---

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 17, 1992                   TAG: 9201170207
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Kim Sunderland
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

---

MAGAZINE RATES THE OAKS AMONG ITS BEST DOZEN INNS

The Oaks Bed & Breakfast Inn on East Main Street has been named one of the top 12 inns in North America for 1991 by Country Inns magazine, an international publication.

All 12 inns are profiled in the magazine's February edition.

Owners Tom and Margaret Ray hope to attract more visitors to the New River Valley by publicizing their inn nationally and internationally.

The Rays say the guests that have already stayed at The Oaks - from Florida to Canada and across the Atlantic - are sure to pass the word along.

The house was built in 1893 by the prosperous railroad and real estate investor, Major William Pierce, for his wife and seven children. The home remained in the Pierce family until 1982 and many of the guest rooms are named for the Pierce family and contain mementos from their lives.

The Rays renovated the house for their business and continue to upgrade the property. A cottage next to the house has a sleeping loft, a sauna and a hot tub on the porch.

A feature article on The Oaks also appeared in Country Inns' August 1991 issue, with full-page color photos of the various rooms in the Queen Anne house, which sits atop Christiansburg's highest hill.

The Oaks also will be featured in a future issue of the Japanese magazine, Fine Life of America, which is published in Tokyo.

---