Audries Bed & Breakfast & Abend Haus Cottages got a surprise — from me.

After hearing that Flying Adventures Magazine had featured Audries in its March/April edition. I called owner Audry Kuhnhauser. She didn’t know her inn had been listed as No. 2 among the “Top 10 Romantic Getaways: A Couples-Only Escape to Unexpected Dreamy Destinations.”

She also faxed me a copy of another recent honor the inn received: A “Best of the Midwest” award from BedandBreakfast.com. According to the site’s release, the awards are based on the more than 50,000 independent reviews submitted to the site.

The site offered up a sample of a review: “We loved the beautiful surroundings to our B&B — the Black Hills, creeks and wildlife. We looked forward to each breakfast. The room was so beautiful and comfortable. The staff was so friendly considerate. What a peaceful place to come.”

Audries is located on Thunderhead Falls Road, just off Rimrock Highway west of Rapid City.  It opened in 1985, making it the first B&B in the Black Hills.

Audry and her late husband, Hank, had retired from Germany and they wanted a new opportunity. They ended up in the Black Hills, buying property that included an old powerhouse.

Today, the B&B complex includes seven private cabins and cottages along Rapid Creek, as well as two units in the restored powerhouse building. It’s a couple-only B&B: no kids and no pets.