk-in woodburning fireplace fitted with a cozy franklin stove, and it’s accessible on the main level. The roomy shower with walnut-hued limestone tile and heated walls and floors was hand-crafted by local stonemasons whose work graces each of the Merry guest suites. First-rate accommodations with first-floor convenience.

For lofty types, the third-floor Egyptian and Mediterranean Suites offer old-world craftsmanship in contemporary settings. The Egyptian Suite offers over 800 square feet of sumptuousness, with a ceiling that slopes up to 14 feet in the center. Three skylights make this a sun-filled, yet joyfully cozy room.  The main forty-three foot exterior wall is spanned by an inviting quarter-sawn oak and stained glass window seat.  Hickory (heated) floors are covered by blue and gold Egyptian rugs.  The elegant iron pharaoh-sized (king) bed adorned with deep blue and gold fabrics in satin, silk and chenille stands beside a gas-fired soapstone ornamented stove.  The adjoining bath is done in Emperador Dark and Café Beige marble including heated floors, Kohler fixtures, double vanity, double whirlpool under a Moorish arch, and separate shower with rainhead and handspray.  And as with all suites, the room is finished with antique light fixtures, data ports to high-speed internet access and guest controlled heating and cooling.

And finally, the Mediterranean Suite is a contemporary top floor suite with approximately 600 square feet of cozy comfort, comprised of separate sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. The unique bath is divided into a whirlpool room with trompe l’oeil mural, lav room, shower room and toilet room, all finished in Temple Pink and Carrara marble with heated floors. The quartesawn oak cabinetry is adorned with ancient greek motifs. While the Aegean-inspired colors warm the soul and the soapstone-porcelain gas-fired stove warms the body, the hickory floors warm the feet.

Merry extras accompany every room - one or two fireplaces or stoves, dining table and china for “in-room” dining, flat panel televisions with DVD, clock radio/CD player, a writing/work desk, and wired and wireless high-speed internet access.

Merry Extras-

Don’t miss the suspected smuggler’s underground tunnel to the street, not to mention the full-service restaurant kitchen, the stop-in-for-a-quick-drink-and-relax-with-friends bar, and state-of-the-art private movie theatre for guests only. And, finally, one can’t help but be captivated by the ornate carvings on the Baroque hutch in the northeast dining room, the Belgian tapestries between the second-floor suites, or the chandeliers in the front hall and bar room.

So how does one top the comfort, the opulence, the artistry, the service, and the historical significance of the Captain Merry? With a breathtaking nighttime view of the Julien Dubuque Bridge. A climb up the third-floor stairs to the cupola, a hallmark of Italianate architecture, and the trademark of The Captain Merry for well over a century, the restoration efforts stopped at the cupola stairs, so that guests might still read and enjoy graffiti from years gone by.

Merry Expansion

Opened in the summer of 2005, the full service Merry spa and salon brings a completely new level to the tri-state are for relaxation and stress relief. The fully renovated 1850’s Federal-style structure is divided into an exuberant upper level salon that addresses every hair and aesthetic need. Services include manicures, pedicures (including a private two-chair pedicure room), hair shaping and coloring, hair extensions, facials, and waxing. The restful lower level is devoted to spa functions. The journey to a stress-free experience begins in the Relaxation Room populated with comfy massage chairs and fireplace where clients are offered their choice of complimentary beverage. Since the Captain Merry has the advantage of having a liquor license, guests may sip on mimosas or bloody merrys as easily as water, soda, coffee or tea prior to their spa treatment. Five sumptuous treatment rooms allowed for a variety of options: massage, hot stone, hydrotherapy, reflexology, wraps, scrubs, Vichy treatments, raindrop therapy, Shirodara, and Reiki, to name a few.

The construction work also included the building of a new Main Lobby to connect the two historic structures. The new blends seamlessly with the old because every effort was made to use historic materials such as antique light fixtures, historically appropriate wood windows, vintage doors and historic fireplace fronts, as well as natural materials such as wood and slate flooring. Golombeski was inspired by an 1871 engraving that showed the two structures tied together by a shed-like building, the brick foundation of which she found during excavations.

“I was really disappointed not to find the remnants of additions tunnels during excavation that have been relayed to me by member of the community. We hit a solid limestone shelf that limited our new foundation to the shape you see today. We still plan on poking around in the bluff behind the buildings to see if we find that elusive opening.”

The connection building also houses much needed storage and coat rooms, bathrooms, and a meeting room for 30+ that enjoys a view to the courtyard through a historic bottle-glass, prismed and beveled, double door.

“Both buildings have such a sense of history and personality that I wanted the renovations to reflect that” claims Golombeski. “We tried to think of what Captain Merry would have done if he had today’s options,” adds Johnson.

The Salon and Spa are open Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday and Monday by appointment. The facility is available any day for private parties for lunches, teas, or dinners by arrangement. Rooms are available nightly. Contact us at 815.747.3644 or toll free at 877.797.3644.