Philippe,
That manager of The Collinsport Inn was Mr. Wells, portrayed by the late Conrad Bain, later of “Maude” and “Different Strokes.” Mr. Wells was in the very early episodes of DS before Barnabas arrived in town. They brought back the overly-curious Mr. Wells just to be “sliced-and-diced” by Chris Jennings in his other form.
The house Nicholas lived in was called “The House by the Sea” and was owned by Mrs. Stoddard. After Cassandra split from Roger, it was kind of “awkward” and “uncomfortable” to have Cassandra’s “brother” to stay on at Collinwood, so Elizabeth agreed to rent the seaside house to Nicholas (who wanted to continue on with his mad plan to create another race of men for his master, Satan, and to also put the moves on Maggie Evans).
This house is completely different from Dr. Lang’s home/laboratory. Although Lang’s house looks exactly like the evil Rev. Gregory Trask’s 1897 school, Worthington Hall, which Laura Collins later took care of as only Laura could.
You know, after the malevolent ghost of Quentin Collins chased everyone out of Collinwood and they all took refuge in the Old House, I could never quite understand that. After all, the Old House had all of the “conveniences” of the 18th century. How they could put up with no electricity, no telephones, no central heating, no running hot and cold water (read: hot showers and working toilets), and not get on each others’ nerves after just a week living with such early American conditions?
Mrs. Johnson must have absolutely “loved” having to cook for all of those people in a kitchen with a wood-burning stove and no microwave or other electric appliances. Do you think she got along with Willie Loomis in such a Daniel Boone-like kitchen?
And, what of Roger Collins, a patrician man with refined sensibilities, who must have experienced cultural shock, when he was forced to use a bed pan or to schlep out into the cold night in order to use the outhouse behind the Old House. I venture to say that an exasperated Roger must have finally said to his sister, “Screw this, Liz! I’m taking my son over to the House by the Sea, so that I can take a hot shower, have a quick and easy microwave dinner and don’t have to put my pants on to go outside and make a ‘pit stop’ in the middle of the night!”
No doubt, Maggie, Carolyn and that seemingly perpetual Collinwood house guest, Dr. Julia Hoffman, were all also bummed-out by the primitive living conditions in the Old House. I’m surprised that Maggie and Carolyn didn’t take little Amy Jennings with them to stay in the much more comfortable Evans family cottage. Although by then, I’m surprised that Mrs. Stoddard and some more of the others didn’t opt for either Carolyn and Jeb Hawkes’ future newlywed cottage or even the shack at Findley’s Cove on the Collinwood estate rather than live in misery and discomfort in Barnabas’s beloved Old House?