The Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast consists of two side by side mansions: the Bester Town Home (circa 1832) and the Hampson Home (circa 1835). They are located at 51 and 55 East Main Street in North East.

Common rooms for guests are located in the Bester Town House and include:
 

The Library was once a stagecoach tavern in the late 1800's. The cozy room is now adorned with a fireplace, hardwood floor, beamed ceilings, an eclectic book collection, TV and VHS player, games and videotapes. There is always a table with a jigsaw puzzle begging to be finished, and room for board or card games.

The Dining Room has a carved fireplace mantel, numerous built in china cabinets, dark stained hardwood floors, and a large antique sideboard with an interesting history. An oriental patterned rug sets off the intricately inlaid table. If you are lucky a seasonal gingerbread building will be on display. Enjoy breakfast in this elegant atmosphere.

As an alternative to the more formal Dining Room, the Sun Porch is a light and airy room with a full view of the surrounding gardens. Eat your breakfast, and read the newspaper to the sound of chirping birds. 

The Common Rooms offer an elegant setting for your next small event. The setting and service can make any occasion special.

The two buildings are among the oldest brick residences in North East, with interesting history. Both homes were constructed by carpenter Nathaniel Norris beginning in 1832. The Bester Town Home was built in the fashionable Federal style, featuring an elliptical arch window with a fanlight and decorative stonework over the front entrance. The roof added in the Victorian style is embellished with overhangs and curved brackets.
 

The self-supporting circular staircases in the central halls of both buildings are a neoclassical designed developed by architect Asher Benjamin in the late 1700's. There is a panel in the Chancellor suite of 55 East Main that allows viewing of the construction of the staircase-pegged, mortise and tenon joints, no nails. 

The Bester House once served as a stagecoach tavern, a boarding house, a doctor's residence, North East's first kindergarten, and a home for the elderly and a restaurant. Although not officially documented, this house is said to have been used as a temporary station on the underground railroad during the Civil War, to mention a few of its earlier incarnations.