Photos: Nia Sayler
Home away from home offers holiday visitors a room (and more) of their own.
Here come the holidays, and with that—here come family and other out-of-towners. Not every home (or host) has the space or bandwidth to accommodate extra people over the holidays. While hotels are wonderful options, consider a local Airbnb for guests, so they feel a little more “at home,” and hosts feel a little more relaxed!
Christina (Preiss) Mara, lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, Brian, and son, Benjamin, 5. While she grew up in Minnetonka (Minnetonka High School Class of 2000), she has familial roots in Excelsior. (Her mother grew up there, and her grandfather owned Howard Wendt Minnetonka Cleaners—now The Lobby Coffee & Leisure—on Water Street.) “The western suburbs and Minnesota are very special to our family, and the magic of the town of Excelsior is indisputable,” she says. “We tend to travel back for Thanksgiving to be with family, but my parents downsized years ago, and we needed more space, and were so thankful to find The Apiary [Airbnb] as our true headquarters for the week.”
“The highest praise I consistently receive from my amazing guests is that they instantly feel at home, and all they would need is their clothes and a toothbrush,” says Sheila Holleran, owner of The Apiary, located in the heart of Excelsior’s historical district at 321 Third St.
The rental features a large bedroom with a king-size bed and a wood-beam ceiling; a full bathroom with a double vanity; a private work area; a comfortable seating area and a fully-equipped (understatement?) kitchen, complete with a dishwasher and enough cookware and spices to make a holiday feast right there; an off-street (driveway) parking space along with one free parking pass that can be used anywhere in Excelsior during a stay.
The exterior provides additional spots to dine and relax. “Guests have said they truly enjoy having access to all the outdoor spaces: a private patio, a secondary grill patio that is nestled in the trees, as well as the fire pit,” Holleran says. (That fire pit will undoubtedly inch to the top of the favorite list during this time of year.)
What’s a home without something to stave off the hungries? Holleran assures that guests are availed an array of healthy beverages (tea and coffee station), snacks, fresh fruit and more. “My son also loved the stocked microwave popcorn for a family movie night on the couch,” Mara says.
The design aesthetic is modern, softened by live greenery, planter baskets, pottery, woven rugs and wall hangings. It reads clean and cozy all at once. Holleran is mindful of providing timely décor elements, as well. “I enjoy creating holiday offerings as well as layering on seasonal décor for both the interior and exterior of the unit,” she says.
Photo: Anna Wilson
Upon booking, guests receive a guide book that Holleran created, and it features recommendations for local activities, eateries and shopping. Mara says they dined at Layline and Maynards (Franny’s Chicken Salad) and visited The Lobby Coffee & Leisure most mornings. For shopping, they tucked into Golden Rule, Gray Home + Lifestyle, Kowalski’s Markets, Ooh La La Boutique, pip & pal and Something Safari.
Mara calls The Apiary, “extremely well maintained, recently updated [and] decorated with guests in mind, and Sheila was super easy to work with on bookings/questions. We loved having a home away from home literally steps from downtown Excelsior.”
Holleran enjoys providing home-away-from-home stays for guests. “You might say the hospitality/service industry is in my blood,” she says. “I was actually raised in what was, at the time, the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. My stepfather was the general manager there. I eventually worked my way through most departments, learning as I went, but mainly, I worked alongside my mother in the restaurant she conceived, opened and operated. Attention to detail and ensuring our guests had the best possible experience every time became ingrained from a very early age.”
Good Bones
The Apiary is not particularly new to Excelsior; it opened in 2023. It’s building is also not new—not by a longshot. It was built in 1857 but was moved to its current location in 1883, according to Sheila Holleran, owner.
The structure’s first incarnation was as Sheldon Hall, the town’s first schoolhouse. In 1891, Holleran shares, a basement was added along with a two-story structure, which later was home to a 23-room dorm for Northwestern Christian College. Another renovation occurred in 1926 with the transformation into apartments units.
As the years progressed, so did the building. With all the comings and goings of many and varied occupants over the years, the building came to be known as it is today: The Beehive. It’s current incarnation finds it divided into four units, one unit is The Apiary, and a second could be turned into another short-term rental space in a year or two.
Airbnb
Instagram: @thebeehivemn
