fernandina faces
David and Susan
Caples BY DICKIE ANDERSON PHOTO BY PAM BELL
I
t’s hard to miss the stately silhouette of the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, Amelia Island’s premier beachside bed and breakfast inn, just off South Fletcher Avenue near Main Beach. Innkeepers David and Susan Caples have operated the awardwinning boutique hotel on Amelia Island for almost 21 years. Checking in at the lodge, each guest is likely greeted by Susan, David, or their capable inn manager, Olivia Hoblit. After graduating from college, the pair made a commitment to David’s continuing education in the renowned Hotel Management Program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Among other jobs, the young couple served as house parents for a sorority house as they worked their way through graduate school. It was good practice for the couple, who would later raise two daughters. Greatly influenced by Norman Simpson, author of the pioneering book, Country Inns and Back Roads, Susan and David set out after graduation to find the to find the perfect place to begin their adventure in the emerging bed and breakfast movement. When they visited Amelia Island, they recognized its great potential as a travel destination. In 1979, they opened their first property, the 1735 House, with a modest five rooms. During their first seven years of operation, they began to design what is now the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge. Katie’s Light, the octagonal house just south of Elizabeth Point Lodge, was their home for many years, and it continues as a popular rental property. It is named for their first daughter, Katie, who was a student at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville when she died in a tragic accident. Katie was an
organ and tissue donor, and the Caples have made a lifelong commitment to raising money to promote the critical importance of organ donation. The Katie Caples Foundation was started in 1998. The annual Katie Ride, which takes place on Amelia Island each April, was started in 2005. Reminiscing with Susan and David, I asked how they get all the work done. Susan says with a smile: “He’s the boss!” Ever energetic and enthusiastic, Susan is the master of organization, ensuring the rooms are picture-perfect and comfortable, and that, from check-in to check-out, the guest service is impeccable. It is clearly a very successful partnership that has launched this outstanding bed and breakfast inn, as well as two other businesses: a rental property management business and training programs for aspiring innkeepers. Their popular ‘boot camp’ is the first step for many couples thinking of running a bed and breakfast inn. Dave, slim and tan, reminisces about those early days. “It is a different place now. There was no Summer Beach or RitzCarlton. There were not a lot of places to stay. When we first opened, a lot of our business came from the mills in town.” Elizabeth Point Lodge continues to receive recognition from leaders in the travel industry, making Travel + Leisure’s 2012 World’s Best Awards list of top inns and small lodges, and the Conde Nast 2012 Traveler Gold List. Named for their daughter, Beth Ann, who lives and works in Manhattan as a fashion designer, Elizabeth Pointe Lodge— and David and Susan Caples—are a big part of what makes Amelia Island a gem for travelers and hometown folks alike.
29 AMELIA ISLANDER MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2012
www.AmeliaIslander.com