coaching inn
noun1
Historical An inn (hotel) along a route used by stagecoaches, where horses could be changed, and passengers could obtain food and drink.
- Near-synonym: roadhouse (often synonymous, historically)
- It was an unexpected benefit to early rail investors that passengers had an appetite for travel, which up to then had been a tortuous experience on largely unmade roads and involving stays at coaching inns that provided variable amenities.2021 September 22, Industry Insider, “A new way of thinking”, in RAIL, number 940, page 92: