Nicole Craig attended the University of California, San Diego and obtained a degree in Psychology. After working in the field for a year, she decided that her heart truly belonged to the culinary arts, as she had been cooking since the age of 11. She moved to Maui and attended the University of Hawaii Culinary Program. During her schooling, she began an internship at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa, formerly known as the Grand Hyatt. She rotated through many departments of the kitchen, but eventually landed a position in the Italian restaurant.

We met, and became friends, while working together at the Grand Wailea Resort. Both of us had visions of self-employment, but weren't inspired to proceed separately. After a lengthy discussion and, admittedly, a pitcher of margaritas, we decided to venture into the world of bed and breakfasts together.

We took several business seminars and did lots of reading on the subject of "how to run a bed and breakfast", since neither of us had much of an idea. A business plan was formulated, and we began the search for property.

Our original intention was to create the bed and breakfast on the Big Island of Hawaii. After doing some market research and looking at our options, we realized that we were much better off relocating to the mainland.

Oregon became our focus because we knew we wanted to be on the West Coast and Nicole has a brother that lives in Eugene. In January of 1998, we moved to Oregon. Needless to say, we were both in culture and weather shock, but after the initial effects wore off, we found an apartment, got jobs at the hospital, and found a real estate agent to help us acquire a house.

4½ months went by and we still had not found anything that we liked. We searched all over Oregon, the Coast, Hood River, Ashland, McKenzie River, and more. We even started a catering company to keep the culinary flame alive while we were looking! Finally, Melissa was searching on the Internet one day, and saw a bed and breakfast for sale in Eugene. We called our agent and had her check it out for us. It turned out that this particular B&B was too small for our needs, but the owner of the house suggested that we talk to the proprietor of The Oval Door, as she was once willing to sell.

We did, she did, and that, folks, is that!

We have been here since July of '98 and have loved every moment of it. We take great pleasure in making our guests’ feel pampered and special. Our mission is to create a warm and inviting environment in which our guests will want to return to again and again.