Maxwell Place has been my home since 1988, and until a few years ago also accommodated a full office suite for a staff of up to six, digital and film studio, pre-press facility and darkroom. In time with this business space no longer needed the whole house was returned to domestic use, and in 2019 after we lost Shirley to cancer thirty years before her time my family persuaded me to make the former office wing into an AirBnB. My daughter Ailsa and her husband Colin worked on this (the East Wing) from summer 2020 onwards, moving in to make it their home from October through to April 2021 before leaving to live on a catamaran in the British Virgin Islands for a full year.
From May 2021 onwards I welcomed many AirBnB guests to Kelso and found the workload (there is one!) fitted in well with my publishing business and photography. I was able to stay with them on the boat in March 2022 for a couple of weeks, closing the AirBnB for them to use again as home on returning in April.
This is the link for the East Wing: https://airbnb.com/h/eastwingkelso
One bedroom only: https://airbnb.com/h/perfect-stay-for-couple-kelso-central
Two bedrooms: https://airbnb.com/h/bright-warm-2-bedroom-flat-kelso
They have been able to buy a house in the Borders but during the buying process devoted all waking hours to converting the West Wing – the other side of the house – to a second AirBnB. Thanks to the 18th-century Georgian layout of connecting rooms, I don’t need to go outdoors to look after it but the upper floor has its door and steps replaced by a press and the ground floor has a very short passage through the thick stone wall with doors on both sides. It’s part of my home but well separated for the benefit of guests and myself alike. AirBnB availability resumed all round in autumn 2022.
This is the link for the West Wing: https://airbnb.com/h/complete-wing-historic-central-kelso-mansion
One bedroom only: https://airbnb.com/h/luxury-for-two-in-complete-kelso-home
Two bedrooms: https://airbnb.com/h/2-storey-2-bedroom-kelso-mansion-wing
Both wings of this symmetrical neo-classical Scottish town villa offer two main double bedrooms plus a third which can take the guest capacity to six. The original East Wing has all the main rooms on the first floor with a staircase up from a large porch, and its third room does duty as a workspace if needed, with adult or child friendly bunk beds. The West Wing has two storeys, with the double rooms and bathroom upstairs and a small sitting room with garden door featuring a comfortable double sofa bed – it’s also a good working space with laptop table when the sofa is not made up as a bed.
Bathrooms with free standing double end Victorian-style tubs, showers over, washbasin and WC feature in both, as do full kitchens with modern equipment. The East Wing has an American-style fridge freezer with chilled water and ice maker, and conventional ceramic hob. The West Wing has a larger kitchen with breakfast bar (seats two), a fridge-freezer and induction hob. Both have dishwasher and washing machine. In addition the West Wing has a second downstairs WC, and a washbasin in the master bedroom. The East Wing has space to bring bicycles indoors or change outdoor boots and walking gear before going upstairs, and a rod room for visiting fishers.
I accept dogs and have hosted breeds as large as Bernese Mountain without worries and East Wing has been OK with three dogs (the large vinyl-floored entrance porch helps). West Wing I limit to two dogs and no large breeds. Both have access to outdoor garden space to use during the warmer part of the year.
Because of the way AirBnB structures bookings each wing has three identities to allow booking one room made up (2 guests), two bedrooms (2 to 4 guests) or all three (3 to 6 guests). The links given here are for the full space booked (6 guests maximum) in both cases.