When Dana and Jim Maloney learned their middle son and his wife were expecting their first granddaughter in 2017, they made the kind of decision retirement dreams are made of: they left North Carolina for the Eastern Shore of Alabama to be part of her life. The granddaughters now number two, and the couple’s move put them at the helm of one of the most scenic properties on Mobile Bay, a luxury bed and breakfast with 200 feet of its own beachfront.
Jubilee Suites, the all-suites boutique inn the Maloney family opened in 2018, occupies a historic property overlooking the Bay whose hospitality history stretches back to 1948, when it first opened as the Sunset Beach Hotel. In the mid-1950s it became the Eastern Shore Apartments and Cottages and operated that way for nearly 30 years, before Dr. and Ms. Gravlee transformed it into Away at the Bay Bed and Breakfast in 1987.
A Lifelong Dream on the Bay
Dana had long dreamed of owning and operating a bed and breakfast. She and Jim, experienced hosts who had earned Airbnb Superhost status in Charlotte, came to Fairhope shopping for resort property for family vacation rentals and fell for the bayfront site instantly. They purchased it in 2018 and set about redecorating and landscaping every inch of the building and grounds.
Dana serves as resident host, and the couple lives on site, an arrangement that shapes the guest experience. They can point visitors to nearby grocery stores within a few minutes’ drive or coordinate caterers for larger groups, and Dana, who loves to feed people, includes a made-to-order full breakfast for every guest each morning in the bright Bayview great room.
Suites Built for Families and Takeovers
The lodging model is deliberately spacious. Seven of the family-size suites include a fully furnished kitchen, dining and living areas, one or two private bedrooms and bathrooms, a washer and dryer, free Wi-Fi and a smart TV in each bedroom and living room, designed as a home-away-from-home, only better. Five luxury suites offer west-facing bay-view balconies or patios positioned for sunset viewing, and two suites are pet friendly.
Beyond the rooms, the amenity list reads like a small resort: free kayaks, paddleboards and bicycles, a sunset-viewing gazebo, firepit seating, grills and charcoal for guest use, and parking for more than 22 cars. Takeover groups can rent the entire property, sleeping up to 35 people in private suites, a format popular for family reunions, girls’ trips, corporate retreats and intimate weddings.
A Venue as Flexible as the Weather
The grounds do double duty as an event space. The grassy bluff overlooking the Bay accommodates roughly 30 guests for an intimate wedding or retreat, while the New Orleans-style courtyard and the beach offer additional settings for outdoor celebrations. When coastal rain interrupts, the whole party moves indoors to the Bayview great room, which can be reconfigured for seated or standing receptions, wellness events, corporate meetings and family reunions.
Guests consistently point to the same feature first: the view. The property’s water view of Mobile Bay and its west-facing orientation make sunset the nightly centerpiece, and the quiet beachfront setting has made the inn a repeat destination for travelers from across the region.
The Jubilee Name Fits
The name Jubilee Suites borrows from Mobile Bay’s most famous natural event, when conditions align to bring fish and crabs to the shoreline and neighbors race to the water. It is a fitting brand for a property whose identity is built on the Bay itself, from the beach access to the sunsets to the name guests see on their reservations.
For a couple who moved across state lines to be near granddaughters, the inn has become something larger than a business. It is a place where other families gather for the same reasons the Maloneys came south: weddings, reunions, getaways and long, slow evenings on the water. In a resort market crowded with rentals and hotels, Jubilee Suites has carved out a niche the old Sunset Beach Hotel would recognize, a bayfront stay where the view does most of the talking.