Va Bed And Breakfast | Clay Corner Inn
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About Us

A Boutique Lodging Experience

Clay Corner Inn warmly welcomes you and strives to extend a personalized touch to meet your needs in a small lodging environment. We offer the feel of a home with the amenities and luxury of a hotel. Our breakfast is personalized to each guest and fresh each morning. Our back patio and pool area are designed to help you relax and unwind. You will find we deliver much more than an overnight stay but an experience like none other.

Owners and their daughter

Meet the Owner

Joshua and Jenna were both raised in the New River Valley and had a deep affection for the New River Valley. They are happiest outside exploring and spending time with their family.

Jenna left her career at the VT Corporate Research Center to pursue her dream of owning and operating a bed and breakfast. She started with Clay Corner Inn and has now expanded to include The Oaks Victorian Inn, in Christiansburg, VA. Joshua is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in business and works by her side helping manage day-to-day operations. 

They have two daughters. Six year old Aniston, who loves exploring all the nooks and crannies at Clay Corner Inn. And they just welcomed Bristol on Valentine’s Day 2023.

Together, their passion is creating memories that last forever.

Clay Corner Inn History

Clay Corner Inn's main house is a Depression-era brick structure built in 1929. There is a porch light and exterior steps outside the back door, which implies there was either an entrance or the house ended here and was added on to later. Another porch light and exterior brick stairs can be seen outside the office, and we know in the early 1990s that this served as a private, 2-story apartment rental.

The twin cape-cod style houses facing Harrell Street, the creative deck system, and the swimming pool were all added in 1989. The late Vic Huggins, a cherished art professor at Virginia Tech, and his wife, Pat, had the houses built for her mother and aunt, sisters who did not get along but spoke by phone often. The aunt moved away after a year, and the mother passed away a couple of years later. After some wrangling with the Town of Blacksburg, the Huggins secured a permit for the first Bed & Breakfast business in Blacksburg. It opened as Per Diem Bed & Breakfast around 1991.

Joanne & John Anderson purchased the property in June of 1994, with explicit goals of building a profitable lodging business. The phrase "per diem," Latin for "by day," can refer to the government lodging rate, and the inn was often perceived as being owned by the government or Virginia Tech. The Andersons changed the name to Clay Corner Inn a year later. They acquired the property next door, totally renovating the Huckleberry House and opening four more guest rooms with private baths. The building is no longer part of the inn property, though the brick paver parking lot they installed remains as an access point at the end of the twin houses.

The Andersons brought Clay Corner Inn to the forefront of lodging in town before many of the in-town hotels were built. They closed in June of 2004 to care for her parents, then re-furnished, re-stocked, and re-opened with 8 guest rooms and suites in the original three buildings in March of 2008.

In 2011, the Andersons sold Clay Corner Inn to Rick and Nicky Alvaro, who had relocated to Blacksburg from California. As their grandchildren came along, they wished to move closer to family, and Katy and Pawel Nazarewicz purchased the property. Jenna has managed Clay Corner since that time, and purchased the business in 2021 with all the hopes and enthusiasm of anyone who loves the Bed & Breakfast segment of the hospitality industry. The charm, appeal, and location drew me in like it draws so many of our guests from around the world.

Amazing Getaway

This property is in excellent shape with comfort in mind. We felt at home as soon as we walked in the house. The house is spacious and spotless great access on the river. The property manager communication was stellar. We can’t say enough about this property. We have already scheduled our next trip.

- Tripadvisor Review

Clay Corner Inn

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Contact

  • 540-552-4030
  • stay@claycorner.com
  • 401 Clay Street SW
    Blacksburg, VA 24060
Clay Corner Inn's Trip Advisor Travelers Choice Awards 2023
Clay Corner Inn's Booking.com Traveller Review Awards 2023
Clay Corner Inn's Hotels.com Traveler Awards 2023
Clay Corner Inn's Virginia Vendor Awards 2023