In 1803, the poet Thomas Moore found his married neighbour, Hester “Nea” Tucker, so alluring that he wrote a scandalous poem about his lust for her.

Today, the owners of Ms Tucker’s namesake, Aunt Nea’s Inn in St George’s, hope that the property will prove just as irresistible. The 13-unit bed and breakfast is now on the market for around $1.6 million. The Hillcrest property is currently owned by a Trust. It is centuries old, and one of the town of St George’s largest lots.

Real estate agent Dale Young of Dale Young Properties said there has been a great deal of interest in Aunt Nea’s Inn from the art community in Bermuda, with two separate arts entities looking it over as a possible trendy artists’ colony or retreat. There had also been a lot of interest from St Georgians themselves who wanted to see Aunt Nea’s Inn operating again as tourist accommodation and contributing to the economy of St George’s.

“Not a day goes by that the Mayor of St George’s doesn’t send someone to contact me about looking at the property,” Ms Young said.

This reporter toured the property alongside Kristin White, development director of the St George’s Foundation.

Ms White said The Art Project, a group that promotes art in St George’s, was looking at ways to attract more artists from abroad to St Georges. She said a place like Aunt Nea’s Inn with its history and Bohemian charm, would make a great space to host such groups.

“We recently had an arts group of 15 come from New England to stay and paint in St Georges,” she said. “They brought their family and friends. We’d like to get more of that type of group coming to St George’s.”

Former innkeeper Andrea Dismont said when Aunt Nea’s Inn was fully operational it was well loved, and received good reviews. She had acted as innkeeper.

“We sold the real Bermuda and gave personal service,” she said. “As an innkeeper, you are a camp counsellor, cruise director, psychiatrist. People want the personal touch. Everyone wants to be recognised as a human being, especially when they are on vacation.”

She said they had had many guests over the years including visiting scientists working with BIOS, film crews, yachtsmen and sometimes spillover from the nearby St George’s Club.

“All it needs is to be switched back on with all the different booking agencies,” Ms Dismont said. “We always had excellent reviews. This place has huge potential, especially as there aren’t that many properties in St George’s.”

Aunt Nea’s Inn was built in the 1700s and was once the residence of the American Consul. It still has all its original cedar work. It has been in the Wright Robinson family since 1916. In 1961, Ms Dismont’s former mother-in-law, Trew Robinson, opened the place as a guest house under the name of Hillcrest Guest House. In February 2011, The PBS television show This Old House filmed renovations at Harbour View, the sister property of Aunt Nea’s Inn. Harbour View, which stands directly to the south of Aunt Nea’s Inn, is also for sale by the same Trust.